Over the last 8 years of having children and through all the creches/ aftercares we have gone through so far there is one thing I have noticed and that is that owning a daycare or creche seems to be a quick fix for a lot of people in order to get either free childcare for their own child or to make money while still being able to control their own schedule and make quite a bit of money because as far as our area is concerned childcare facilities cost a mini fortune and I find myself to the point of understanding more and more why many woman choose or have to stay home instead of work, with the failing economy and the price of child care ever on the rise it works out better for many woman to just stay home...
But back to topic and to point, we have finally found a creche I feel comfortable with after being pushed from pillar to post, we left our second creche (first only took kids to two) because they wanted us to put our then 4 year old on adhd medications, the next one told us they were equipped to handle an adhd child and then not only did they fail at that miserably by leaving children unattended and allowing Loghan to be bullied and to take the blame for many situations where we proved otherwise but in our last week there they changed his teacher and went completely off routine and when he flipped out they told us to leave without notice because they were not equipped after all and then conveniently wanted to keep the money I had already paid for the years worth of care ( they sent several children with the same issues packing one after another, all of those kids I have seen since and they are doing so well), and finally our last creche/ aftercare the owner up and sold the place with a few days notice to the parents and the new owner who I actually knew and trusted misplaced that trust by neglecting the kids to the point where I reported them to social workers, she would leave 30 kids with only one teacher, she misused funds would not pay teachers and put our kids lives at risk and then had the cheek to blame it on the teachers, parents everyone but herself, the metal car gate as in the kind that is normally electric fell onto Gabriel when he opened it one day, the aftercare only phoned us when the shuttle service flipped out because the owner wanted to avoid getting into trouble.....she lied constantly, she was never at the facility and would play off teachers and parents against eachother....
Its scary don't you think, it seems these days that anyone can just open a day care and that many of the owners do not actually care for the children in the care and are doing it for the wrong reasons.
Since we moved Loghan to Sunningdale he has reached and surpassed levels which we were told by many he never would and that was thanks to the love and dedication we encountered from his teachers and peers, they have supported us every step of the way and it shows, the aftercare the boys attend is also just incredible when you speak with the owner you can tell she cares about each and every child that steps through those doors and if there is an issue she will do what she can to help you get to the bottom of it.
I guess I am writing this post because I have seen so many moms looking for aftercare and creche recommendations of late and I just want to encourage all moms to research and properly look into the places you are interested in sending your child to.
Here are a few questions that would be great to ask or to look for:
1) Ask as many questions as you can,
2) Make sure they are registered and have first aid certificates,
3) Ask after their routines and educational programs as well
4) Ask how long the teachers have been with the facility, our previous creche went through so many teachers which should always be a red flag,
5) Listen to how the principle speaks to the teachers and about them
6) Watch how the teachers interact with the children
7) Make sure the teacher to children ratio is sufficient and that kids are not left attended if one teacher needs to change a baby there should be another teacher to watch the rest of the babies for example.
8) Show up unannounced when going to look at a place.
9) Look around make sure everything is correctly child proofed and safe
9) Lastly when you do decide on a place always listen to your child and watch their behavior if they tell you something listen, I wish I had listened to Loghan more there were so many situations where I believed teachers over him as I was told children often overact or over dramatize situations, that may be true but it still our job as a parent to listen and make sure our children's interests are protected and that they are happy and safe.
Our children are our most precious gifts we need to make sure that the people we leave them with are trustworthy and have our childrens best interests and safety at heart.
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