Spending time with a newborn baby is one of the most enjoyable opportunities that life has to offer. New parents often get several months off from work to bond with their babies. Yet at a certain point of time, many parents have to go back to work and put the baby in daycare. Finding a daycare facility can be challenging, especially for first-time parents. Yet the sooner you start to look for a daycare for your infant, the easier it will be.
Step 1
Visit www.ChildCareAware.org or call 800-424-2246 for a list of local, certified daycare programs near you. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies is an organization which provides referrals to infant daycare facilities nationwide. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies makes sure that all of the local daycare facilities that it refers parents to are appropriately licensed as well. Take down a list of five or more daycare facilities in your area that accept infants.
Step 2
Ask your friends and family members for daycare referrals so that you can get a better idea of which facilities are preferred by parents. If one of the daycare facilities on your referred list from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies is highly recommended by a close friend, put it at the top of your list. Be sure to ask friends and family members for specific details such as pricing, hours and what they disliked about each daycare facility.
Step 3
Visit the daycare facilities that you are considering placing your infant in. Look for safety features such as locks on cabinets and closet doors, and rounded edges on furniture like coffee tables. The University of Illinois Extension, which provides education and information focused on addressing environmental, economic, and societal issues, recommends making sure that emergency plans are posted in public view in the daycare and that child look happy and comfortable. If there are multiple sick children at the daycare or children appear to be fighting a lot, it could be an uncomfortable place for your baby to be.
Step 4
Ask specific questions to the daycare directors such as the minimum age of infants for enrollment and the hours of operation. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies also recommends asking each daycare facility what the adult to child ratio is, since babies should have at least one adult per four babies in a daycare facility. It’s also important to ask if every employee has a CPR certification and what the prices are. Once you have all of this information from several daycare facilities, you can sit down and make your final decision.
