I can't believe than in about 3 months, I will be a mother. It's the job I've always wanted and always dreamed of. I will be completely responsible for the health and well-being of a precious baby girl - all of her care rests on me, and her daddy!
But just like 65% of mothers today, I will work outside the home. I would love to be at home all day with Emmalee Caroline, but it put a huge financial burden on Brant and I, and I truly love my job. So I am now in the position of doing one of the hardest things I've ever done - I'm searching for the "perfect" person to care for my child.
Here are my "desires" for a caregiver.
- I desire someone who has a certified center in their home.
- I desire someone not more than 10-15 minutes from either mine or Brant's office.
- I desire someone who absolutely loves and adores children, especially babies.
- I desire great references.
But that's it - that's all I want and all I can think of.
So this is my plea to working mothers, and fathers: What kinds of questions do you ask a caregiver? What things should I look for in touring different homes or places? How many children is too many children? Let me know your thoughts on this one. As a first-time mommy, I need all the advice I can get!
4 comments:
From one working mom to another, here is what I would ask:
1. Where do they put the baby to sleep for naptime?
2. The ages of the other kids in the house
3. Do they have other family members that will be there during the day?
I would think no more than 4-5 kids per every adult, but that is just me personally. My kids go to a daycare that is associated with the school district I work for and in the baby room there are 8 babies, but there are 2 workers at all times.
And you can do this. It is not easy and there are many days you are going to cry and hate to drop her off, but you will both get through this. You get to have quality time with her at night and the weekends and she will get the benefit of socialization from an early age (plus good immunity before she starts school!) Email me if you have any questions.
Questions I would ask:
-Where will my baby sleep?
-Will the place he/she ONLY be he or shes place?!
-will you provide me with a written report with information such as dirty diaper, amount of bottle taken sleep times etc ...
- will you be leaving the home with my child?
- and most of all WHO will be allowed in your home while you are caring for MY most precious bundle!
I visited several "personal" homes and I went with a FULL daycare/preschool.
2 things - I KNEW without a DOUBT my child would not leave the site. NO ONE unless I had provided ID and instructions could ever get near my child unless that person was an approved care giver ... in a "home" you can't guarentee that a crazy ex wont come barging in.
and second the state governs and watchs ALL establishments like a hawk - most daycares have a "star" system just like a store or establishment - if enrolment is down it is for a reason!!!
Good luck it is so hard to walk in and leave your baby! I was able to keep both of mine out of school until 10 months and it was so hard to then take them from the grandparents and drop them off BUT they both LOVE their teachers and we love them!
I thought of 2 more -
-what happens if in home care person is sick?! do they have a back up? do you have a back up?
AND -
with daycare we have to pay even if on vacation or holiday "to hold a spot" will you have to do that and what happens when the person you go with goes on vacation?
I'm a working mother and I have a person that comes to our home three days a week, then my little ones go to a "preschool" the other two days. It's the best of both worlds for us because they get to be in their own space, not up and out every single day, yet they also have their social connection with others.
Important questions for me were:
1) What do you enjoy about being with children?
2) How have you handled an emergency or crisis?
3) Explain general philosophy, are the days more scheduled? free time?
There are lots more, you can even Google a list, I'm sure.
Regarding numbers, I would not want my newborn to have to compete for attention, so I would aim for a 4 to 1 ratio at max.
If you are using a home care provider, who will the back-up person be in case of sickness? Who else has access to the home? Are they always there, or are there occassional "outings?" Are there older children? What are their personalities?
There are many benefit for EC to have a working outside the home mama, you'll do great!
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