Looking for Daycare - Minneapolis, MN

I would find daycare now. I have had my daughter in several daycare centers, and I worked for a woman who ran a home daycare and their is usually a waiting list or no openings for newborns- 1yr. because the staff ratio to a infant is so low they can usually only have a few babies at a time. I personally have had bad luck with daycare centers, especially New Horizon. I really liked a Montessori school I sent my daughter to the best but the usually don't take infants. Home daycares are tricky but if you need a recommendation I worked at a home daycare in Mntka that was awesome. Let me know if you need the phone number.

Hi I.,
Where are you looking? I do in home daycare in IGH and I am licensed. I will have an opening around that time for an infant. Are you looking for full time or part time. No it is not too early too start looking especially for an infant.

J.

www.mnchildcare.org is a great resource for what is available for in-home as well as centers. Please make sure to do your research and stop by places many times and different hours of the day and not always announced. I highly recommend going to many different places to have many different options even though it is exhausting.

I don't think you're looking for daycare too early. It seems like they do tend to book up well in advance. What worked for my husband and I was choosing a daycare near my husband's workplace. (I'm a freelancer & my schedule is all over the place.) It has been great because my husband is always near her if anything ever happens. He doesn't need to worry about picking her up on time if the weather is bad and traffic is moving slowly. We selected a day care center, although we also checked out home daycare options. It's nice to know that there are a few people watching our daughter. If someone is having a bad day, they've got support from the other staff and I would think that if someone weren't treating a child well, the other people on the staff would be able to make a report. The other bonus with the center for us was not having to look around for another care provider for when a home care person took her vacation days. Good luck with your search!

Hi I.,
First, congratulations on the impending birth of your little one!! I am an inhome daycare provider myself and from what I have seen on the support sites, it's a good idea to start looking now. The state will only allow each provider a certain number of infants. I've spoken to two people who worked in centers and they both said the babies are left in swings a lot. I've only used inhome providers when I have had to work outside the home and am partial to them, ;o). Check the references, ask to see a recent criminal background check on all adults in the home. I can't think of other things off the top of my head. One good resource for finding care is located at http://www.mnchildcare.org/
You tell them what you want, specifically, in a provider from location to special diet, and they will go through their database and give you a list to go from. I am charging $125 for infants, have seen up to $175 per week. I hope this is a good start for you. Good luck and I hope that you find the PERFECT place for your little one!

I just wanted to let you know that it is definatly not too early to start looking, finding a spot for an infant in a daycare is very hard! Most of the good daycares have a long waiting list for infants. It is good to look now because even if a daycare is full right now in November they could have a baby moving up to the toddler area and have a spot that they would be able to save for you. I waited until a month before I had my son and the daycare I really wanted had a 6 month waiting list for an infant spot. So I had to settle for a place I wasnt extremely pleased with.

Hi I.,
I would start looking NOW!!! My husband and I started about 9 mos. before my daughter would begin daycare. We looked everywhere...small places/big places, but it was when we came across Montessori Children's House that we new we found the right place. It is just off of Lyndale and 95th in Bloomington. AJ the owner is wonderful and they just celebrated their 15 year. I would recommend her to everyone I meet. My daughter Ava is cared for as if she was their own and it's nice because the ratio in the baby room is really low 3 to 1. I am so impressed with all the things my daughter knows and she's only 2 - her ABC's, how to count to 25, Songs, please/thank you, etc. Her vocab is huge and the doctor said she is at almost a 4 year old level. I give so much of her intellectual credit to AJ and her staff....And I NEVER have to worry about her when she's there. I can leave and not worry throughout the day. I'm even sending her in the mornings this summer even though I will be home because she gets so much. Anyway, I could go on and on, but she is hands down my #1 choice. Give her a call ____@____.com can also stop in any time to just take a look(although lunch time is alway difficult because they are so focused on feeding the kids).

Best of luck. This is a major decision. Just make sure it feels right to you when you meet with the people. Like I said, we knew the minute we walked through AJ's door.

R.

I have been curious about moms who want to have children, then put them immediately in daycare so someone else can raise them nine hours out of the day. I don't mean to sound so incindiary, but as a guy who's sacrificed a lot to ensure my kids were raised by me at home, I have always been curious about ths topic.

I can understand when there is an absolute necessity for survival's sake. But in the advetising circles I have been in for years, I see far too many parents relinquish the priviledge of raising their kids, just to stay in the job market, and maintain a dual income.

Pardon the rant - it wasn't meant to be. I am just curious about asking this sort of question every time I see a new parent seeking immediate daycare for their newbon.

Opinions? Flames? Comments?

~S.
single, sole custodial dad of three