Choosing a Daycare After Maternity or Paternity Leave

How to Choose the Right Daycare for Your Child After Maternity or Paternity Leave

Parental leave is an essential time for parents to care for their new baby and to bond with them. But for many working parents, there comes a time when they need to head back to work, and find childcare for their baby.

Finding the right option for your family can be a bit of a challenge. As childcare attorneys, we've learned firsthand what to look for, and what to avoid when choosing a daycare center.

First, transparency is key. A good daycare is open and honest about what they do and how they do it. If you feel that the daycare you visited is being dishonest, overly vague, or seems like they're hiding something, start looking for a different daycare.

Second, safety and security are essential. A safe and secure daycare will make it known that they take these things seriously. They'll baby-proof the space and they'll never put different age groups together. You'll also want to ask about their cameras. Do the cameras have live feed and recording capabilities? Will the parents have access to the videos? And are the videos made available to you? In the event something happens while your child is at the daycare, ask these questions and engage their responses. If they are hesitant to allow you to watch the video footage in the event of an incident. Maybe this isn't the right place for your child.

And third, the staff and caregivers make the daycare what it is, their experience their attitude towards children, and their credentials are all important to take note of a good caregiver can make a world of difference for your child. Unfortunately, the same can be said about a bad one. We suggest parents watch and get to know the caregiver during a visit to see how they interact with the children. Ask questions about the caregiver's experience. Learn as much as you can about the daycare's discipline policy, so you know if they're following your preferred discipline practice.

More Tips for Finding a Safe Daycare for Your Infant or Toddler

These are just three of our tips for finding the right daycare for your child. We have a guide called 10 Tips for Finding a Safe Daycare that we offer completely free and it's linked below. Download it now to get your copy. And if you have more questions about finding the right daycare for your child, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to help.