Hi Sush and other mommies with daycare experience,

I am in the pangs of daycare thoughts again.. I have this centre that is at the gate of my colony. Quite a 'normal' place with no hi-fi facilities.. I would like to send Kichu there for sometime in the day, 'coz my mom has high BP and has been asked to rest (not possible if he's underfoot)

I've asked earlier too.. but havent got any answers.

1. Kichu is still not walking. What are the things i need to discuss with the care centre about looking after him?

2. He is quite the high needs kid. Whtat;s the ideal nanny to kids ratio to look for in a centre?

3. Do they get lonely and sad once they're left there. Now, there are only 4 kids in the creche and remaining 11 are in playschool.

Should i go ahead and do it or should i look for a lady to take care of him at home... Please please give me you opinions and feedback about daycares..

I hate hyderabad for being such a low-facility place for kids!

Hope all the lil's and mommies are doing well.
Paddoo Sri replied. Hi Padoo,
Firstly U need to understand that each kind is different. Even when put in the same environment, they may react differently at different times. In my case, K looked like he was settling down in the first 2 weeks. But then the 3rd week he got diaper rash, followed by diarrhea and vomiting. When he went after a long gap, he cried his heart out and refused to stay there.

It is good however that u are going to try when is 1 yr old and only for a few hrs everyday initially. Reg ur qns.

1)a. Check for safety concerns. Are the pre-schooler, infants and toodlers kept seperately. So that they don't harm each other.
b)Cleanliness. If they maintain each kids stuff seperately. If Kich is on diaper, how do they do diaper change
c) Feeding concerns
d) Do they have toys for kids to play with
Visit the centre when there are kids. Hang around for some time to get a feel of the place. Take Kich along to see his initial reactions.

2)Here the ratio is 1:3 for infants, and 1:5 for toddlers. So normally the care givers here take turns in managing kids and are able to do it excellently.

3)Initailly when u are dropping him off, some say it is better to hang around there for a 1/2 hr - 1 hr, so that the kid adjusts to the new environment. Mostly it is the parents who suffers separation anxity more than the kids themselves.

There is nothing wrong in giving it a try for a couple of weeks. If he does not settle then u can try the other options.

In K's case, we wanted to give him the best, a healthy environment to gain good exposure. However he did not settle. But we are atleast happy that we did try, and have learnt what he expects.

Yday the weather was kind of ok, and I took him for a walk near his day care centre. He started crying when one of the care givers walked up to him and started talking. Seems he still fears that I am going to drop him off. Still a long way to go for us.

All the very best, and be prepared for all situations. The initial settling period might be hard on the entire family.

Lov to Kich

Sri