I am a first time mother and was looking for child care and really did not know where to begin, so I started with Craigslist. The ad was posted by a parent and was glowing, so I emailed the parent and she did not have enough good things to say. I contacted the facility and the woman answered the phone "hello" (no business name or acknowledgment that I had the correct number) and I said "Hello, Donna?" She very rudley asked "who is this?" So I told her who I was and that I was calling regarding her child care (I was pregnant at the time). Her tone completely changed and she was just as nice as could be. I scheduled an appointment and everything seemed ok.
A little background, I was a preschool teacher for 3 years and would often help out in the infant room, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for once I got there, however, I was from a different part of the state and had recently relocated, so I really did not know anyone in the area to be able to ask for reviews. I knew that I wanted a low ratios, set schedules for naps, eating, etc., the ability to bring breastmilk to the site and have them know how to handle it, and also be able to have a certain amount of input into how my child would be cared for.
When I went to visit the facility, and in-home child care, it seemed perfect. That should have clued me in. Everything was prefectly clean, she said everything I was hoping she would say, she kept the babies away from the older kids and would only have 1 baby at a time in their own separate area. She has a program for infant development that I was really excited about. Since this was the first place I was looking, I told her I would let her know because I wanted to see other things before I committed. I left feeling great about it and pretty sure that was what I wanted. I went to see other facilities that did not compare, but I wanted to have some time to keep looking anyway.
Donna called me several times to inquire, which I totally understand, and basically told me that she had a lot of interest in the spot from other families and I needed to commit now. Despite the fact that I was not really ready to commit, and I was about 4 months away from going back to work, I mailed her a deposit. As it got closer to me taking my daughter to her, I decided it was time for me to have a conversation about what I was hoping for, my daughter's schedule, etc. She would be starting there at 5 months old, so by that time, we had a pretty good routine and I just wanted to make sure the transition was seamless. When I spoke to Donna, we had a great talk, and then I said "so I plan on probably staying for a few hours the first day just to make sure she's acclimated (disclaimer: MOM needed to acclimate!)" And Donna replied "You can stay for a few minutes, but after that I am going to have to ask you to leave." I was floored. Literally my stomach dropped and I felt sick. I replied "With all due respect, this is my first child and I am paying you so I will stay as long as I feel comfortable." She tried to back off of the statement, coming up with excuse after excuse "the other kids will be sad because their parents are not there" and "most parents just drop off and sneak out."
As I said, I used to be a pre-school teacher, so I am familiar with the sneak out, however, I NEVER told a parent they were not able to stay. In fact, there were some parents that stayed all day the first weeks! While it wasn't ideal and it did cause a bit of dispruption, I knew they were trusting ME with their CHILD and I would NEVER think to say something like that. I explained all of this to her, as well, and that I needed to be comfortable with the situation before I left my infant there, and also that my daughter would be the only infant there, in her own area, and the other children were 2 and up so really what would it hurt? Anyway, we ended the conversation and I decided it was time to think... and do some research.
I decided to check her license. While I was in the process of checking things, she called me incessantly. No joke 3-4 times a day. This made me think she knew she had overstepped. When I got to the license, It was clear, had been in use for years, however, was under a strange name that was NOT Donna. I emailed her and asked whose name that was. It was in her husband's name. That was really weird to me. She told me she had an impeccable record and whether or not there was an issue. I replied that honestly I was just not feeling comfortable after this conversation and now seeing that her license was not in her name, so I told her I was not going to take the spot and would make other arrangements. In what I saw as a final attempt to CYA, She told me that she would love to let me stay, but the state would not allow it because I would have to be fingerprinted and have a background check. I just laughed at the ridiculousness. I am $240 out but feel like I dodged a bullet. read more