TuscMoms.com

What type of childcare does everyone use?

We send our son to Calvary, on the waiting list for UA though, which is where my mother works.

We don't use any - I stay home with him. However, I've been hearing moms say there are waiting lists all over town and if I want to use one in the future I'd better get myself on one.

If you even think you might need daycare a year or year and a half from now, then it would be best to get on several waiting lists. I had to have daycare very quickly when Ronald was three months old because my MIL who was keeping started having really bad back problems and couldn't keep him anymore. I lucked up and found an opening. They had several babies move up to the next class, and didn't have a long waiting list. But I think they do now. Almost all of the bigger daycares have a 10-30 person waiting list. It is incredible.

We were on 4-5 waiting lists for almost 18 months. However, we only wanted part time care -not all day/every day. We finally got in to First Wesleyan Academy last summer. Our oldest son goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we really love it!

We are at the UA daycare, and if you're looking for quality preschool curriculum you probably won't find any with stricter standards anywhere in town. But you already know that since your mom works there :-)

The waiting list there is really tough to predict b/c it doesn't go by "first come first serve". Since the program is research based, they need particular genders, ages, etc at particular times.

However, keep calling Robin (the director) and checking in. We were on the wait list about a year, and I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but I called one day and said I was unhappy with our current daycare and could they please check the wait list. I got a call back the next day.

I have heard that Calvary and First Presbytarian are really great programs too. We were just trying to avoid any church affiliated programs.

We started out at childcare network, and I would suggest not using them.

I'm pretty happy with Calvary so far. I went to visit my mother the other day and the receptionist asked me if I wanted to be on the waiting list still, I told her yes.

We started out at childcare network too. Oh wow, do I dislike them. I could right you a book on how much I do not like them.

LOL - we should share nightmare stories about that place one day. I shudder thinking my daughter was there for 6 months.

We're at Calvary now also. We got on the waiting list when I was 3 months pregnant. A space opened up when my daughter was seven months old.

In the meantime, she went to two other daycares in town.

In our search for daycares, there were some truly awful ones around town.

Just FYI: if a daycare is affliated with a church, it doesn't have to meet state daycare standards. (Calvary does this voluntarily.) Make sure you take that in account when you are shopping for a daycare.

So could anyone give some specifics about ChildCare network? I have an appointment today to visit the center.

We were very happy with one teacher we had there. However, they had VERY high turnover, and the room spaces are really small.

We also heard a lot of really nasty stuff about some of the teachers working there -coming to work high, etc. I have no idea how much of it was true.

We were also told - by our old teacher there after we left - that they sent a baby home with the wrong person once (a grandparent came to pick up an infant).

They may have changed.

Nope. I went today and there were 5 electrical outlets without safety plugs. Kids crying everywhere, and a teenager in charge of the 1 year olds. I'm still looking. Child Discovery was nice, and so was Sherwood Forrest next to DCH Northport.

If you live in Northport, you should consider Flatwoods Baptist Church. That is where I take my LO. It is not the best in town, but it is far from the worst. I visited Childcare and several others before deciding on this one. All of the really great centers are full always. I am generally happy. I have seen three people leave and be replaced in three classrooms over a 15 month period. Whether that is considered a high turnover, I am not sure. I have had a few minor issues, the worst being a lack of comunication between the two teachers in my LO's last classroom. I just had to be sure to tell the teacher in the morning and afternoon the same thing. That was a little frustrating, but otherwise, Ronald is happy and seems well taken care of. If you are interested, give Ms. Campbell the director a call.

My kids both went to Calvary last year. It was terrible for my son. We ended up withdrawing him. They let him cry all day. My daughter seemed to enjoy it but now that we've moved them to First Presbyterian there really is no comparison. It's great. We wanted to stay away from religious organizations but, excluding UA, they are the best in town. The amount of religious related materials isn't overbearing either. They have a good curriculum, extracurricular activities, and great teachers. It is a bit pricey though.

My little boy goes to St. Lukes. It is good, we have been happy with it so far, and they are fairly cheap ($350.00 a month or $88.00 a week). They can always tell me everything I need to know about LO and then some! They are very friendly, and we did not have to be on a waiting list. We went in August and talked to them and they said they would give us a spot, and my son has been going there since March. As far as I know they do follow the state standards, and they have a very low turnover rate. The same people are with my child all day long. They are also very clean. As for UA, I have been on the waiting list since last June, and I still have not gotten a spot.