Thursday, July 13, 2006

Daycare vent - Ugh...what should I do?

I just got a notice from our daycare that they are going to be raising their rates. Not a big deal in and of itself, when I read that they are increasing it by roughly 50%, my eyes popped out. Granted that they are (or were) cheaper than a lot of the others, but a 50% increase seems unbelievable.

Because they are cheap, I have been very "forgiving" about some of their shortcomings. So now that they are going to be on par or more expensive than most, should I be more "picky"?

The shortcomings...
TV Time - it just seems like when I drop g off, the TV is on. When I pick her up, the TV is also on. On the few occasions that I have come at an off-hour to pick her up, the TV is on. Is that all my kid does?
Lack of a defined curriculum - They say they will have their website that will outline their mission statement, etc up soon, but it's been going on 6 months.
Webcams - This was one of the big selling points when we signed up. I asked about it last week. Not yet ready.
Lack of "qualified" professionals - I think I had high hopes that this would be a place that g would learn something. I am not talking sitting at a desk and memorizing the multiplication table. The people who work there however do not seem to be qualified to teach the English language. Granted, I have never asked for credentials, but they speak "street" English (ie aks instead of ask, lyberry instead of library). The "director" can't even really string together a grammatically correct sentence in English.
General pet peeves - The center itself is not wholly childproof. There are electric wires that kids can pull. They have a free standing 4 ft water dispenser that isn't anchored in any way. Once when I got there, they were "combing" a dog on one of the kids' activity tables. I am not sure if they were delicing the animal or why an animal is even in the space. I just kept thinking that thankfully g is not allergic to dogs.
Do they really know how to run a business? This is only their 6th month of operation and already they need to raise rates. In the letter sent home to us, the director/owner bemoaned about needing a pay increase, that it is only fair since she vacuums, wash dishes and does the laundering of the kids' bedsheets & pillows and she also indicated the need for art supplies, etc. To me, that means that this person has drastically underestimated the cost of running this business. If this is so, what is my insurance that this won't happen again in another 6 months when they will be hit by higher heating cost?

I have seen it fit to keep quiet about all these because I felt, "hey, you get what you pay for." But now that I am paying a premium, should I demand more?

So this is my question - should I stay or should I go? Should I demand more? If I do, I fear retaliation towards g. IF I go, g would have to start over and she has finally adjusted to her life and routine there. I would hate for her to have to go through the trauma again.

What would you do?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think it's okay to switch to a day care you can trust g is learning and feel g will be safe. It's better that g starts getting use to that environment now then later. She still has two more years before she can start preschool. Tutor Time is a good day care but pricy.