Reviews of Preschools:

Best Daycare Centers for Infants

I am looking for recommendations on the best daycare centers (and the ones to avoid), that accept infants. My baby will be 4 months old when I go back to work, part-time. I have read numerous posts about various centers but they are a bit outdated. Positive and negative feedback would be greatly appreciated! I stayed home with my first child and am nervous about placing baby in a formal daycare, but finances may require it. Thanks in advance for your help. working mom

Other advice:
I think searching for a day care is such a personal thing. I recommend visiting a couple first, and not wait for the recommendations. I went to one day care that takes infants that got plenty of great reviews on the UC Berkeley Parents website, but after visiting the place there was no way I would place my child there. Things that may be important to you might not be important to others, and things that bother others might not bother you. Trust your instincts, ask a lot of questions, and as awkward as it might feel, just hang out for a good long while in the infant room and observe. Bananas has some publications that you can use as guidelines for what to look for and ask. They can also give you a list of day care centers that take infants. There are plenty of home care providers that take infants, but as far as day care centers, there are only SEVEN in Berekeley and none in Albany. I don't know how many there are in Oakland, as we decided that was too far for us. So even if you get great recommendations now, you will probably by suprised by the waiting lists at most centers, and part-time is even harder to get. (This isn't the case I found with home care providers.) So if it's a day care center you want (and not a home care provider), then I suggest getting on the phone now and start doing site visits. Even if there is a waiting list there is still the chance you can get in to a center. Keep in mind that you will have to pay an application fee to even get on the waiting list. One place I called at the Aquatic Center said that they wouldn't even give me a tour until I had filled out an application and paid the fee, as their waiting list was so long for infants (1 1/2yrs long!). Other places I had to get on the waiting list just for a tour. But don't get discouraged - just start making the phone calls and something will fall into place. anon