Ben & I had to make a rather monumental decision this week. You see, Caitlin's babysitter is taking a two week vacation starting August 1st thru the 15th leaving us with no one to watch our little girl. We tried to call in favors with family members, called on a previous teenage sitter, etc. but no one could relieve us. Finally, Ben got the name of someone from his boss who would have a full time opening in August. As much as we didn't want to change day care providers, we'd had some issues with the current sitter--she took a lot of days off or closed early and she doesn't do much with the kids. Ben & I agreed that maybe it was time to find someone who would be more reliable and who would do fun things with Caitie.
So, we called Miss Mousey's House and agreed to meet with the owner/operator on Thursday. Caitlin made herself at home with the dress up clothes the moment we walked in the door. Being the careful parents that we are, we asked all of the right questions and were very impressed with the answers we received from Miss Mousey (not her real name).
Here's a breakdown of the difference between Miss Mousey's House & "Old Provider"---
Miss Mousey's House:
- Licensed provider
- Early Childhood degree
- Activities for kids away from site (library story times, gymnastics, etc.)
- State certified preschool program
- Hardly any days off
- No problem keeping Caitlin late, if necessary
- Caitlin starts at the "toddler" rate
"Old Provider":
- Licensed provider
- Kids restricted to home and backyard
- No preschool program at the moment
- Takes days off with little/no notice & long vacations
- Charges if 5 mins late, will not keep past 5:30
- Not very adaptable to schedule changes
After making the decision that we would switch providers, we knew we had to call our current provider and give her the required notice. We called her last night and boy, did she ever start reading us the riot act. We have to give her 3 weeks paid notice that we're terminating our contract. So, on top of paying for Miss Mousey's house, we will have to shell out another $250+! That's over $700 worth of day care for August. Holy smokes! Somehow, we'll figure out a way to afford it because we really think that Miss Mousey will be a better choice for Caitie in the long run. Of course, we're nervous like any parent would be having to make this kind of decision. All we can do is hope & pray.
(Thanks to: http://www.cybertales.co.uk/Molly%20Mouse%20pics/Mouse%201.jpg for the picture!)
2 comments:
You guys are doing the right thing. It sounds like Catie will be happy and engaged in fun and learning at Miss Mousey's. I'm sorry to hear about the 3 weeks paid bit. Yuck! Is it in her contract? She sounds pretty annoying!!! Childcare is such an important and difficult thing. I've had trouble before with a child care provider who never left her chair to pick up babies or play with children in the nursery at my community center. Noah was always moved from car seat to stroller to swing and back, even when crying! I stopped taking him there. The point is, is that you and Ben are right and I think this is an excellent decision! Check out your contract with the old provider, that just doesn't sound too fair.
Well, we actually decided to stay with her current sitter for now. We were able to find someone to take Caitlin for the two weeks while Hazel is on vacation. We went to talk with Hazel today and saw Caitlin interacting with her, we just couldn't pull her away from a loving care-giver just yet. We will probably sent her to Miss Mousey's House for preschool.
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