I am a new provider who just recently filled all my spots. I was desperate so I kind of took what I could get. Luckily I am not having any major problems with any of my families. In the future however, I'd like to be more selective with the families that I choose to take.

I usually don't gather much from first impressions and I stink at getting a good read on people the first time I meet them. It takes about 3 or 4 times for me to interact with a person to really get a feel for what they are like. So it makes me nervous that, after a short interview, I have to be able to determine if this family (parent and child) will be a good fit for my daycare. Everyone is on their best behavior during the 30-60 minute interview - true colors show only AFTER they have already enrolled! I do have in my contract that the first two weeks of care is a trial period.

In the interview I usually ask parents about previous providers, methods of reward and discipline used at home, what they expect from me as a provider,
their child's tempermant/personalty, and child's routine at home.

Does anyone have any additional open-ended questions that I can ask parents that would help me better gauge what kind of parent/child I will be dealing with? Are there any red flags or cues to look out for that would suggest that a parent/child might not be a good fit down the line? In the 5 short months that I've been doing care, I've determined that parents who ask how 'flexible" I am on my hours usually want to drop off earlier than or pick up later than their contracted hours. I've also read before that one thing to be leery of is a parent who tries to negotiate your rates.

How do you all determine whether a family will be a good fit? How often have you had to terminate during your trial period?

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During the interview I ask for names and numbers of old providers. I ask the parents why they left those providers and then I call the providers to see if they are being honest. I also have the parent sign a release in case the old provider is hesitant to tell me anything bad! This has saved my butt so many times. Parents will tell me the hours didn't work at a daycare, so I call and the kid beat up the other kids, spit etc. Obviously I am not taking that child!

Also if a child has been to many providers I wont take them because it is unstable. Maybe the child has issues or the parents can't keep a job, either way I don't like to have high turnover as it makes my program look unstable. Parents pay attention to how often you have an opening. They don't consider you have a bad group, they consider there is something wrong with you!

Another suggestion is that I have the official interview with questions, tours ect. I then ask them to make their decision and if we both decide it may be a good fit I ask them to come back with the child durin daycare hours to see how the child reacts and interacts with other children. In my experience children are MUCH better behaved when parents are not here. So, I can see their true colors when they think mom and dad will allow them to break my rules. If they are well behaved we are good to start. If there are tons of issues, sorry it wont work out.

When I started I took the first I could. Boy was that aweful. One good thing came out of it, I have a great contract and policies no because of aweful parents! With each new crappy family, I learned how to improve my contracts!!

Good luck!

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When I 1st started out I too took who I could. Interview went well, 1st few months went well but after that was a different story. I had a basic policy which got revised within 8 months of opening. The 1st yr is when I learned the most. I do not not ask about previous providers, methods of reward and discipline used at home, what they expect from me as a provider, their child's temperament/personalty, and child's routine at home. I figure the parent will sugar coat it & their child are little angels. When I do an interview I do it after DC hours & perfer the child not be there cuz it is hard to go over my policy while keeping an eye on a child. Where I do my parent interview I do not allow the kids & I do not allow kids to have free rain of my house. I let the parent know what our schedule is here. I figure it does not matter what their discipline policy is at home I can only do so much disciplining in care (timeouts & toy timeouts) & I let the parents know that I praise the kids all threw out the day. My policy is now about 11 pages & I go over pretty much everything at the interview. I make sure to cover all money expects of the my policy. I also make a point to tell them that my policy is as long as it cuz it has all happened before & it is pretty much about common courtesy. I show them the main room that we play in, bed room, bathroom (if potty trained) & the kitchen. I let them what I supply & what they need to supply. If the child is on solid foods I let them know that if they do not like what is made then I will not make something different for them & they will need to wait till snack time & I will not let them fill up on their snack so they will eat their dinner for the parents at home. I do not give sibling discounts cuz each child takes up the same amount of space & time to care.

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That's the point I am at now! I am learning.

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I revise my contract almost every year. We do learn from each crappy family what should have been in our policy! One year I upped my bounced check fee. Last year I tightened up my sick child policy. This year I'm upping my late fees to a ridiculously high amount. I'v eonly let three families go during trial period- One for overly agressive destructive boys that I would never be able to control given our limited discipline options, and another for screaming all day crying toddler that just upped everybodys stress level and was too high maintenance for our routine. The last was a 4 yr old with significant familial problems. Mom had lost custody due to drug use, so Dad now had kids, but was "allowing " mom time w/kids when he needed a break and let her know my location & expected me to let her pick up. His background check came back w/ two DUI's also, so I just didn't want those kind of people here. The boy was not exactly fun either- so I was glad to see them go. My interview process is much more careful now- That background check keeps the real dirtbags away,( most never call back when they find out a deputy sheriff lives here) but without meeting the kids beforehand there's no way to guess. I do 2 interviews. 1st one after hours parents & kids. How they listen and allow the interview to progress and how the parents handle it gives me a clue. We go over all policy & contract issues then. Then if I really like them I invite them to come back for a short visit during the day to meet the other kids and see how the child reacts in a group.

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Caroles Daycare, how do you do a background check on the dcp? Do you have them sign a release form then pay for it?
Kiddie Care

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I have one daycare family who wanted to negotiate the rate ($25 off per week) She said she had interviewed other providers and no one compared to my program but she just could not afford $125...$100 was what she could do. I had no other bites and really needed the spot so I agreed. I have never had a problem with them. They always pay in advance with cash, abide by all policies, and always involved and volunteer to bring things for parties etc...
I LOVE this family and it worked out well.

I agree someone who tries to negotiate price could end up being an issue. But sometimes, people just want the best for their kids but cant afford the top rate. She has made up for the lower weekly pay by her involvement alone!!

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That is a great story. I too have found that some of the most giving are those who have the least.....But then, that is a life lesson I have learned....those that have the least tend to give the most.

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I agree Mac60.

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I have one family that is wonderful. I charge $75 per wk for before and after school $130 for summer vacation. Well this family only gets charged $75 during the summer as well because honestly that is what they can afford. Dad works two jobs to take care of his family, they don't need anymore stress. They are the best family ever. I get birthday flowers, mother's day gifts, christmas gifts, end of year gift, they send in treats for every occation and even just because. Every once in a while for no reason I even get a card in the mail thanking me for all I do for them. They are very appreciative. I love helping a family in need and feeling appreciated at the same time.

I have had ones in the past that just take my generousity like they are entitled to it. No thank you or anything.

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I have had families three of them now in all the yrs. that didn't even say thank you for the child's/children's christmas gifts that I got them!!! I can't believe no thank you, no card, or anything for me in return!!!!

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Thanks for the insight everyone.

Caroles Daycare, I am also curious about the background checks too. That sounds like a great idea. Do you run them on all of your families? Do they have to sign a release or do you have an inside connection?

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Yes. There is a form that they must sign- I take copy of their ID, and it costs $15 here. Your local police station can get you forms and run the checks- their fees may vary, I don't know. Because my husband is in Law Enforcement it makes us both more comfortable to know there is no "conflict of interest" issues w/ a family. We don't exclude for traffic or minor things- but any violent crime, drug related etc. Fraud or bad check writing.... Daycare families know so much about you and your home and schedule. They know if you are going out of town for a weekend etc, so we don't need people breaking in to steal for drug money lol. It pertains to boyfriends of single moms too, if they are allowed on daycare grounds. As soon as people know about that people w/ a record don't come back. People without records can still be terrible daycare parents, but at least it helps establish an expectation up front of what kind of people we want in and around our home, family and daycare

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As a provider I think this is a fabulous idea! If they have nothing to hide then it shouldn't be a problem for them, right? And like you said, it should weed certain people right away.

As a parent though, I would probably be hesitant to agree to this. I would think it's a little too invasive. I have nothing to hide but I am a private person and I would be thinking that this is more information than my provider needed to know.

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I don't run a credit check- but I do ask for references and the background check- If there's nothing on it I don't know anything I didn't know before. And since it's my home, and my children and my daycare I do have a right to know. I do my best to make people feel comfortable, and let them know I'm not concerned with speeding tickets and so on- not judging that stuff- I just really need to protect my home and family. Because I have a very distinctive last name, anyone who's had dealings with my husband will remember Deputy_______________. We don't want families he's shown up at the house 5 times on domestics, or arrested for possession, here at my house, knowing when we are home or not, or looking for an opportunity to accuse me of wrongdoing and sue us in retribution because their boyfriend, brother, good buddy got busted for meth. I just explain that it has to do with the combination of the daycare and my husbands job that makes it necessary. My law enforcement/military families like it that we are law enforcement/military, as do a few others. For folks who are uncomfortable around that, there are a large number (a majority I think) of daycares that do not do checks. I'm sure I lose a few potential clients- but really, I think the benefit outweighs the cost in our situation. I know some families have chosen us specifically because of the stricter security measures, emergency response planning/training, having a First Responder , not just First Aid/CPR certified in the house etc. It makes them feel safer- especially new parents of infants, knowing how incredibly uptight we are lol!!

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Oh goodness, I was just searching for things about interviews and found this. My husband is an asset protection agent for a major retail store. He busts a lot of people for shop lifting and some of them are none to thrilled about that. I never thought that maybe a potential client might be or know one of those people! I can't afford to run background checks on everyone I interview. Now I am all nervous

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I'm in a similar situation, I always make sure that while giving my tour I show my "Wall of Fame" (a wall where all of my families cirtificates are) and make sure to point out my fiancee's award cirtificate for working for the District Attorneys office and I've had a few than never called back lol (i don't mention that he does their I.T. work ).

I also have a bad tendency to think the best of people and so now I hold a phone interview and two physical interviews.

The phone interview is where I ask them about what they want. What their hours are, children's ages, special needs, what they expect from a DC and give my general features and benefits etc. If I can meet these goals I have them come in with their child during DC hours.

1st interview: Prospective mom and child come in when I have my other DC littles so that while I talk to mom the child can see the DC. If the DC child seems relatively shy and stays by mom or joins the group and plays well it's generally a good sign. If the child cries, is whiny, seems needy or fights with the kids it's a no go for me. This is a relatively short interview and is more like an interview for the child and a chance for me to see how the mom and child behave with each other. I answer general questions about the DC and if the mom and I are still interested I have her come back after the kids are all gone.

2nd Interview: I have the mom come back (usually just later that day) by herself and I give the grand tour and we sit down and I go through the real interview process and go through the contract and policies. I give them the packet and set a time for them to come back once all the paperwork is signed.

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