While many parents have a go-to babysitter to call when they need someone to watch their children, sitters are usually available only during the evenings or weekends. So what other child care options are available for when you can’t afford to hire a full-time nanny, use a regular daycare service, or find an all-day babysitter available during the weekday? Many stay at home parents occasionally need day time care for errands. A perfect solution for parents is a drop-in daycare.

The idea of a drop-in daycare is to bring your child to a regular, full-service daycare centre and pay a “day rate” as needed. Unfortunately, not all daycare centres offer drop-in services. Luckily, Little Angels is an Airdrie daycare that offers not only daycare, out of school care, and preschool/kindergarten programing, but also a drop-in daycare service, all at affordable rates.

You may be nervous at the idea of using a drop-in daycare service at first, but here’s some insight and a few tips on how to use drop-in daycare successfully:

• The first and most important step is to find a reputable childcare centre. By simply Google searching “drop-in daycare”, you can easily find a few options in your area. For best results, it’s good to evaluate and compare a couple of options as well as research them before deciding on one. We recommend looking at each centre’s website to check their credibility, as well as see what services they offer to best suit your needs. Additionally, it’s important to check their Facebook, Google, Yelp!, or any other online pages for reviews to read about other families’ experiences. Word-of-mouth is also a powerful tool, it’s always helpful to also ask other parents why they recommend or don’t recommend a daycare.

• Check the centre’s availability. A crucial part of choosing a drop-in centre is finding one that works with your schedule needs. Ensure that the hours of operation for the centre you are looking at matches the hours you need childcare for. This may sound simple enough, but if you are a parent who often works overtime or a schedule different from a usual 9-5, it’s good to check with the centre to see if they offer flexible/later hours.

• Likewise, ease of booking can be super beneficial to parents who have sporadic schedules. Some daycares may use online booking or similar software. If your day-to-day often leaves you needing to find a spot at the drop of a dime, you may want to consider a daycare that offers online booking or at least has a good response time.

• If you have a child who has never been to daycare and are apprehensive about leaving them in a new and unknown environment, consider scheduling a visit! Not only are you able to tour the space, you then have the opportunity to bring your child with you to see how they react to a new environment before committing to send them there for the day. Although it’s not always possible to drop-in and check out a daycare without scheduling a visit, we highly recommend you do schedule a visit or book a tour if possible.

• Be prepared and have a checklist for when you visit the centre. The main things you should look for is that the centre has a warm, safe, and clean environment with experienced staff who are happy with their jobs. As children need consistency and to form strong relationships with their caregivers, it’s important to find a centre where teachers don’t just come and go.

• Even if you don’t plan on using a drop-in service anytime soon, it’s good to make an effort to visit a centre you might use just in case. This way, if something does come up you’ll feel comfortable with, and know what to expect of the centre.  

When it comes down to choosing a drop-in daycare service that’s suitable for both you and your child, the most vital thing above all is to trust your gut. If you find that a centre doesn’t meet your standards or needs, it’s okay to look for somewhere else. Your child’s well-being should always be a priority when looking for childcare services.

We know how difficult it can be to find a reliable and professional drop-in/daycare service. That’s why we hope our tips and recommendations from this post are useful for you. As a top-rated Airdrie drop-in daycare, Little Angels offers amazing childcare through qualified and compassionate staff, in a safe, play based and nurturing environment that promotes holistic growth. We are flexible daycare, that’s a great option for parents who have unpredictable schedules, or even stay-at-home parents who sometimes need to run errands, or for when emergencies come up. Our daycare hours are generally from 6am-6pm, but are open for your convenience. To find out more about Little Angels, schedule a visit or book a tour with us today!