12) Trying not to be a crazy mom... But all moms, read this!

The thought of having to put a child in daycare is easily one of the scariest thoughts in my head. Knowing everything that I have learned from this situation makes having confidence in anybody but myself incredibly difficult, but I can't wrap my kids in a bubble and bring them to work, so life must go on. I think it's important to share with you what I've learned about daycares and social services, not to make you crazy parents, but so you know what to look for and what to be aware of. I wish I had known these things.

Social Services in Washoe County has a portal where they display the social services reports from each inspection visit and also lists any complaints against providers. If you have a kiddo in daycare (licensed home or business), they will be listed, and I highly recommend that you check it out. I had known about this and had checked every one of Taylee and Weston's daycare providers who all, including Kelly, had perfect records.
It's at the bottom of this page -Child Care Inspection Portal

Daycare providers know the window, spanning a few weeks, of when their social worker is going to show up to do their bi-annual inspection. So when daycare providers say that they get surprise visits, it's more like they get a surprise visit during a three week window. It's important to be aware of what is going on for the other 46 weeks of the year. I was told by our social worker that social workers typically do not do inspections during nap time because they have to set off the smoke alarms in the house; so social workers are typically not checking where children are sleeping. I would think that that is one of the most important times to check on providers!

I found out later from the social worker that one of her coworkers used to actually take her own child to Kelly. After our situation had occurred, she told our social worker that she caught Kelly putting her daughter to sleep on a bed, and just never reported it. If only she would have spoken up! I also found multiple pictures on Kelly's Facebook account of her daycare kids sleeping on beds, one being much too young for that to have been allowed.

I have a hard time questioning other adults; I feel like they know what they should be doing and should just do it. After this experience, I will always ask the important questions especially where my child's sleeping and actually see what is being used. It's important to find someone who you trust, who runs their daycare as a business, and doesn't see it as a way to get paid to stay home. You want someone who treats each child as their top priority! We found out later from the social worker that Kelly actually had a pack n play in the garage but was just choosing not to use it. Instance number one hundred, where my thought started with If only...

Lesson #8