Four questions, not fifty
Ask: Is it licensed with New York State? How many children share the room? Who is there every day? Can I reach a person, not a form?
Large centers can be the right fit for some families. If you want a licensed house with a small group, those four answers tell you more than any brochure. In Country Club, two licensed group family day cares sit on Ohm Avenue — My Piccolo Mondo at 1466 and Maria’s Piccolo Mondo at 1601. Use them as a local example of the type, then look the license up yourself.
Tour while the children are here
A quiet empty room is a showroom. A Tuesday morning is the truth. Watch how adults speak when a block tower falls. Smell the lunch. See whether babies are held.
Ask: Who feeds the infants? What happens when a toddler bites? Can I drop in unannounced? What do you do when a child is sad at the door?
Then look it up
Search the provider on the NY OCFS child care site. Read what parents have written on Google Maps, then trust what you see with your own eyes. If a page will not give you an address and a license number, keep walking.
Questions about the Ohm Avenue homes? My Piccolo Mondo is (914) 755-2107. Maria’s house is (347) 601-6548.