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Why choose Mom Trusted
child care centers
and preschools
in Irvine?

Looking for a way to make finding a childcare provider easier? Looking for reviews you can trust and information at your fingertips? Mom Trusted is the best place to go to find childcare centers and preschool. Here are a few ways we making finding childcare easier for you:

Mom Trusted has the best information on the web
Mom Trusted compiles a long list of daycare facilities and preschools near you. Then, you can find helpful information about each care center and even incorporates reviews by parents just like you.

Find any daycare near you
We’re here to make your life easier. We want to make sure driving to and from your childcare center is as convenient as possible. That’s why we offer you a variety of childcare options as close to your home as possible.

We like to get personal
Mom Trusted offers personal recommendations from friends and other parents you know. Simply connect your account on Mom Trusted to your Facebook account and we’ll show you providers that your friends recommend.

It’s all in the details
We know that the details matter. That’s why we dig deep when offering you daycare and preschool options. Mom Trusted brings you the basic info like the distance from your home, hours of operation, child ages, and directions to each choice. But we also like to get into the philosophy behind the early education at each care center. Check out the day care profiles for the most in-depth information you can find about preschools and child care centers on the web!

Schedule a tour or request info packets
You can also use Mom Trusted to schedule a tour of the preschools or childcare providers you’re considering. Simply choose the date and time that works best for you. We don’t want you to commit until you’ve seen it for yourself. You can also request an info packet if you’d ever like access to more information.

What are the best
preschool interview questions to ask?

When choosing a preschool, you want to take into account more than the basics like location and hours. Preschool is the stepping stone to your child’s educational career. After you’ve narrowed down your options using Mom Trusted’s search tool, schedule a tour of the potential preschools. You want to keep an eye out for atmosphere and structure, but also go with your gut. How do you feel when you’re there? In addition to the questions listed above, here are a few important questions to ask the preschool director when you’re trying to make the big decision:

Is it a half or full day preschool?
If it is a half-day program, will that interfere with your job? Some preschools offer a built in care option so even half-day preschool programs work for fulltime working parents. Ask for the details and consider your options. Do you absolutely need a full day preschool program or can you take your child to childcare on your lunch break? Can you hire a nanny to watch he or she the second half of the day?

Can you give me some examples of the kinds of activities you do with the kids?
Do the providers have a long list of engaging and educational crafts, songs and games that they offer? If so, this is probably a great preschool pick! What curriculum are you using for letters and numbers? What is your teaching philosophy? These kinds of questions will give you a good idea if the preschool fits with your parenting style.

Is there a waiting list?
Preschools are becoming more and more competitive these days. They fill up quickly. Start shopping early and, if the one you have your heart set on is already full, ask if there’s a waiting list you can put your name on.

How to find childcare, the best preschools, or
nannies & babysitters in Irvine.

Mom Trusted is here to help you find the best preschools, nannies and babysitters around. We consider ratings, distance and other details to make sure you get exactly what you’re looking for. Here’s a simple guide to help you through the search process and help you find preschools, daycares, nannies and babysitters that are the perfect fit for your family.

Start with your zip code.
Simply fill in your zip code so we can start giving you local childcare options.

Select your preferences.
Filter your results so we can give you exactly what you’re looking for. Are you interested in a babysitter or nanny? A preschool or a daycare center? Do you mind an in-home child care service? Simply check any options you’d be open to and start narrowing down your options.

Check out the list.
Scroll down below the map and see a more detailed list. Here, you can sort by all local childcare, those local daycare centers trusted by your friends, or all the child care providers your friends trust nationwide. Be sure to click “save” on the options you’re interested in to revisit later.

Click on each listing.
Dig even deeper by clicking on each daycare listing. Babysitter or nanny listings offer details about their availability, range of ages and number of children they’re willing to work with. Preschool listings also offer basic info, in addition to focusing on teaching philosophies.

Request more information, schedule a tour or give them a call.
After you’ve zoned in a on a few top day care choices, feel free to schedule a visit at the best local preschools. You can also request an info packet or call to set up an interview with a babysitter or nanny.

What types
of Child Care
are available?

At Mom Trusted, we offer a wide variety of types of childcare to choose from. We’re here to help you find the best fit for your family. Here’s a little more info on the first step to finding the perfect daycare match for your child:

Child Care Center
Childcare centers are usually larger chains geared toward children of all ages. There are many variations some of which include early education curriculum while others are strickly care centers. The term “child care” is also occasionally used to describe an overarching theme of the following terms.

Daycare
Daycare is a place where parents can drop their children off to learn, have fun, and be supervised while they head to work or about other tasks. Daycares often offer care to a wide variety of ages and are interested in teaching children basic skills. Those that are focused on teaching, often stick to a one teaching philosophy.

Preschool
Preschool programs’ main intention is education. With early education as a goal, preschools take on various early learning philosophies. Some start accepting children at age two and a half, but many parents wait to send their children to preschool until they’re three or four years old.

In-Home Family Daycare
Taking advantage of in-home family daycare can often save money. Because these childcare services are run out of the care takers’ homes, they tend to cost less and be smaller in size, which means more one-on-one time for your little one.

A Nanny
Nannies are a great option for parents looking for part or fulltime care at their own homes. Nannies come to watch your children on a regular basis and become part of your child’s daily routine.

A Babysitter
Babysitters are great options for a night out or a few hours during the day. Babysitters don’t typically come as often nannies and they are also generally less expensive.

What are the best
child care interview
questions to ask?

When considering childcare and daycare centers, the options can be overwhelming. There are different locations, teaching philosophies, and costs to decide upon. After you’ve visited Mom Trusted to help you narrow down your top child care options, schedule tours to your favorites. When you go to check them out, here are the best childcare interview questions to ask:

What daycare certifications or child care licenses does your care center have?
Many states require childcare providers to pass licensing tests involving background and care standards. In addition to official licensing, what else are they trained in? Make sure the center’s workers are CPA certified with basic first aid skills.

What is your teacher to child ratio?
A general rule of thumb: the lower childcare ratio, the better. The more teachers per children, the safer the environment and the more engaged the learning. For little ones under two years old, a 1:4 teacher to child ratio is considered good. For older children, a 1:12 ratio is more normal, but lower is always better.

How does naptime work?
What ages to kids still get naptime? How is it handled? Can you bring your own lovie (blanket or stuffed animal) to send along for your child’s nap?

What is your policy on sick children?
Is the center so strict that every time they hear a sniffle, they send kids home? If so, how will this affect your job or other obligations? Are they too laidback about their illness policy and there are a bunch of sick kids running around, creating a germy environment? Make sure your child care center has solid but reasonable policies for sickness in the day care.

What are the ages of the other kids?
Most childcare and daycare centers have pretty concrete age ranges. Make sure, not only that your child fits into the range, but that there are other children their age too. Interacting with kids of similar ages is an important step in learning social skills and daycare is a great place to do it!

What about meal and snack times?
Do you need to pack a lunch or is lunch provided? What kinds of food and snacks are served? Do they have sample menus you can look at? Are food allergies taken into account? For infants, do they heat up breast milk or do you have to formula?

How long have the staff members been with the childcare center?
A low turnover rate means the staff members love their jobs. Happy workers mean more engaged, creative activities and a more positive atmosphere over all. Be sure to pay attention to how the caregivers talk to the children. Do they have patience with them? Are they trying to understand them? Are they getting down on the children’s level to communicate with them?

What are the best
babysitter or nanny interview questions to ask?

Asking the right questions is essential when hunting for a babysitter or nanny. After all, you will have to trust them with your child. Not only do you want to ensure that your little one is safe, but you want to make sure that they’re going to have a good time with their care provider. Mom Trusted put together a list of the most important and best babysitter or nanny interview questions to ask:

What’s your experience with children?
Make sure your nanny or babysitter-to-be has plenty of experience with children. Maybe they haven’t babysat before, but have they worked as a camp counselor or a teacher’s aide? In addition to having experience, ask about the ages they have worked with before. Even if they spent three summers at a children’s camp, working with 10-year-olds is a lot different than caring for an infant.

Are you CPR certified and do you know basic first aid?
It’s important to know if the candidate will be able to keep your child safe in an emergency or trying situation. You can also ask if they’ve ever found themselves in a situation at a previous position where they had to use some of those skills.

What do you like most about being a babysitter or nanny?
It’s valuable to know why they’re interested in watching your child. Do they love kids? Do they have their own little brothers or sisters? If their answer is centered around their paycheck, they probably aren’t your best pick.

How will you handle transportation?
Does the candidate have a car? Will they use public transportation? Or do they have to rely on Mom or Dad for rides? If they do have a car, do they feel comfortable driving your kids? What is their driving record? Do they know (and have them demonstrate for you) how to properly install a seatbelt and buckle a child into it?

Situational Questions
Ask your potential nanny or babysitter a few situational questions. These will help get an idea of how she handles various discipline issues, safety concerns and timing issues. Here are a few examples:

  • What would you do if our child refused to go to bed?
  • What would you do if he or she were injured?
  • If we said we’d be home at 10:00 p.m. but still haven’t arrived by 10:15 p.m., what would you do?
Choosing Quality Child Care
Providers-map-teacher

Choosing quality childcare is tough, especially when Mom Trusted brings you so many great options to choose from, but we’re also here to help you weed through them all to find the perfect fit for your family. Here are a few tips to help you make your decision: Decide on the type of childcare you’d like.

What type of care is your family interested in? Do you want to consider a preschool or child care center with an educational philosophy? Are you more interested in a larger daycare center or are you considering in-home childcare? Are you simply looking for help a few days each week? Maybe a nanny would work out best for your family. Even less frequently than that? Go with a babysitter. Consider teaching philosophies.

If you’re after early education in a childcare center or daycare, take teaching philosophies into account. At Mom Trusted, we break down each center’s philosophy for you. Simply click on the “teaching philosophy” tab in the child care center’s profile and read up on their teaching style.

Connect your Mom Trusted account to your Facebook account. By connecting the two, we can tell you which preschools, babysitters, nannies and daycare centers your friends recommend. Tour your top choices.

The best way to get to know a daycare, preschool or childcare center is to go see it with your own eyes. That way you can get a good feel and ask the staff and teachers anything you’d like. Be sure to bring your child with too so that you can see how they react to the new places. But don’t be worried if they seem nervous. Often the idea of leaving Mom and Dad can be scary, but it’s still a good idea to let your little ones have a small say in the place they’ll spend their days.

What to ask
your personal
recommendations
about their experiences
with local preschool
or child care centers

When selecting a preschool or childcare center, you want to dig up as much information as possible. This will help you make sure it’s a good fit for your child and a safe, educational, fun place to be. Mom Trusted makes finding friends-in-the-know easy. All you have to do is connect your Facebook account to your secure Mom Trusted login and let us provide daycare and childcare recommendations based on your own connections. After all, who do you trust more than your friends? Here are some questions to ask them that will help you get the answers you need to make your decision:

What do you think of the staff?

How do you feel about the types of activities the childcare facility provides?

What do you like best about the provider?

What would you change or do differently than this center?

How does the provider or staff handle stressful situations?

What does your child think about the program? Are the happy at the end of the day? Do they dread it every morning?

Popular services
offered by child care providers
on Mom Trusted
  • extended hours
  • infant childcare
  • young fives program
  • summer camp
  • Montessori
  • gymnastics
  • bilingual preschool
  • outdoor play
  • field trips
  • special needs child care
  • child care voucher program
  • child care financial assistance
  • preschool curriculum
  • 24 hour childcare
  • drop in childcare
  • weekend childcare
  • sick childcare
  • after school care
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