I am wondering how working mom's and dad's have found the right daycare for their T1's. My daughter is 7 and I work part time. My husband is a police officer and works shift work. Right now, I work on his days off, normally 2 or 3 days a week. It is getting to the point where I need to try and find a position that is full time or somewhere close to it. When school is in, I have no worries, the school has an awesome nurse that takes care of her. I would need after school care and full time care in the summer.
How did you find daycare? a daycare willing and able to take on the huge responsibility of caring for a T1?
What kind of questions did you ask the daycare provider?
I was blessed with a step sister that cares for my daughter. She is 12 now and in middle school. So its not like she is going to a "babysitter". Her auto is the one that noticed that she was acting funny and told me to take her to the doctor. I would start by making a list of all the centers in your area and just start making the rounds to each. Take a list of questions. Ask if they have any other kids there with Type 1. What their care plan is. You might be surprised.
Home daycare providers (rather than a child care center) will probably be your best bet. I had a great babysitter when I was a diabetic kid. My mom taught her the basics and the babysitter didn't shy away from caring for a special needs child.
Just start calling and visiting. When I was a teen I worked at a parks and rec summer camp and we had kids with all sorts of medical issues. No one was turned away and as staff we did our best to take care of the kids in our charge.
I'm a parent myself now, and though my son isn't diabetic he has had eye problems that have required surgery and patching. His babysitter has a small home based daycare and she too was very helpful in dealing with my son's needs. He's since started school and had to move up to a daycare center... it's just not been as good. The home daycare provider was more loving and personal, she was like a member of our family. The daycare center has staff turnover and has a tougher time acommodating anything special.
I am also a Christian and I really prayed for good daycare for my son. My prayer has been answered and we found a WONDERFUL summer program at a private school.