Daycare infant/caretaker ratio

Hi all,
I have been a lurker for a long time and learn lots for your postings. I'm trying to decide if I should change daycare or not after 2 weeks in the current daycare where i can watch their camera to see how the daycare is doing, and having 1 care taker/4 infants (younger than 1 yr old) and there are 8 kids in the room care by 2 adults (with substitute to relieve them for breaks.) From watching the camera, I found that the staff are quite busy with feedings/diaper change the kids. Not much time they can spend with the kids (the twins were left by themselves after feedings while the staff care for other infants), which is understandable by the work load they have. I can see that the staff do the best they can.
Our twins are going to be 5 months old this weekend. I think that they are coming to the curious stage when they interact with adult (they are talking lots at home with us and starting to touch our faces , and one just rolled over this week.) I hate to see that they donot get sufficient adult interaction during the day as we are at work. On the other hand, they till drink 3-4 bottles when they are at the daycare, and having 2-3 naps a day, and the daycare center does have good web review and it is a big (national) daycare center having classes to pre-K.
I found http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/choosing-a-daycare-center.htm listed 1:3 as recommended caretaker/infant ratio. Is that what you have at your daycare? am I expecting too much as a new parents? or should i stick it out til they turn 1 yr old and able to get the 1/4 toddler care ratio?
Thanks in advance for giving your opinions on this.

 

By state law (I'm in OH) our daycare can have a 5:1 infant ratio and 6:1 toddler ratio. I thought it was a lot but my boys have blossomed there!! As they learn to sit up and play it will be easier for the staff to sit them to play and still be able to interact and talk with them while they feed/diaper other babies. Not sure about your daycare but ours try to "schedule" all the feedings/diapers/naps at the same time so they are playing with the babies at the same time

 

Ours was 1:4. Honestly, I think your daycare sounds great. Keep in mind that independent play and exploration is important. You don't want to look for whether they are interacting with adults all day--just whether there is meaningful interaction with adults. As time goes by, look for bonding with providers. Your daycare sounds a lot like mine--national center, videos, etc.--and my kids have blossomed. Their development has been really amazing to me. I'd give it some time. The ratio is better than required, and the class size is small, which is great. We looked at one center with an okay ratio but a huge infant class, and it really put me off.

 

We have 1:3 for infants, per state law. Additional teachers come in the room for mealtime. Something to think about is whether the adults are interacting with the kids while changing diapers, feeding bottles, putting them to sleep--that counts as interactive time too.

For your peace of mind, why not take a look at other daycares so you have a sense of what else is out there? You may decide you like this one best or you may find something you like better--looking at a bunch of daycares allowed me to really know how great ours is in comparison.

 

Our daycare has 2 teachers for 10 kids in the infant room, although there is also a floater who is in there most of the day, which brings it up to 3 teachers. My oldest went through their program from 12 weeks of age until now and he has thrived. Particularly as kids get older (over 6 months), I think they do great with having time to explore and play on their own, while knowing that an adult is always nearby if they need/want them. I personally think that the ratio doesn't tell you everything about a daycare - you have to look at staff turn over, the morale of the staff, and the support from the director. Does it feel cold and sterile with lots of turn over and disgruntled employees, or warm and loving with happy employees who stay forever? Good luck!