In-Home Daycare vs. Center
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Anonymous
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OP, it used to be that many children were in in home family child care until they went to kindergarten, and possibly they went to a half day Nursery school and the provider did drop of/pickup. That was the norm in the 80s and 90s for those who chose family childcare. However, now the norm for those who choose it, is for children to go from infancy to about 3 years old, then send their 3 yr old to a full day preschool/childcare center.
Others choose a childcare center for their infant so those are in a center from infancy until kindergarten (although not always the same one all 4 years). Still others choose a nanny or nanny share until they want their child in a group setting at 3 or 5 years old. Honestly, everyone is a stranger until you g r the to know then. Even your DH was a stranger once! Get a list of licensed family childcare providers and start calling and visiting the. Just as with everything, you'll click with some, nor others,etc. Then go visit several centers. Again, some will be ok, others you might like better, etc. Look at NACCRRA for ideas of questions to ask of family providers and childcare centers as some questions will vary depending on type of care. Good luck, this is a personal decision...ultimately YOU must be comfortable with the care you choose for your baby. Just remember, most people don't have only one childcare solution for 5 years. So choose what works now, and if it stops working you'll do something different. |
Anonymous
It's fine that you prefer a center and your reasons are totally valid, but the bolded line above is complete bullshit - look around your kid's room and you will see children with varying verbal abilities and other skills. Just like how my 2 1/2 year old who has been in a home daycare (where she gets, gasp, screen time in the form of kids music!) since she was 4 months old speaks at a 3 1/2 year old's level (per her pediatrician and my MIL who is a speech pathologist at a major university. She also knows all her letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. |
Anonymous
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I'm keeping my kid in her in-home day care until she goes to kindergarten. I have a master's in ECE, and I'm comfortable with the things she's learning/experiencing there. I love our provider and the consistency she and her assistant provide. I also have a younger child there and want to put off two drop offs/pick ups as long as possible.
OP go on tours. I was an extremely anxious FTM when we were looking for care, and was fighting with my husband tooth and nail insisting that a center was better. He convinced me to go meet our now-provider, and I immediately knew he was right. She was perfect for us. No situation is without its pros and cons. I have worked in child care in many shapes and forms for over 20 years and know that all care situations are not equal and you can't make generalizations about centers, nannies, in-homes, etc. I've seen really good things and really bad things in each. Find what works for your family! |
Anonymous
This PP is spot on. I had the same experience -- we love, love our in home provider, who came highly recommended by several people (and I called 3-4 references, spent 2 mornings in her house for observation, and she invited us to her Christmas party before my DD even started there, so we were able to meet the families). That said, we visited a couple that were awful - like toys everywhere, major chaos, and were definite big fat NOs. We visited 4 centers and I really only loved one of them - it was the only one with small rooms (6 babies to 2 providers) that didn't seem chaotic, but unfortunately had a very long wait list. Now we're looking at pre-schools and are having the same experience - we've visited 3 and only one seemed like a good fit (the others had classes that were too big, too much of a focus on learning through lessons as opposed to learning through play, etc…). It's really just a matter of finding a right fit for YOU and your child, OP. Visit several of both types. |
Anonymous
Before someone jumps all over me, yes, I forgot my closing parenthesis 
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Anonymous
Out of curiosity - how did you vet the home provider? Meaning, how did you find her and how did you determine that she was a god fit? |
Anonymous
NP. PP has the right to her beliefs about HER CHILD. The only "complete bullshit" here is your comment. |
Anonymous
I found her and vetted her through care.com and also know a neighbor who recommended her. I still believe she is a good person who made a mistake, but I'm not risking it. We are at a great center now and LOVE it. |
Anonymous
It's not "rigid" to follow the AAP recommendation/many pediatrician's recommendation of no TV until 2. It's fine if you don't follow that, but it doesn't make me "rigid" that I do--it just means I'm following good advice! |
Anonymous
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We love Bright Horizons! Toured many centers and homes and knew right away that was our place.
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Anonymous
Yep, we had a fantastic in-home and families didn't stay beyond age 3. The lady watched three kids at a time - usually started out as babies and stayed until starting preschool at 2.5 or 3. Her last few clients all brought in baby #2, and the "graduated" big sister would come back for snow days, date night babysitting, etc. |
Anonymous
| Wow, there are some angry people on here. |
Anonymous
My DD is in an in-home place that fits all of your requirements. OP, for a 21 month old I might do a center that could take her through to kindergarten. I love our in home daycare, but after about 2.5 I think my DD wil be aging out of it and I'll move her to a more preschool type environment. But our in-home daycare is run like a center, it's just a smaller operation. It's 12 kids, 3 workers, and it's the same women every day. They have a set routine and we get daily reports. My DD loves the three women who work there. The daycare part is separate from the rest of the house, has it's own kitchen and bathroom, so there's never a need for other people in the house to come through that area. |
Anonymous
| We love our center! Her teachers truly are like family to us. I even mentored one for six weeks to teach her about freelance writing, as she wants to pursue that in grad school. |
Anonymous
Hasn't the concept of needing a "curriculum" and "learning goals" pretty much debunked and actually proven detrimental to young children? I thought for early childhood, 100% play-based childcare is what is recommended which is why so many preschools are switching to Reggio Emilia, for example? |