In-home day care vs. child care centers
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Anonymous
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We've just started looking at child care centers.
I am wondering what the advantages of home day care centers are compared to the chain child day care centers. The obvious one is that home day cares have fewer childern, but then child day care centers don't call in sick. How did you decide which one to choose for your infant (5 months)? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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We haven't started yet so can't speak to whether we made the right decision, but some differences I found (which can pretty much all be pros or cons depending on your specific situation):
Home-based: - Fewer children overall - Higher staff to children ratio - Mixed age - Cheaper - Possibility of sick days - Longer clustered vacation days (this varies by provider, but they tended to close for a week or two at a time versus the center which closes for long weekends for professional development days several times a year---about the same number of days total, though there are no sick days for centers and there are for most home-based) - Openings tend to be clustered in the late summer/early fall (big con for us) - Openings not always known in advance; few had formal wait lists (can be pro or con) - Little turnover of staff since most are family-based businesses Center: - More expensive - More children overall, but divided into rooms by age - Better staff to children ratio for infants (about the same for older children, at least where we are---3:1 for babies, 4:1 for toddlers/2s, 6:1 for preschool whereas we didn't find any home-based care that were less than 4:1 and most were slightly more than that) - Longer waiting lists, but more openings over the course of the year - Turnover varied by center---we steered clear of those where teachers were very new - No sick days - Professional development days, usually clustered with holiday weekends, to plan around (but no formal vacation closure) We opted to pay more for the certainty of the center (both the place once we got off the waiting list and the overall certainty of no sick days, etc.) but the tradeoff is that our son will be in a room with many more infants (max 12 I think, and they say most days it is more like 7-8 because of part-time schedules but we'll see) whereas in most of the home-based daycares, he would have been one of two infants with 3-6 older children. One thing we do like about the center is that it has a monthly parental involvement requirement so we're looking forward to meeting the parents of our son's classmates and hopefully fostering some friendships that way---that wasn't a deciding factor at all (we didn't even think about it till afterwards) but is a nice plus since he would only have had one playmate his age in the home-based setting, so the odds of happening to hit it off with the one other family might have been slimmer. I think there are pros and cons to each, and our approach is to try out the center we picked and see how we like it after a few months. Hope that helps! |
Anonymous
| We have always gone with a center. Two pros for centers that I didn't see in your list: a center has more of a curriculum. This becomes more important as the child gets older so this might be something to think about for the long term. In a center a child is unlikely to be alone with just a single caregiver at a center (decreases possibility of abuse). |
Anonymous
| I went with a home day care from the time my child was 3 months until she turned 2. When she turned 2 I enrolled her in a center because I felt that it was more structured and had a "school curriculum" which will prepare her for when she does enter public school. I felt that the in-home is more warming and loving and personal unlike a center when they are that young. The price was a big difference going from one to the other and I fell like a child really doesn't need center base care until it's time for them to start learning. They should learn from day 1, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. One more point is that they also need to be around others in their age group and home daycare don't seem to offer that as much. |
Anonymous
I disagree on both points-I have a wonderful curriculum and only care for up to 6 children. They have tons of opportunity for individualized help with whatever we happen to be working on. If you choose the right in home provider there should never be fear of abuse, that's ridiculous. Another thing-there is NO staff turnover in a small in home daycare such as mine, I am the only person caring for the children allowing them to bond and be comfortable with one constant caregiver. In most instances I become extended family attending birthdays, school plays and performances and even eventually graduations long after children age out of care. My daughter worked at a center for a short period of time, and was extremely unhappy stating "mom they don't LOVE the kids like you do they just deal with them until the parents come back" "it's ridiculous the staff turnover they have here, the pay is too low to keep anyone who should really be here". I have averaged one unplanned closure per year due to illness in my several years as a licensed provider. Not all in home daycares are the same just as in home and center care differ-go with your gut and references as well as licensing history... |
Anonymous
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We started at a small home center in NC. The woman was preemie certified, so I was very comfortable with her. It was also small town, so she was well known as a great provider.
We moved to NoVa, and at the same time, there was a very sad story of an in-home daycare Richmond (I think) where the provider inadvertantly killed a small child. It was completely accidental, but it would not have happened in a center. Don't get me wrong - things can happen in a center to - but having this story fresh on my mind, I decided on small center close to our house. It was family run - a woman, with 2 elementary aged children herself, and her two parents, and people they had met through church. There was only 5 infant/toddlers, I'm not sure how many older children but not many. I was extremely happy there. Small like an in-home center, but an actual daycare that I didn't need to worry about closing for a week or two or the sole provider being sick. We moved again, and I chose a place close to work this time. Its huge. Camera's everywhere. I don't need to wonder or worry about neglect or abuse or if a caregiver gets sick. That said, there are negatives to a huge one. Even though the individual clasrooms are small (9 infants in a room, maximum, with 2-3 providers) there is a greater chance of illness getting spread just because of the sheer size of the center. By far, my favorite was the small center. |
Anonymous
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I started DC1 at an in-home provider. I loved the idea of the personal attention and home environment. While my provider had communication issues (not language, just lack of data) I did like the intimate environment. On the down side, there may not be as much structure to the day and those official documents/communications can be rather relaxed. There's always the issue of back up if they get sick as well.
At 18 mos, I moved DC1 to a daycare center, thinking the exposure to more children, more speaking children, would be good. It was good and bad. I loved the daysheets with tidbits, I loved the artwork, and I loved the "fun" learning environment. And then teachers in the classrooms started changing so just when my child would get used to someone, they moved to another room. Then the Director changed (3 times in 18 mos,) then every single time I needed them to put some saline in his nose I would have to fill out a medical form. Oh, then the lice outbreak followed by pink eye, followed by H1N1 and so on. To suit the needs of the class, they wanted to move DC1 up to the 3s room because he was physically too much for the 2s room (or they needed space in the 2s room) and the transition was NOT handled well at all. I was on bedrest, he started inhaled steroids, and a room change - of course he acted out. They handled the situation horribly, communicated poorly (new Director again who didn't know jack) and basically gave me an ultimatum regarding his behavior without even consulting their behavioral specialist. After the horrid experience above, we moved DC1 back to an in-home daycare a month before DC2 was born. Within 2 wks he had someone helping him focus so much he was starting to write letters and enjoy books. DC2 is at the same place and they are together during the day. I love this about in-home providers. I feel the nurturing environment has really fostered their relationship. She is taking a very Montessori approach with DC1 and he has learned so much. He surprises me daily. |
Anonymous
| I like centers because of the multiple caregivers, the accreditation and training of the teachers, emergency plan, extras like professional music teachers etc. I am, however, the sort of person who likes a formal relationship. I have known people who have loved home centers, and, most importantly, I have one colleague who found that the home center setting his daughter loved didn't work for his younger son. The previous post may indicate that fit is important as the baby gets older. |
Anonymous
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For kids under age 3, I highly recommend a home daycare. We started by looking at center-based daycares, but ended up in a home daycare. Home daycares are much more personal, caregivers likely more educated, much smaller group of kids, mixed ages so more family-like, and kids can stay with the same caregiver for potentially 4 or 5 years. So consistency in care.
I'm sure not all home daycares are alike. We just feel so fortunate to have found a great one, nurturing and caring, but structured with a curriculum, and family-like. We felt instantly comfortable with the caregivers and felt confident and secure in leaving our child with her. Not at all how I felt with the centers. Visiting centers, I found noise, chaos (in some), uneducated caregivers, impersonal approach, tight spaces and crowding, unappealing space (lack of light), etc. Very little appealing (and I looked at 20+ and actually tried my infant out in two of them). Once your child reaches 3, you may find a preschool to be more appealing (even if the home daycare has a pre-K currciulum). I moved my child at that age to expose her to more kids her own age and I like the extra-curricular offerings. But I think she'd have been fine and well prepared for K even if I had left her in the home daycare for 2 more years. |
Anonymous
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"Once your child reaches 3, you may find a preschool to be more appealing (even if the home daycare has a pre-K currciulum). I moved my child at that age to expose her to more kids her own age and I like the extra-curricular offerings. But I think she'd have been fine and well prepared for K even if I had left her in the home daycare for 2 more years"
Just curious as to why preschool would be more appealing? Honestly....really wondering. I am an in home provider who does preschool and yes, I have had parents move kids from time to time at 3 or 4 (I provide care through K) because the "preschool" had bells and whistles. It also had a way higher price tag. Then I have those who stay through K, and I have never ever had a child go into K not ready for it, with the exception of one child and the reason for not being ready was social not academic (picture a 4 yr old with a sippy cup who called it a ba ba, ya I tried sigh) I actually have one who is "bored" in K and may be moved to first grade because he "knows all this stuff........" so, just curious why someone would want to pay more and move their child to a new environment after being in a loving small group for years? |
Anonymous
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I think it depends on the particular center or the in-home daycare. There are good and bad at both.
We had a horrible experience with our first child at an in-home daycare that started out fine when DC was an infant, but where they could not handle normal toddler behaviors (biting, hitting) and, although she said she did a curriculum, actually sat the older kids in front of the tv all day. Our kids are now in a center where we have had a much happier experience. Our second has been there since 3.5 months and we've been very happy with the caregivers. All this said, I am absolutely positive there are some great in-home day cares out there. |
Anonymous
Does your facility have children of mixed ages? We are with a home provider and I love that my infant is around some older children. But, by the time he reaches 2.5-3, I'm pretty sure we would prefer him to be around children his own age. I think that's part of the 'structured environment' perception that centers/preschools have over home daycares. |
Anonymous
This makes sense, the wanting them in their age group......something I had not thought about I guess because in my small home daycare the kids are the same age for the most part. I usually have kids long term thus kids "age out" at the same time and it seems I start a new group who are mostly the same age. Right now they are 4 and 5......and have all been here a minimum of 3 years together. I usually enroll toddlers, the last infant I enrolled was 3 mos and he is now 4 it's so great to watch them all grow up together and head to K. On a side note it's really funny how I usually have them in groups of either boys or girls.......last round it was all girls this one I have ALL boys lol. |
Anonymous
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I honestly only looked at in-home daycares and that decision was mostly due to cost. I just could stomach spending 1500+ a month on daycare and I was so behind in looking that I knew I would never even get off a wait list.. That said we loved our home daycare. I liked that my son was the only infant there. I really like the mixed ages. I felt they were more flexible in terms of his napping schedule. She did take 1 week of vacation a year but always told us well in advance so we could book our own vacation around that time. She also had an assistant and an older daughter that helped her if she was sick (which she never was.) Oh and she was opened even on snow days because her commute was just down stairs. That was a huge plus for us. Centers tend to close more due to snow.
As far as curriculum and such... I don't now why an infant would possibly need a curriculum. When our son turned 2 we moved him to a preschool/daycare for ages 2-5. Which i guess I can see as a con because it involves transitioning to a new place. |
Anonymous
This is us exactly. |