In-home daycare?
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Anonymous
| I'm expecting with my first and exploring childcare options for my son starting at 3.5-4 months. I love the convenience that a nanny would provide (no drop off/pick up to worry about, no bags to pack, etc.), but the price tag is tough to stomach. (A nanny share might be an option, but I do think you lose a bit of convenience.) I've been searching larger daycare facilities, but am also curious about in-home daycare, as there are a couple near our house in Falls Church (close to Haycock Elementary). For some reason, I'm a little weary about in-home daycare, but I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it’s the lack of higher oversight combined with my perception of not great ratios/less individual attention. But I also don’t know that any of that is true, and maybe I’d actually love it. Has anyone explored in-home daycare and made the decision to go or not go that route? What should I be considering/asking? I know some are smaller and only have a few kids with one caregiver and others are larger and have multiple caregivers, and there are probably pros/cons to both. Thanks for any thoughts! |
Anonymous
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After spending a gazillion dollars at Bright Horizons to have an infant and a toddler there at the same time, I put my youngest in an in home daycare when he was 1 and my older son started preschool.
I think a small in-home is the best of everything. The personalization of a nanny but the socialization of daycare. The small feel of a nanny share, but the business relationship of daycare - you don’t have to coordinate with another family or negotiate pay and raises. You don’t have to host, but your kid has a home like environment. I wish I had known and done it earlier. That said, as a first time mom I liked Bright Horizons because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. As a second time mom I was better at articulating my baby’s needs and advocating for the nap or meal schedule we preferred. |
Anonymous
| It depends entirely on the in-home daycare. Some are like wonderful loving nanny shares. Others have issues. I'd look around and interview and see what you can find. |
Anonymous
I had similar, I guess I’d call it concerns as you but we ended up going with an in-home that came highly recommended by multiple families. We love it, it’s truly the best of both worlds. I would encourage you to ask around to see if you can talk to anyone who currently has their kids in one near you. |
Anonymous
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There are good and bad inhomes. We have an excellent inhome (and by excellent I don't mean expensive or with fancy toys)
-both my kids are together like they would be if I were a SAHM. They are best friends because of this -my kids learn to share and take care of kids of all ages. It feel healthier to me to have babies in the class with my toddlers. They understood babies and are more caring towards them. Versus a class of all 3 year olds. -never closes on snow days. If you can make it there, she's open -Our kids LOVE her and she's been with them since they were 12 weeks old. They don't have to change classes every year like at a daycare. Some cons are the holiday schedules (she gets 3 weeks a year). DH and I easily take off the same days as the daycare provider and our parents are in town over Christmas as well to watch kids. We've also had my parents come visit during her one week summer vacation too. There's always the option of a "backup daycare" that we pay $50 a day to take our kids to when she's closed, but we've only done that once. |
Anonymous
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I loved our in home! The varied age group was great and helped convince my reluctant baby to crawl. I think one on one attention actually hurts babies - they need some space and time to just figure things out by flopping in the floor! Ask an OT - they will strongly agree. The ratios in Maryland were still small, and the in home would often not be completely full like a center anyway.
We moved to a preschool around age three, but we just loved it. |
Anonymous
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We are at our second in-home right now. DD started at the first at 4 months, and it was a wonderful warm place right in my neighborhood. The providers loved her and the place was bright, clean and well run with fresh home-cooked meals. And so much more affordable than any of the centers we looked at. I could also go in to nurse on my breaks during telework days. She was also open during most of holidays like Columbus Day. The provider decided to move and we found another great one last summer. The new one is not as warm and fuzzy but it’s again very well-run and DD is thriving.
The only negative for us in the new place is they are closed for almost 4 weeks over summer and winter breaks. It’s a little harder to get backup care during this pandemic. |
Anonymous
| In-home was amazing for us BUT you have to do your due diligence. We found a wonderful SAHM who watched her child and only two others sooo 1:3 ratio. It was basically like this lovely woman had three kids instead of one. We ended up moving and I decided to stay home, but it could not have been a better setup. |
Anonymous
| In home is wonderful! My son was in one until he was 2 and I loved every minute. It was like he had a third grandmother who cooked him nourishing homemade food every day. |
Anonymous
| I'm the original poster, and just wanted to thank everyone for this feedback. It is so helpful! |
Anonymous
| Also absolutely loved doing in home daycare and plan to do it with our second for the first few years. For all of the reasons people shared above. We actually started my son at a center at 4 months and moved him to the home daycare at six months and we were soo glad we did. Centers can be great I’m sure, but I really felt like the in home was so great for these early first couple years. Consistent caregivers, a nap room that is separate and darker (centers babies often sleep in the same room as babies playing and as you can imagine it doesn’t go well for sleep), the mixed ages has so many benefits, homemade food, more outdoor time, I could go on and on. |
Anonymous
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In VA, there is a program called Infant Toddler Family Daycare that is a network of home daycares run out of a central office. They provide training and oversight (a couple visits per month) for their providers. The homes cannot enroll more than 5 children at a time and no more than 2 under 1. I used one of their providers for my older child’s first 2 years and it was wonderful. Highly recommend this program.
For my second, my situation was a little different, but at a little over 2, my daughter started at a state licensed home daycare. She had a couple aides through the day. There was a room specifically for the babies. She followed a preschool program. It was a great setup. My daughter just loved the ladies there so much. I spent my childhood at 2 lovely in home daycares. The one lady was a former teacher and ran her day like a preschool. 2 of us were daughters of librarians at the local public library, so we frequently went there during our day - my mom was the children’s librarian. They used the 3 of us in promotional campaigns a lot  All 3 of us also skipped kindergarten. So there are definitely superstar in home providers.
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Anonymous
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I agree with other PPs, in-home child care, called family child care, can be a great arrangement. There really is a big range out there, in how professional the provider is, how they do things, etc, so yes, you want to talk to her, even visit and observe.
When my kids were little, I found amazing unicorns of family child care providers who took babies only! I am in MD, and the rules for family providers are 2 kids under 2, plus up to 6 more kids. So my providers took in just my baby plus one other, and then had their own kid there too, so that was a wonderful ratio. The 2nd family provider I used was very open, she let me come visit with my baby, and that was helpful for me, to hang out with her and the kids for a bit, just to see and feel what it was like there. She was like an active grandma type, and cooked hot lunches every day, took them on walks, a really lovely place. When I started back to work, I paid for full time care, but for the first few weeks I eased in to the child care, taking the baby for maybe half days to start with. That helped me cope with transition back to work, and I was lucky to have that flexibility good luck in finding wonderful care for your child. |
Anonymous
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I think in-homes can be great but I think like a PP said, do your due diligence and compare each daycare (whether it be a center or an in-home) individually.
We used an in-home daycare for our then 1-year old temporarily during the pandemic and thought the owner/teacher was fantastic (and it was very affordable), but the ratio was not as good as our regular center and that made a big difference. Also, this in-home felt cluttered and cramped. The center, while not a fancy facility, is kept well-organized, clean and attractive. We love our center (in MD) which is small and feels like a family so it didn't feel less personal at all. These issues have nothing to do with in-homes vs centers, just each individual provider. |
Anonymous
| I had my first two in an in-home daycare until 3, then a preschool for 2 years before kindergarten. I am pregnant again and will tell the woman who runs the daycare before I tell my own mother. Frankly, I need her more. |