We switched from a family daycare to center when kids were around 3. We loved our family daycare for the younger years and some families stayed all the way to kindergarten but it was strangely “academic” yet not following an established curriculum, if that makes sense. Kids were practicing writing letters and doing worksheets at age 3 and I didn’t want that for one DC especially. He needed more play and run around time. Our center uses a play-based curriculum.

Ds kept getting put in ‘time out’ for being aggressive with a teacher. Seemed to mostly involve one teacher and a personality conflict between them. Tried working with her but she was hard to talk to and we weren’t seeing steady progress in behavior charts so just switched him out after a couple months. No similar issues in new school or at home. Still not sure what actually happened there.

My kids clothes were getting changed a lot during the week

Toddler was bullied. We switched to a nanny.

Not enough staff in most centers. They rotate the staff. Ive seen lots of babies, 2s, 3s and not enough of staff. And then the kids tend to fight each other, bite, push.

We went with a small Family Daycare of 8 kids total and the Provider was a Preschool Teacher. It was great.
And now kindergarten is doing well too

Main reason was very high teacher turnover. A secondary reason was realizing that they spent the minimum time outdoors. On a beautiful day, 2 year olds might not get their afternoon playground time until 5pm.

Poor communication and outright lying from school administration, and high teacher/assistant turnover. And my DD doesn't like her new teacher this year, who we also find difficult to communicate with during conferences (she is a native French speaker who misunderstands things we discuss).

I prefer family child care homes than big centers. Imo young children needs more individual attention.

I wish public school classrooms had a ratio of 3 staff for 30 kids. I wish they had at least 4 people helping these children. Kids needs help, more attention all the time in school too. Not just in Family Daycares

Most daycares are preschool daycares. You need to ask.
The majority of family child care providers are Preschool Teachers. Like ours had CDA. Child Development Associate.

So children going to daycares from 3 months until 4/5 years old is fine.
Our kids are doing great in kinder now

I didn't end up pulling the trigger, but I almost left our beloved daycare over COVID quarantine policies. We were missing too much work and it was completely untenable, both mentally and financially. They relaxed their policy and we stayed.

I can't personally fathom switching from a daycare that mostly works OK just because of "structure" or academic things.

I wish I had that kind of market power/flexibility in budget.

We moved DD to a center from an in home she was at briefly at 1.5. the in home only had one teacher for 8 kids and was in a poorly lit and cluttered basement. The center had 3 teachers for 6 babies, very low turnover and a bright and organized room. She was noticeably happier after we moved her. The in home would probably have been ok for a slightly older child.

I switched my younger DS out of his daycare when it got way too academic too early. He hated that (at age 3.5) he was expected to sit long periods of time etc. and his behavior at school and home was suffering. Also, the discipline was too strict for that age. I switched him to a 1/2 day, almost all outdoor preschool. His behavior got way better, kids had a lot less conflict being outside, and he did great in K and now in 1st grade. The teachers at the preschool also saw this as a career, his daycare had awful turnover. Older DS went to a smaller in-home in a different city and that was a positive experience.

My DD was at a daycare center from 17 mos to 3.5. We left for 2 reasons. I wanted an actual prek program for her year before K where the kids all arrive and leave at the same time and it’s just more structured. The daycare also insisted she lay down for 2 hours every day for a nap even if we didn’t want her too. I have to get up early for work and DD napping then being awake until 10-11pm was awful. She only went 3 days a week and was fine not napping on days at home. She would be in bed at 730 which I wanted. I still recommend our daycare to people though, the nap was literally the only negative once she got to 3/3.5.

The first daycare closed at the start of the pandemic. The second one simply wasn’t a good fit. Third and current one is great. It’s a daycare but they follow Creative Curriculum for hhe preschool component.

My DS is almost 2 and we're considering switching his daycare to a more established preschool. His daycare is fine but he still hates going (we're 6 months in) though he seems happy at pickup. He's an absolute sponge and has been learning a lot since they put him in an older classroom (he was in the baby room for far too long) but I wonder if more structure and attention would be better for him.

Curious about others who have done the same. What made you switch daycares or preschools? Ae you happy with your decision?