Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reviving an old thread to get some advice. I'm a first time mom and have been having some trouble finding care. We found an in-home daycare that would be quite convenient, but one lady (who seems lovely and has been doing this for years) takes care of EIGHT kids right now. She says a lot of them are older and I just checked VA regulations and you can have that many if children are 2+.

My son would be 1.5 and will be the only one that young. Any thoughts? Our other options are bigger centers which I actually really like but I'm having a hard time justifying an $700+ price difference. At 1.5 should i be looking into curriculum or is it really still about loving care more so than anything? Also any downsides to him being the only one his age?

TIA!

Signed,
Anxious mom.

Look for another in-home. That seems a lot even though older kids are lower point values.

The Point System

Children ages 0-15 months old = 4 points

Children ages 16 - 23 months old = 3 points

Children Ages 2 - 4 Years old = 2 points

Children Ages 5 - 9 years = 1 point

Children ages 10 - 13 years = 0 points

Thank you! I've never heard of the point system before. What is the max?

Anonymous wrote:Reviving an old thread to get some advice. I'm a first time mom and have been having some trouble finding care. We found an in-home daycare that would be quite convenient, but one lady (who seems lovely and has been doing this for years) takes care of EIGHT kids right now. She says a lot of them are older and I just checked VA regulations and you can have that many if children are 2+.

My son would be 1.5 and will be the only one that young. Any thoughts? Our other options are bigger centers which I actually really like but I'm having a hard time justifying an $700+ price difference. At 1.5 should i be looking into curriculum or is it really still about loving care more so than anything? Also any downsides to him being the only one his age?

TIA!

Signed,
Anxious mom.

Look for another in-home. That seems a lot even though older kids are lower point values.

The Point System

Children ages 0-15 months old = 4 points

Children ages 16 - 23 months old = 3 points

Children Ages 2 - 4 Years old = 2 points

Children Ages 5 - 9 years = 1 point

Children ages 10 - 13 years = 0 points

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been at an in-home daycare from the start. I would say its been quite wonderful that it feels on the smaller side and I do think that kids of all ages playing together can have several advantages. My kids love the teachers and the other kids (and their families). However, in-home daycares tend to be a tad more precarious in the covid times. They also close more often and close earlier than the centers. This has been our biggest pain point.

So my recommendation would be to look for what serves most for your childcare needs. My friend says it appropriately - centers tend to work great for working parents with demanding schedules.

That wasn't our experience with in home center. She opened back up 2 weeks after the intial shut down even though we didnt go back ourselves till June. One week after we went back she got Covid, but other than that - have not had any interruption since. (It's kind of luck I guess). Our in home opens at 7 which you don't find in a lot of centers.

Reviving an old thread to get some advice. I'm a first time mom and have been having some trouble finding care. We found an in-home daycare that would be quite convenient, but one lady (who seems lovely and has been doing this for years) takes care of EIGHT kids right now. She says a lot of them are older and I just checked VA regulations and you can have that many if children are 2+.

My son would be 1.5 and will be the only one that young. Any thoughts? Our other options are bigger centers which I actually really like but I'm having a hard time justifying an $700+ price difference. At 1.5 should i be looking into curriculum or is it really still about loving care more so than anything? Also any downsides to him being the only one his age?

TIA!

Signed,
Anxious mom.

A lot of people have already listed some general perks of centers, so I'll just mention two things that we liked about the center where we sent our three kids for their first 2.5 years.

First, we liked that we were allowed to drop in anytime to either pick our child up or just peek in on our child without the child seeing. The only rule was that, if your child sees you, you should be prepared to take him/her home, unless you have prearranged otherwise. I have not used in-home daycare, but my understanding is that most in-home providers do not allow parents to just roll through whenever.

Second, it was a JCC and we really liked the facilities. There was a big outdoor playground, lots of riding toys outside, a big indoor gym with lots of toys and gross motor activities. There was also both indoor and outdoor swimming pool time for ages 18 months and up, four days a week. Our kids loved the pool time. There was even a slide for them. I don't think most in-home providers would be able to provide that sort of thing, although I realize many centers wouldn't either.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of in home daycare haters on DCUM, but I loved ours. We established a really good relationship with our provider (and her mother was her assistant so it truly felt like they were family). I appreciated that it was five children max, so the kids got a lot of attention, she provided home cooked food, they spent a ton of time outside, had a separate room for napping. Also she was able to spend a lot of time talking to us about what happened that day, what our children needed, how they were doing, giving us tips, etc. She also babysat for us (and still did pre-pandemic). We adored her, she's still part of the family. Both of our kids started full=time preschool at 3 and 2, so we're aware of how centers are run and we loved having them in a more structured environment as preschoolers. Definitely would not have kept them at the in home at those ages because they would have been bored. Kids aged out of our in home at 2-3.

Can you share the name and location? I'm looking for an in-home daycare for my soon to be born son!

My kids have been at an in-home daycare from the start. I would say its been quite wonderful that it feels on the smaller side and I do think that kids of all ages playing together can have several advantages. My kids love the teachers and the other kids (and their families). However, in-home daycares tend to be a tad more precarious in the covid times. They also close more often and close earlier than the centers. This has been our biggest pain point.

So my recommendation would be to look for what serves most for your childcare needs. My friend says it appropriately - centers tend to work great for working parents with demanding schedules.

Anonymous wrote:A big advantage for us was that my kids were together. All 3. Just like they would be if I were a sahm. It seemed more natural that way to have an age mix. And they really became best friends from being together so much I think. They learned to play together

Although my kids only overlapped at our in home for a few months before we moved our oldest to a preschool center, I really like the mixed ages that you get in an in home daycare. The “older” kids always dote on the babies and it’s sweet. Another bonus is that they both potty trained early in part because they saw the older toddlers doing it and wanted to copy them!

There are good centers and good in home daycares, advantages and disadvantages to both. Cost and location are other considerations. Grateful ours is close to home as I know several folks who had to find a new place in the burbs since they havent been commenting downtown since last March. Overall I was happy with using an in-home until 3 and center after that.

A big advantage for us was that my kids were together. All 3. Just like they would be if I were a sahm. It seemed more natural that way to have an age mix. And they really became best friends from being together so much I think. They learned to play together

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just not true that a center doesn’t provide as close a bond between the kid and the caregiver. My daughter loves her teachers and they really seem to care about the kids.

I think the difference is that at an in-home, your child has the same two caregivers for multiple years, whereas at a center, they get new teachers as they switch rooms each year.

Ok but I feel like implicit in these statements is that centers lack warmth or that because the teachers get paid less, they care less. It’s simply not true at a good center.

With the in home, you just have to vet them very carefully. We received the recommendation for ours from our local moms group, and I went back and searched the archive for mentions of her (and found recommendations from a family she nannied for for years before she opened her in home daycare), and then I called several families for recommendations. I know you can do the same for a daycare center, but with the turnover and multiple rooms, you're not necessarily getting the same person.

Anyway, we switched our kids to a preschool at age 3 and age 2, so we've had both in home and center experiences. I just really liked the ratio and family feel of the in home for those early years, and I like the structure and age appropriateness of the center for later years.

It's truly personal preference, just either way check your references and check the state and county reports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this depends so much on the individual day care. I'd pick a great in home over a center if I could: cozier (I hate the institutional feel of day cares with tile floors, sinks in the classroom, not enough windows, etc), generally more one on one feedback from the person who cares for your kid, usually smaller classes, and you know they're getting paid ok.

But I just haven't been impressed with the safety measures in many. I toured a few that were definitely not toddler proofed, and I took my kid out of one this year due to lack if mask wearing during covid. We've wound up with centers with very strong safety and hygiene practices despite less communication (for my older son, who went to a great homier small center) and a more institutional setting (for my younger son, who'll be starting at a new one when the covid numbers decrease a bit more this spring).

Interesting, we actually we're frustrated with lack of communication at the in-,home we were at temporarily. We had no idea what she ate or did all day versus the center where there is an app and a report each day. Not saying this to contradict you - just to agree that each provider is different. There is very little you can generalize about them.

Yes, absolutely. The centers we've used have not been high tech ones with apps and cameras, just a report on paper for infants and quick verbal updates as needed when older. The in home providers were much chattier. My older kid also wound up with the same not super chatty teacher for 4 years at his center, as she moved from the 2 year old to preschool class with him, so he had a really unusual level of stability and attachment and the communication thing was not a huge deal. (Would have happily sent #2 but we moved. FYI, it was Ana's Kids in Arlington, if OP is looking in that area.)

PS I realize now that i named the center that this sounded like a mixed review and I did not mean it that way, every provider has different personalities as well as institutional communication practices but the important thing is if the kids are safe, happy, and we'll cared for. I only named it because we had a great experience and would recommend.

Advantages that I saw was that it was in my neighborhood and the drop-off and pick-up was fast and easy and didn't add to my daily commute. Also made lifelong friends with neighborhood moms who also used the same daycare. It was small - 4 kids so I felt it was a lot of attention. Only one virus passed thru the kids in year. In home was great for an infant, but around two we moved to a pre-school environment for structure and socialization.

Disadvantage was that I really would never know if something bad happened, but lots of references from my neighborhood, so I felt comfortable. Also, she had an emergency (which was for a week only once in 2 years) and I had to take off work and find last minute care.

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just not true that a center doesn’t provide as close a bond between the kid and the caregiver. My daughter loves her teachers and they really seem to care about the kids.

I think the difference is that at an in-home, your child has the same two caregivers for multiple years, whereas at a center, they get new teachers as they switch rooms each year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this depends so much on the individual day care. I'd pick a great in home over a center if I could: cozier (I hate the institutional feel of day cares with tile floors, sinks in the classroom, not enough windows, etc), generally more one on one feedback from the person who cares for your kid, usually smaller classes, and you know they're getting paid ok.

But I just haven't been impressed with the safety measures in many. I toured a few that were definitely not toddler proofed, and I took my kid out of one this year due to lack if mask wearing during covid. We've wound up with centers with very strong safety and hygiene practices despite less communication (for my older son, who went to a great homier small center) and a more institutional setting (for my younger son, who'll be starting at a new one when the covid numbers decrease a bit more this spring).

Interesting, we actually we're frustrated with lack of communication at the in-,home we were at temporarily. We had no idea what she ate or did all day versus the center where there is an app and a report each day. Not saying this to contradict you - just to agree that each provider is different. There is very little you can generalize about them.

Yes, absolutely. The centers we've used have not been high tech ones with apps and cameras, just a report on paper for infants and quick verbal updates as needed when older. The in home providers were much chattier. My older kid also wound up with the same not super chatty teacher for 4 years at his center, as she moved from the 2 year old to preschool class with him, so he had a really unusual level of stability and attachment and the communication thing was not a huge deal. (Would have happily sent #2 but we moved. FYI, it was Ana's Kids in Arlington, if OP is looking in that area.)