Daycares: at home vs center?

Erin - posted on 04/21/2009

We moved here from Atlanta and really struggled with this because the child care there is SO drastically different. There you have day care "academies" with land and playgrounds and new, clean facilities with rooms larger than most entire centers here! I liked them, but there were still issues. Once mine started walking she started getting hurt a lot at the daycare. She had bruises from falling (one on her face from falling into a table!) and was bitten several times. I moved her to a place with a stricter policy on biters.



However, when moving here, it was totally different. I didn't find any place I wanted to leave my daughter, and the ones I would had 18 month waiting lists. So, I found an in-home provider and was very happy with it. She wasn't cheaper though, actually she was a bit more than daycare. But, she charged by the day, so it was a bit more flexible. With in-home, you can be very up front with your expectations, no dancing around "policies" to keep your child safe. You say, this is what I want and they are the one to do it. At this time, my daughter was about your daughter's age and it was great for us. However, as she passed her third birthday, the other kids her age were moving on and it was mostly babies. So, I switched her to a full time montessori then because she really started craving the structure and the additional social aspect.



So, long story short, I think a great home child care provider is great for up to 3 and then day care centers are preferable, montessori if you can find a full time one.

Jamie - posted on 04/20/2009

Hey Mollie, I am a little partial to home day cares :) But the important thing is to find someone you are completly comfortable with. The advantage is more family like setting and different ages so she is exposed to skills the older kids have and can teach skills to the younger kids. The size is smaller a home provider alone can only care for 8 kids and there are age limits. Just becuase a home is cheaper doesn't mean care that is subpar. Sometimes it's better! Lots of love in the home day care! Many of them do preschool programs too. You can do your own background checks and DCFS checks.