Daycares

A.:

I'm one of the weird ones - I prefer day cares over at home care...

1. I don't need to worry about a center's personal problems.
2. I don't need to worry about licensing and insurance should a problem happen.
3. I don't have to worry about cleanliness - I know not all day care centers are perfect - but we've heard of some nasty home care places (vacuum once a week?!? gag!)

With day care center - my child has more options to teachers and backgrounds....instead of just one person...

day care centers have different play grounds and since they have a wide-range of age groups that are segregated together - more options...especially at the school age level for field trips...something you can't get in a home day care....

Although I sent a flower to CherylO's response I wanted to back it up even more so - I second,third,fourth, etc. what she says...........

OOH - one more thing to add. When we had in-home care we had to deal with 'something came up' all of the time....Last Monday our area had terrible storms and power was out where our daycare is....instead of having to take the week off til it was openned - they just sent them to another area center (my kids go to KinderCare which has centers all over).

I love my center. It is a franchise so there is personal vested interest and the owners are a mother and daughter. The director does a great job at hiring and retaining good people. It's all about the people and who runs the center. My son has done so well there and I see him learning and loving it! We have friends and neighbors who use in-home and have had several frustrations such as extended vacation time or sick time and kids watching too much TV. Hours can be limited too. I love watching my son learn to interact and be social. I personally love it, and he does get great care. I have my 7 month old there too.

I had nanny for my son until he was a year old - actually 2 nannies. The first one acted like she was my boss or rather she was doing M. a favour coming to my home to look after my son. Geez wasn't she being paid for that! Well, it didn't work out with her and we hired another , through an agency. She was nice and played with my son . But was never regular. She took days off whenever she wanted and agency sent substitutes everytime. This didn't work out for us - first of all, we weren't comfortable leaving our son alone at home with new people(strangers) everytime and secondly , our son had developed stranger anxiety , so he wouldn't go with them at all. After he turned a year old, we put him in a larger daycare. I just LOVE it and so does our son. The teachers are really nice and take very good care of him. They do so many activities every single day( they post pictures for us to see) Also my son enjoys playing with the other little fellows there. The first week of daycare was so very hard. I almost thought it wouldn't work out as my son cried all the time he was there. But after that he has gotten so comfortable there. Now 2 months later, he is excited to go there. He asks to go to the teacher as soon as we go there in the morning and says bye to M.. He seems very happy , so that makes M. happy. Also I now don't worry about him being entertained all day. With the nanny , I had ask them to read books, play with him etc etc and still wonder if they actually played with him or were just around doing their own thing.But at daycare, they have a routine. They have rhymes/ music everyday, take them outside everyday in a trolley kinda thing (well if it's raining, it's outside the room in the hallways ) , they have simple crafts/paintings etc regularly - they do send home the artwork. They take him out on little picnics outside the building if the weather is good. They have field days regularly mainly for older kids but little ones are allowed to go watch or touch if permitted(petting zoo, ice cream truck, fire truck, big jumpers, water day etc) Oh it's a lot of fun for these little ones. They write down for M. what he did each day and how much he enjoyed certain activities they did. I love reading those notes everyday.Also the food they give is nutritious and healthy. They are teaching my son how to drink from a cup etc They taught him how to use a spoon. I know in future they will help with potty training as well.I am very happy because all of this the nannies would have never done for M.. They just do what you ask them to do. Maybe there are nannies who do all this proactively , atleast the ones I had just knew how to feed the baby, get him to sleep and play with him by showing him his toys. They had no idea or the intention to get him to learn new things.I would never go to another home daycare (unliscenced) as I am sure it will be almost the same thing. But I do have one bad thing to say about larger daycares. My son has been there for about 2 months now and is now down with fever and ear infection for 2nd time. I have heard it will be worse in fall/winter. He was almost never sick when he was at home with the nanny. He loves his daycare so much that I wish I don't have to go back to having a nanny or look for a smaller daycare so that he doesn't fall sick very often. The daycare is very clean and everything. No complaints there. The teacher told M. that when she first started working there even she was sick almost everyday for the whole first year. After that she was fine. So I can imagine how hard it is for the little ones with their immune system still developing.

My son has been at an in-home daycare for 2 years and we LOVE it! She's amazing and he loves going there. He's sort of out-grown her style and at 3 is ready for preschool, so we will be transitioning in September, but overall I have been very happy. She's professional and runs it like a true business... then again she's been in business for 25 years!

My son will be attending a preschool in the fall that is center-based and has programs for younger children, which was a "must" for us b/c we are trying to get pregnant again and can't have the kiddos in two different places.

I will say this about center vs. home just from my experiences:
- In home childcare feels less like "school" and more like "all day play date"
- Centers are more consistently open and will get "subs" if the "teacher" is sick/ on vacation/ etc.
- Centers don't close as often
- In home childcare is slightly more expensive

Either way, for us it was about feeling comfortable with the director/owner b/c that is the person who sets the "tone" for the entire place.

Several centers that we visited were so sterile and cold. My son actually asked to leave one of them b/c they wouldn't let him play with toys while the director and I were talking. She actually took a toy away from him (while the other kids were playing) and told him that he could look at the fish tank! Seriously? Thank you for your time, but we're outta here! The next place we visited the director met us at the door and invited us to come in for a cup of coffee to talk while our son played with his future classmates and the teacher welcomed him in to join the activity. Needless to say, we put down a deposit later that day.

If you like it and you are comfortable, then it will be a good fit!

A.,
You will never be happy with any place you take your child. NEVER. I think you have a moral obligation to become licensed and do it better than everyone else can. Make some other worried moms happy.

It all depends on your child and the daycare. I personally love my sons daycare and couldn't imagine him anywhere else. His daycare is like an extended family to him and that doesn't bother me one bit. He loves the teachers and all the kids. I want my son to be happy and enjoy where he goes for the day while I am at work. He still yells mommy and jumps in my arms the second I walk through the door so it is not taking anything away from our relationship.

Personally I love my daycare. My son has thrived there. In the last 5 1/2 years there have been issues, but they were always handled. My daughter loves it too. We have a great line of communication with them.
It is a hard decision. I may not feel this way about other daycares and I may have found a sitter that I loved. I think that you need to find the right place/person that works for you guys. I don't think you need to rule out one or the other strictly, but find the one "place" that works for your comfort level.

I love my daycare! But you need to go see the ones in your area to decide which one is best for you and your son.

My son is now 16 months old and just switched rooms so drop offs have been a bit hard... I know it is normal and that he gets over it. You will have to keep that in mind when you start a new place there will be an adjustment period to the new place and people.

But before he switched rooms when he got there in the mornings he would hug the teacher. So that made me feel like they were taking good care of him since he was so happy to see them each day.

The socialization and activities they do each day is so great for my son. They do stuff I would never be able to do at home!

i think it depends on your daycare you choose. there are so many that are subpar. there are some that are good, and a few that are GREAT. i have worked in a daycare. i know what can go on behind the scenes. it's why i quit and havent worked in one since then. the owner would push the kids and they would fall. she would bruise them and blame it on other kids. she would let kids stay with 104 temp and not call the parents. i saw one lady put her hands around a kids throat. it was horrifying. i vowed my kids would never go to a daycare. i did put my daughter in VPK, it was a church run daycare. they were wonderful. this place told the mayor of the town he had to take his kid out because he bit 2 kids. also they called over the most minute detail. they paid the staff well, they follow the public school schedule, which gives the teachers a break also. i looked them up online with the county and looked at the different daycares/preschools in the area and there citations. this one didn't have any. so i would suggest checking with the Health dept (if they are the ones to check out the daycares) check for citations and what type they are, and ask around for parents suggestions.

I never EVER dreamed that I would put my kid in day care but I did. She was about 20 months when I put her in and it was a GREAT decision. She loved it - they loved her. And she learned so much.

My advice is to visit a few that are nearby, ask tons of questions (I had no problem asking if anyone was ever severly hurt of killed on site)!! One of the centers will "call" to you.

And daycares are NOT cheap. I spent a ton on mine. But we loved it.

Personally, I am not a fan of "in home" day care (in someone's house - not mine). You never know who's creepy cousin has come to stay for a month. And I also feel that daycare centers have lots of eyes watching. There is more safety in numbers.

We love our daycare. I picked a center because I wanted lots of adults around, and DPW licensing. The downside (the only one, as far as I am concerned) is that you need a back up plan for when your kid is sick. Visit a couple, talk to people, and get recommendations. I think you'll be happy in a good center!

What I would do is to check daycares around your area, choose your best option and observe how your kid behaves when you drop him off after he's been there for a few weeks; that should show you if he likes it or if something is off.
You should know thought, that there isn't a perfect day care, but some are better than others.
Good luck, its a tough choice!

My son (now 19) was in a large home center for before/after care when he was 5 and staring school and full time in the summer. Later, we switched to a true home daycare due to scheduling issues. In both cases, they got great personal care.

My daughter (now 4.5) went to a private home daycare from 6 weeks to 3.5 years. She received excellent care and really loved the provider but she had really started to outgrow this provider based her the lack of structure and activity. She needed more interaction and more curriculum. I found a daycare/preschool and was going to switch at the start of this past school year but had to start her last June instead. It was THE best decision I ever made. It is closer and more convenient and a much better fit. Closed less and never for "personal" emergencies/spur of the moment whims, etc.

Not all providers are equal and neither are all daycares but there are good ones out there. I stumbled upon mine and am so glad I did.

I use a small licensed daycare. I did a one on one in home sitter (unlicensed) first and it was a huge mess. She thought she knew how to raise my daughter better than I did. When my daughter waved goodbye to her, the sitter informed me that she had taught my daughter how to do that....I guess I did nothing with her at home...? Anyway, she finally demanded more money than my husband and I were willing to give her so we looked elsewhere and found the perfect fit. I love the lady that runs our daycare. She only take 5 kids at a time and it is her and her husband full time.
At 16 months I am not ready for her to be in a larger setting. I think as much one on one time as possible is best at this age.

My daughter was in a home care situation until we couldn't afford it anymore. I was unhappy with putting her in a regular daycare, but my SIL sends her daughter to one near our house and they're the same age, so I thought we'd give it a try. She LOVES it! She loves having so many children to play with. Make sure you've checked out the ones nearby and try to get personal recommendations before you pick, but my daughter does great at hers.