Tell me about your in-home daycare
Hi all--I used to lurk/post more on here a couple of months ago. My family moved in June and I've been a SAHM since mid-June. Prior to that, DD was in a daycare center.
She's going to be starting at an in-home daycare on September 4. I really like the daycare, and it's a better option for us for several reasons. But I have no experience with in-homes (except for my MIL reminding me that DH went to a home daycare and he turned out fine!) so I need some reassurance 
It's one woman (primarily) in her house. She does have back up if needed who can come in, but it's pretty much just one lady and 6 kids (although when DD starts there will probably be 3 or 4, because most of her current kids are leaving to start school in Sept). I never even looked at home daycares before because I wanted the accountability of a center, so I'm surprised at how much I liked this option.
So...I guess I just need to hear some positive stories and all the reasons you love your home daycare. TIA!
.
Re: Tell me about your in-home daycare
I love our in home day care for many reasons. Our DCP has the entire day scheduled, and includes many educational and enrichment activities. She ensures that the kids get enough physical activity every day, and balanced meals and snacks. The do reading time, and sing and dance.
It seems much more personal to me than a large center, with so few kids they get to know each other better (DCP and the kids).
Ours just remodeled her bakcyard to include a play area/jungle gym and another area with open grass for them to run and play. If its hot they play in the sprinklers and in the winter they play in the snow.
She really is amazing.
June Bugs Blog
This is all true for me as well. And my DD gets sick a whole lot less often because there are so few kids to pass it around. I also like that the kids are different ages so my DD can get the "older sibling" experience at dc.
ETA: I also wanted to add that the lady keeps way better track of my DD, even though our previous center had multiple staff in the room. She is also so much better about wiping her nose and changing her diaper.
I agree with all of the PPs.
When looking for a daycare for my son (then 4.5 months old), I was specifically looking for an in-home vs. a center for the reasons above.
We ended up at a mother/daughter in-home that we have LOVED, however they recently expanded and moved locations and are now a "center". I am only staying with them because the original providers are still there in addition to new staff.
My favorite things about the in-home situation;
We take our girls to an in-home provider we LOVE it.
Our provider has a helper who comes in since our provider has all age ranges of children. This allows my older DD to do things with the big kids and my younger DD to be with the little kids. Our provider does lots of fun activites with the kids, takes them to the parks and for walks around the neighborhoods.
She also is flexible on occasion if we have to work late. One evening I had an interview and not only did she watch her late, she took her out to dinner and dropped her off at my house when they were done.
When my water broke at 2am with DD2, our provider was even kind enough to take DD1 so we could get to the hospital (we have no family/friends around this area).
There is nothing wrong with a center (it is what is best for each family), but for us an in-home was the way to go. Much more personal IMHO.
Goodbye little angel(7/22/2011)....see you in heaven
Goodbye my second angel (9/18/2011)
Mine was for many years (she was my sisters DCP as well), but recently became unlicensed when she moved and didnt renew, update (or whatever they are required to do!)
June Bugs Blog
Mine is licensed. I was nervous about the in-home situation before we started there (having come from a center), but I called her licensor and she told me that the DCP hadn't had any violations at all since she opened. I felt pretty good about that.
If you can find one that is licensed, it is good to check with the licensor directly.
We've only ever used in-home DCPs. We've used 3 different providers (2 licensed, 1 unlicensed), and had good experiences with each, although all have been very different.
The first one was very structured, and I really liked her set up. The basement of her (newer) home was finished with a full kitchen large play area, and several bedrooms for naps. She took them outside a lot, and was very organized. She had several helpers, which was good in case she got sick or had appointments she had a backup and didn't have to close. We only removed DD because DH decided to stay at home for a bit.
The second was a "grandma" watching kids. She was very laid back, and it had a very home-type atmosphere. My only complaint was that she was a little unreliable at times. There were a couple of occaisons where she forgot to tell me she would be closed, or closed at the last minute. DD liked her, and still asks about her. She retired, so on to daycare 3.
I like daycare 3 the best so far. The DCP is very organized, and has TONS of toys for DD to play with. There are lots of kids DDs age, and every day she tells me "stories" about the other kids. They do crafts and go outside, and the DCP is very warm and great with the kids. She has an assistant as well. Right now she's really full (her max is 12 kids, I think) but once school starts some will return to school and it will settle down a bit.
My main complaint about all 3 is that their pick up time is early-5:30 pm, where most centers in our area are open until 6pm. I really have to rush from work to pick up by 5:30 and then I feel bad for walking in right at closing, but I get it. They're with the kids long days, and need time to clean up, prep for the next day, and recover, lol.
Marriage: 12.18.04
DD1: 5.19.10
DD2: 4.11.12
Mine is licensed by the county and here that means that the provider has gone through a certain amount of training in child development, safety, infant nutrition, CPR, first aid, etc. It also means that a social worker makes 2-3 unannounced visits per year to audit the home, how she interacts with the children, and her record keeping. Our provider also participates in the USDA nutrition program which means a nutritionist makes 1 unannounced visit per year and checks the food prep, quality of food, safety of food storage, etc.
Additionally, county-licensed providers in my area keep a ratio of 3 babies to 1 adult, or 5 older kids to 1 adult and I like that ratio a lot.
I love this option because it's very personal, it's affordable, and there's some amount of professional oversight. It feels very much like a 3 way nanny share except it's cheaper.
We love our in home daycare. There are 8 kids total and DD is youngest by 6 months so I think she gets extra attention. She loves being around the older kids and it has really helped socialize her to be more comfortable in other mixed age groups (like Gymboree etc). I also really like the feel of her being in a home and less formal setting -- the centers we visited were nice but just felt so big. DCP has two assistants and she is closed a few holidays but so far she hasn't outright closed and we'll see what happens this winter with snowstorms or such.
I also felt better knowing how strict the regulations are in my state for licenses and I was able to find all that info (as well as her posting it visibly). So in many ways she meets the same standards as a center in terms of health, food, structure, etc and of course for us it was a bonus that the in home care is a lot more affordable and flexible -- I can take her extra days if I need to etc. I also don't have to worry about taking our time with nap transitions and other because she lets DD be on her own schedule.