Day Care vs In-Home Care

Hildi18 · September 2011

Hi Ladies,

I will be returning to work at the end of October and wanted to get your opinions as experienced mommy's on day care vs in-home care.

A family friend has offered to take care of Annabelle at her home but we are unsure if this is the best option. On the one hand she would receive individual care and attention but might not receive the same interaction with other children and structure a day care environment brings.

If we choose the day care route, what are some good centers in the South Miami/East Kendall area?

She will be almost 5 months when I return to work and would love your opinions based on your experiences with your kids.

TIA

Hildi

LizC72 · September 2011

I use an in-home daycare but there are other kids there. I only keep them there until they are 3 and then they go to a preschool to get a more structured setting. And it has worked for us.

Does this person have other children? Or is she just watching yours? You also need to think of time off. Is she planning on taking vacations? (alot or when she is sick will you have to take off? does she have a back-up?)

You wont have to deal with any of those issues at a center. It really is a personal decision and what you feel will work best for you and your family..

Good luck.

cocojack10 · September 2011

For us, it was important for the boys to get the most one-on-one care as possible. We are lucky that MIL watches my boys while we work. We ended up having to hire a nanny to help her as it was too much for one person.

Since my boys were preemies and born in flu season, I wanted to limit their exposure to others and the germs they bring. They'll gain the necessary interaction as they grow. Perhaps when they turn 2 we will enroll them in a daycare environment for the interaction and more educational aspect. For right now, we feel they are best at home.

Albah · September 2011

Personally, I prefer in-home care for baby's less than one if possible since they will avoid all the "day-care colds" when they are so young. I was also very lucky to have my mother take care of my older son until age 3. He started PK3 this year. My mom also took care of our younger one till age 1. It has been a lot for my mother to take care of 2 so we decided to put little E in preschool as well to give her some time off. We initially looked at hiring a nanny to take care of him at home but it was just too expensive. Preschool cost less than paying an inexperienced nanny....so we went with preschool and he is soooo happy there! The extra money we didn't spend on the inexperienced nanny is being saved for their future education. :-)

Hildi18 · September 2011

LizC72:
Does this person have other children? Or is she just watching yours? You also need to think of time off. Is she planning on taking vacations? (alot or when she is sick will you have to take off? does she have a back-up?)

It would be her and her mom that would watch the baby. They've never watched any kids other than their own kids & grandchildren. I'm going to speak to them in more detail, thanks for your reply, i hadn't thought about those. We are also visiting 2 centers today in case we decide to go that route.

Hildi18 · September 2011

Thank you guys for your reply and experiences. We have a lot to think about and decide what is best for our daughter. I just wish I would be able to stay home with her a little longer!

MellyMelB · September 2011

My oldest child has been in a structured daycare since she was 3 months old and she is now almost 4. My youngest is a year and has been there since she was 3 months as well. I am pro-daycare vs an individual caregiver. JMHO but there is nothing that can replace daily interraction with other kids and multiple adults. My kids are great in social settings whether its interacting with other adults or other children and I think its due to all of the social interaction that happens at their daycare. Okay, and maybe a due to the fact that I am a social butterfly. But just a little.

As for sickness, my first was sick on and off that whole first year. But after she turned 1 the sick times really came down. Her body adjusted and she is almost 4 and I cannot remember her last cold. My second has rarely been sick except for the odd cold or virus but nowhere near as often as my oldest. So it really depends on your child.

You have to do what is right for you and your family. We have to work. We need our kids well taken care of. Only we can decide the right defintion of "well taken care of" and what priorities we have that tie into that.

Good luck!

Want a personalized experience?

Day Care vs In-Home Care

Re: Day Care vs In-Home Care

Choose Another Board

Search Boards