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October 2011 Moms
Daycare -- Center or In-home?
Abby has been going to a center since January and they have been AWESOME with her and we really love the teachers there. We pay about $1,200 a month for just Abby.
One of our neighbors just got licensed to have an in-home daycare. We went over to her house last night and saw the "daycare" part of her house (the finished basement) and it's set up really well and I think Abby would have a good time there. One of my hesitations is that they will have 2 teachers and they could have up to 12 kids from agest 6 weeks to school-aged. If they have 4 children 18-months and young, then they can only have 4 kids older than 18-months, so 8 kids total. The infant part of the basement is partially blocked off from the "bigger kid" area, so one adult would always have to be in the infant part for supervision since the whole room is not in eyesight from the other room. I also worry that when Abby turns 18-months and moves into the other room, she's going to be in there with at least 2 3-year-olds, and possibly some other "older" kids. I don't know if I feel comfortable with her playing around those big kids. Maybe I'm just being overprotective?? Anyways, cost of the in-home is $800 per month, so $4,000 a year savings! This is the biggest reason why I'm thinking about changing.
Any thoughts?
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Re: Daycare -- Center or In-home?
My concern with home daycare is about backup. What if one of those teachers gets sick? Who fills her place? What about vacations?
The main reasons I opted for a center vs in-home were regulations and availablility.
I can see the savings being a huge reason to think about switching but I'm with you, I'd be nervous about my toddler playing with four and five year olds. PP made a good point about back up, too.
I'd be inclined to stay where Abby is comfortable, as long as you can continue to afford it.
Burned by the Bear
They have two teachers and are looking for a third part-time person that would hopefully be available to fill in on days that one teacher is sick. They are not taking any vacations, only closed on major holidays.
Point taken about the siblings. I'm just over-protective, I guess, because she's so small and I'm afraid she's going to get run over.
I imagine that when she got moved and she was run over they would leave her with the younger ones until she was ready (walking maybe?).
Is that the only reason? That could be brought up with with the provider as your concern. Other than that I think I would switch. That is a nice chunk of change in savings.
We are using an inhome and absolutely LOVE it but it's much smaller. Only her own 3 kids, a two year old that she's cared for since he was 4 weeks old, and my DD. I couldn't be happier with the care. She's flexible and responsive, and E feels like a part of the family there. I love having her in a mixed-age environment. The older kids love her so much. They are very gentle with her and just cover her in kisses. She was gone for 3 days because of illness and the sitter told me that the day she came back all the kids were sneaking kisses on her all day because they missed her so much. She has only brought home one cold. We save a significant amount of money because she only charges when we're there, which is very different from most centers around here. Also, since it's only one woman, E has a very strong bond with her so we've experienced almost no separation issues. It has much more flexibility than a center, too. No requirements about naps, food, etc. So it's much more like our home environment and that makes things so much easier for her.
The drawbacks are that if this woman gets sick I have to have backup (she has provided names of people but we've been able to work it out on our own the one time it was an issue)
Also it sounds strange but I have to maintain a relationship with her. Luckily it's very easy and we get along really well, but it's not just a place that I drop my kid, you know?
We're super happy with it though, and it really suits her temperament MUCH better than a center. As a baby she was really easily overstimulated and the in-home was able to provide a much calmer environment.
This is definitely one thing to be concerned with. I would also be concerned that she would not be further separated from older kids. At our daycare center they move into the toddler room at 18 mos then there is the preschool class and the kindergartner class all of which are separate from one another. I checked out one daycare center when looking for daycare for DS and they had all of the kids in one large space but the only division between the baby room and the other kids was cubicle walls. The noise in the building was so horrible that I could barely even hear the owner when she spoke. This made me concerned because, if it was too much for me, how would my DS be able to get rest, have quiet time, be heard if he was crying, etc.
We also have a daycare next to my house that is much cheaper and takes infants through elementary kids. It is a complete zoo over there and it seems there isn't much supervision and direction. One of my friends has her kids there and she says the TV is on all day. I also catch the kids hanging over the fence and messing with my dogs all of the time. They also have a lot of young girls that work there and there boyfriends come over and hang out all of the time while they are supposed to be working. I know this is probably an extreme but it always makes me paranoid of in home daycares.
I am probably very overprotective and maybe too sensitive but if I was in your position I would opt to keep your DD in a more formal and organized center until she is old enough to associate with older kids (maybe until 3-4 yo).
Thanks for sharing your positive experience! The three year olds are actualy the DCP's twin boys. They were really nice to Abby when we met them last night. The 2 women have worked together for 7 years in a church day care, and the one lady has worked in that church daycare for 15 years. I felt really good about them.
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OCT 2011 Moms Blog