day care center vs. day care home setting

sunflower92 · July 2013

howdy working mommies...what are you all doing?

any input from teachers returning to the classroom this fall?

what questions have you been asking?

mariamaria · July 2013

I would go center over in-home unless I knew the provider or someone who's opinion I trusted. I helped out with an in-home when I was in junior high and it was questionable on so many levels even though the families thought it was a great place. It was so sketchy! We just hired a nanny this time around, but nearly signed with a daycare center we liked.

shadysladyWed98470 · July 2013

I am a teacher and returning to work in about a week and have spent the entire summer trying to find the best care possible. I used care.com and ended up finding an in-home provider who I feel very confident about. There are only 4 kids in the home, whereas a daycare center could have much more, depending on the number of employees. I think it boils down to trusting your gut instincts as a mother. Each family is different on What they expect and need for their child. Just be diligent on the questions you ask and require top notch with whatever you go with. I've decided it's ok if I am a little neurotic or demanding when it comes to my baby.

randimarie86 · July 2013

I am a teacher, and we are doing in-home. It's a friend of mines mother-I had never met her though. I always wanted him to do in-home for at least the first year mainly bc I feel like babies stay so sick in daycare. And I am a first year teacher so I def don't need to be missing a lot of work. It is also important to me that he gets lots of attention. She doesn't take more than 4 kids at a time, but this year it will only be DS and another infant who was born July 4th (she will not get her until mid-October, so DS will be the center of her day for 2 months). I was mainly concerned about vaccines and cost with her. I have only known her daughter for a few years, but our group of friends has known this woman for many years so I asked all of them for their thoughts and recs-all said they would trust her with their children. I also taught her youngest daughter when I was student teaching and she is an amazing kid, polite, good student and well mannered- so she did a good job with her own kids. Her home is very clean in a great neighborhood, also about 3 blocks from my school. And she only takes teachers kids bc she likes her summers and holidays off, so when I'm out DS stays home with me and I don't have to pay or send him to keep my spot- major plus and another reason I didn't want to do daycare. Her fee is $20/day and I supply food/formula and diapers/wipes, but when he eats big people food she will feed him breakfast, lunch and snack and its still $20/day. I don't know if this helps you, but this is our situation. ETA he will go to her until he turns 3 then start daycare at our church.

Jorleny · July 2013

I am doing an in home care, but only because I know the person. But she'll be quitting soon so I'll have to go either the daycare route, because in a daycare there are cameras invade of anything. But if not ill be staying at home once we get our financials situated.

shadysladyWed98470 · July 2013

randimarie86 said:

I am a teacher, and we are doing in-home. It's a friend of mines mother-I had never met her though. I always wanted him to do in-home for at least the first year mainly bc I feel like babies stay so sick in daycare. And I am a first year teacher so I def don't need to be missing a lot of work. It is also important to me that he gets lots of attention. She doesn't take more than 4 kids at a time, but this year it will only be DS and another infant who was born July 4th (she will not get her until mid-October, so DS will be the center of her day for 2 months). I was mainly concerned about vaccines and cost with her. I have only known her daughter for a few years, but our group of friends has known this woman for many years so I asked all of them for their thoughts and recs-all said they would trust her with their children. I also taught her youngest daughter when I was student teaching and she is an amazing kid, polite, good student and well mannered- so she did a good job with her own kids. Her home is very clean in a great neighborhood, also about 3 blocks from my school. And she only takes teachers kids bc she likes her summers and holidays off, so when I'm out DS stays home with me and I don't have to pay or send him to keep my spot- major plus and another reason I didn't want to do daycare. Her fee is $20/day and I supply food/formula and diapers/wipes, but when he eats big people food she will feed him breakfast, lunch and snack and its still $20/day. I don't know if this helps you, but this is our situation. ETA he will go to her until he turns 3 then start daycare at our church.

$20 a day is awesome!!!

starlightstef · July 2013

LibbyLouHoo said:

My LOs have always gone to a center. I like that they receive consistent care day after day, even in the event that one of their caretakers is on vacation or sick. I know the in-home providers in our area are required to have back-up care available when they need to take off, but I would not be comfortable sending my LOs to a new environment in that situtation. And while centers do have more children overall, it is important to remember that they are not all mixed together in one giant room. For infants in my area, the maximum ratio is 4 to 1. There are usually only one or two other children in DS's room with him. I also like that I can bring up any concerns to the director.

Just because the ratio is 4 to 1 doesn't mean there will only be 4 infants in the room. I worked in a center where the ratio was 5 to 1, so there were 2 teachers in there with 10 babies. Also, I just want to point out to mommies that are still looking, a center is not always better than in-home. Like I said, I used to work in a very "reputable" chain center, and things weren't always as advertised. My classroom was regularly over ratio and the director knew it! I saw a lot of shady things that I'm sure parents wouldn't approve of if they knew. That's why I eventually left when I had the chance! So make sure you do your homework!

July18Bride · July 2013

We go the in-home route. We had DS in a day care center and I just didn't have the 'gut' feeling like PP said that it was the right it. I hated the high turnover of the young care takers, the small room 10-12 toddlers were stuck in all day, etc. We love our in-home day care, they have become like grandparents to my kids. They were just as excited when DS#2 was born and they just love him to pieces, I can tell there is no lack of love they get all day. You have to go with what is comfortable with your family.

kgs0505 · July 2013

mine all go to an in-home. i found her from a co-worker. all 4 of her grandkids go to her. i didn't know her except for the one meeting i had with her before i signed up our oldest. i was nervous with him because he was the first, but she's been great. she also has assistants which was also a factor in my decision. she was also less expensive than a center, so that was another factor.

lilbit0910 · July 2013

In -home for me. but only cause i got lucky since my mom is not working. She has been watching LO in my apartment since i came back to work. I pay her $100 a week but only because i feel guilty about not paying her at all. Hopefully she can do this until DD is old enough for preK lol

starlightstef · July 2013

LibbyLouHoo said:

starlightstef said:

Just because the ratio is 4 to 1 doesn't mean there will only be 4 infants in the room. I worked in a center where the ratio was 5 to 1, so there were 2 teachers in there with 10 babies. Also, I just want to point out to mommies that are still looking, a center is not always better than in-home. Like I said, I used to work in a very "reputable" chain center, and things weren't always as advertised. My classroom was regularly over ratio and the director knew it! I saw a lot of shady things that I'm sure parents wouldn't approve of if they knew. That's why I eventually left when I had the chance! So make sure you do your homework!

There may be for than 4 infants in some centers but at the center I am using, there is never more than that. The square footage of the room does not allow them to have more than that (state regulation). That may be something to look into when choosing a center.
And sketchy things can definitely happen at centers. I don't deny that. But they can also happen at in-home daycares and there would be no one else around to see or report them. I would hope that others who found themselves in your situation would report any deficiencies to the state, although it probably doesn't happen. No matter which you choose, you need to do your homework and choose whichever option is best for your family.

Sorry Libby, I wasn't trying to say you were wrong about your own center...just pointing out that all centers may not have such great numbers!

As for reporting, I did alert the state dept, but it did no good because any time they came to visit, the admin staff would scramble and correct ratio issues, grrr!

The only reason I point this out is that it bothers me when people automatically assume a center will be better than in-home simply because it's a center! No matter what you choose, you have to do your research and trust your gut!

Sol1790 · July 2013

lilbit0910 said:
In -home for me. but only cause i got lucky since my mom is not working. She has been watching LO in my apartment since i came back to work. I pay her $100 a week but only because i feel guilty about not paying her at all. Hopefully she can do this until DD is old enough for preK lol

My exact situation! Mom watches DD but I pay her

OhSewCrafty · July 2013

cece2682 said:

After working in a daycare- I would not put my child in one. End of story.

That's a broad stroke of judgement right there. Not all centers are shady or have bad practices.

sunflower92 · July 2013

thank you ladies. we looked at a few of both. we only need two days and the in-homes we looked at needed full week.

so we are going with a great center!

thanks again.

arschm02 · August 2013

I work for a center so I am slightly biased. That being said, both have their pros and cons. I think their can be some very good in-home day cares and the cost tends to be much more affordable. However, they have no one to answer to, and as a parent, that makes me nervous. They may do everything right or that they advertise as doing, or they may just let the "big kids" virtually watch the "little kids" while they sit on the phone or in front of the tv. I would really have to personally know and trust my provider if I chose in-home in order to feel comfortable leaving my baby for 9 hours. The way centers are run, this should not be happening. Teachers need to answer to directors, directors to district managers and up the chain. I'm sure their are crap centers out there too, so it's okay to be picky. Centers also focus on age appropriate learning which becomes much more difficult when their are multiple ages ranging from 6 wks to 12 years at in-home day cares. Ultimately though, go with your gut. What may be best for your baby, may not be best for someone else's. View lots of places and go with which one you feel the best about in your heart. Good luck!!!

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