Child care

LAE1982 · October 2013

I need some opinions about child care please. What are the pros/cons to both big daycare facilities, and in home smaller daycares? So far the price of the big daycare seems to be most ideal. They will charge me only for the days I need, which turns out I only need 2 days a week child care. What do or did you ladies prefer for your children?

bumpuser9058414 · October 2013

DD is in a center. When she was 5 months-8 months she stayed with a friend of mine who is a SAHM. If her kids got sick, I had to take the day off. I know a lot of in home daycares you have to pay them for their vacations and make other child care arrangements. If your provider is sick, you have to find something else. In a center, there is always someone there to care for your child. I also like the accountability of a center. My aunt lives next door to an in home provider and has heard her screaming at the kids, no thank you.

katykatykaty · October 2013

I think it depends mostly on the feeling you get when you tour your choices. When I was thinking about daycare, I was more comfortable with the larger centers because I felt like there was more accountability and less chance for the teacher/babysitter to do something bad since other adults would hopefully also be around. But I like that there are less kids at the in-home centers.

htn1763 · October 2013

We are going with an inhome. First, the price is much better, but I also like that there are only 4 kids and my baby will be the only one under 1. Also, I felt like the provider just had a much closer connection with the kids. She texts (the parents)updates during the day and sends pictures.

matthewmegan · October 2013

DD goes to a center. We had it all lined up with both options, but ultimately, went with the center. I like that no matter what, there is coverage. They are also regularly checked on by state regulators to ensure they are up to the correct standards. DD only has 3 other babies in her room (an infant room) so she does get attention. I also like that she is able to learn to be around babies since she will have one at home soon. She plays very well with one other little guy there (1.5 mo younger) and doesn't require 100% of our attention when playing at home. All things that will help when LO #2 arrives.

htn1763 · October 2013

matthewmegan said:

DD goes to a center. We had it all lined up with both options, but ultimately, went with the center. I like that no matter what, there is coverage. They are also regularly checked on by state regulators to ensure they are up to the correct standards. DD only has 3 other babies in her room (an infant room) so she does get attention. I also like that she is able to learn to be around babies since she will have one at home soon. She plays very well with one other little guy there (1.5 mo younger) and doesn't require 100% of our attention when playing at home. All things that will help when LO #2 arrives.

Licensed in home providers are checked as well. You can search for those records online too.

LaurenAsh23 · October 2013

I agree with pps...just depends on your needs. In our area, big centers are way more expensive than in home care. I am opting for in home daycare for the first couple of years and then will either be staying at home or sending them to a center for daycare/preschool. I like in home as babies because they are still getting the social interaction, but it's not as crazy as a center may be.

Also, just an fyi for anyone looking around. We have had a lot of issues in our area recently with faith based centers. In Indiana at least, they don't have the same guidelines as normal centers. just something to be aware of during your search.

Andreabills · October 2013

I have no real advice since I am a FTM, but DH and I have been looking at child care centers this week in our area and I second the statement that they are more expensive than in home care. That being said, we chose to go with a center over in home because of the issues with only having 1 person. What happens if that person/their kids get sick? I've had a friend before that had to take off work a week because her sitter had the flu.

Also, the center that we are probably going to choose has cameras in the room that we can log on and see what is going on with her.

TradeMama · October 2013

I am pregnant with my 4th and all 3 of my older kids have gone to daycare. I even worked at a daycare before I went to law school.

In my experience, in-home care is the least expensive and least reliable. On multiple occasions the caregiver would call and was either sick, one of her kids was sick, or had some appointment and I had to scramble for last minute care. Also the ages were mixed so DS would be with kids ranging from infant-school age. The one plus, however, was that DS got sick less frequently in that setting. At the time, I was in law school so I went with what I could afford.

Center care, in my experience, is more structured, consistent, and reliable. My LO goes to a center now and we are so happy with the level of interaction (ratio=3:1), cleanliness, and accountability. We have never had any real problems. The drawbacks, however, are that LO has a constant runny nose, the price, and lack of flexibility. When I was in law school it was important that I could pick LO up late once a week since I had a late class... That would never work at a center. I also pay twice the amount for a center vs. in-home.

CactusGirl · October 2013

Most if my daughter's life she went to an IHDC. I liked this because she was in my neighborhood, way cheaper, and flexible. Plus I could drop her off in her pjs and she'd change her and fix her hair cute. The only thing that really sucked was when the daycare lady needed a day off or needed her to be picked up early it was really difficult to find someone else on short notice.

Now she goes to a facility (we moved) and I like it. It's nice having a very structured environment and she's gotten in a really good routine. The only thing I don't like is that she does seem to have a runny nose more often, however, we did move somewhere that has way more dust\crop particles in the air and I'm pretty sure she has allergies.

Both have been a good experience, but I'm kind of liking the daycare facility better (however, she is two years old and not a tiny baby right now).

LAE1982 · October 2013

Thank you ladies. Ironically enough, in home care is jut as pricy as big center care where I live. Hubby and I are going to tour a place tomorrow that has better rates. I only need 2 days of care, and they charge by the day. Thank god! Hopefully it's a cool place.

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