Daycare vs in Home Childcare

We did a home daycare for 2.5 years and now my daughter is in preschool. For socialization while in the home daycare, we did a weekend playgroup and a class at Gymboree. She did great with the transition to school and loved both situations. I say give it a try.....she's at a good age to adjust easily!

We had a wonderful experience with an in-home daycare. My daughter turned one the day I had to go back to teach. I taught that school year and was pretty miserable not being with my baby, but it felt good knowing she was in a home with a woman I liked a lot!! And most days when I went to pick up my daughter she would run and hide behind her babysitter, not wanting to go home! While this hurt my feelings a little bit, it felt so good to know she was happy during the day. I always felt those big daycare centers were not personal enough for me. Just my opinion. Go ahead and leave her in the care of this sitter that you love. And like you said, you'll be sending her to preschool at age 3. So, no worries about socialization!

My son started at a daycare center at 9 weeks and we have never looked back. They are reliable, always there, there are multiple caregivers which means multiple sets of eyes. Someone is always watching him - even if one adult needs to be in the bathroom or another child hurts himself of needs his diaper changed. They would never turn on a tv so they could go do something else (no tv in the center). I knew he was held and read too and played with. When he was older, there was the socialization aspect.

I was way too worried about the lack of supervision and absence of uniform standards in a home setting to consider it. Plus the lack of back up if the caregiver got sick would never have worked for me. In PA the ratio of infants to providers is 4:1 in a daycare center but a small home provider can watch 6 children. Plus they do not be the same age - could watch one infant and 4 toddlers.

I had my daughter in a daycare center, the same one, from 12 weeks until Kindergarten. I never considered taking her out.

How do you know that this woman will continue to watch your daughter for any length of time? She may decide to go back to work, leaving you high and dry. Is she licensed to do daycare in her home? How many kids will she then have?

My experience was that it was so hard to find reliable, licensed care, that once in, I was not going to make a change.

Personally, I never felt comfortable with a daycare center. I know it works for plenty of people, just not my personal preference. Too impersonal. I have only worked part time since having kids (2 days a week at first then 3 days). We had a nanny in our house, since my 1st daughter was 7 months old up till my 3rd child was born in April of this year. We LOVED her. She made home made meals, cleaned for the kids, took them out every day, took them to and from preschool on the days they went, in nice weather they went to the park, or bike riding, etc. In cold weather, to the library or Barnes and Noble etc. I met other moms when out with my kids who said they'd seen my nanny out with the girls and how great she was. She genuinely loved and adored my kids. I am now working from home part time, with my infant son and my girls are in school.

My background: I was assistant director at a large daycare, and later did home daycare at my home. Kids don't need the socialization until after age 3 or even 4. Until then they don't "play with" others, but only beside others. In home care would give your child so much more consistency than a large center, as there is ALWAYS too much turnover in large centers. If you feel that you can find a backup or a sub to work around illness on occasion, I'd say go for the change. Your child will have better language skills and be more prepared with the knowledge she needs to be ready to learn in school if she goes to home daycare.

I have done in-home and daycare both. The in-home sitter was ok, but I prefer daycare and wish I had done it from the start. Some of the problems with in-home: your sitter (or her child) may get sick and not be able to watch your child for a few days. Your in-home sitter may want to go on vacation for a week and not be able to watch your child. Your sitter is in her own home, so she cooks meals and does laundry & talks on the phone & maybe has her friends over - all the while, who is keeping a close eye on your child? These are ALL problems I experienced with my in-home sitter.

Daycare (a good daycare) is awesome. They are always there, they don't close because of illness or vacation. They have multiple sets of eyes keeping a close watch on all the kids. They are structured and you know what they are being taught, and what activites are happening each day. You know what they eat everyday and who is around them. They get social interaction with lots of kids. They learn all day and are not plopped in front of a tv.

As you can see, I am a bit biased. I have nothing against any in-home providers, I just had an unpleasant experience with one. You do what you feel is best for your child, but I vote daycare on this one. Good luck!

I am an in-home daycare provider, & I make sure that I provide all of the preKG prep needed. If you like this woman, if you like the thought of your child being more one-on-one....then it's a good idea.

If you're leaning more toward the socialization end of things, then either conference with your existing daycare or look for a new one.

Maybe you need to look for a better daycare center? Ask them how long their teachers have been there? How much turnover do they have?

Our daughter was at an "in home caregiver" till she was 2 and then she was in a really great daycare center until she started Kindergarten at the neighborhood school..

When I think back on it, she was with the majority of the same set of kids in daycare those years she was there. The teachers also stayed for the length of time and they all had early childhood degrees.

We parents became a sort of support system.. some of them did not have family in town so we helped each other out.

I am sure the teacher will do a great job, but there is something nice about not having to worry about a caregiver taking vacation, being ill.. etc. I loved our daughter having friends at school.

My son went to an inhome daycare from 8 weeks to 15 months. Actually, I don't know I would even call it an in home daycare as it was a stay-at-home mom who had her two kids and one other baby part time. I was uncomfortable with a center because I felt like it was too much commotion for him and how would he be able to sleep and relax. I felt best with him in the most home like setting possible - which worked perfectly for us. It was just a mom and her kids and was so small and personal I LOVED it. Now, I stay at home as I've been recently laid off, but I always thought once he got a little older I would want him in a center just so he could have more playmates, more experiences, structured activities, etc. But at least until 2.5 or so I wanted him in a very small family setting.

At her age, I'd go with the in-home. She gets plenty of social time when you make a trip to the park or McDonalds, etc. Just make sure that you have a backup plan for days that she might not be available.

I think both can be great, it just depends on how you feel about either option. For me, in home childcare was the way to go because I had a wonderful, kind, caring and nurturing woman who was very dependable to watch my son. She also took care of 3-4 other children and as a result he was very well socialized from an early age. She also structured their day and did lots of preschool type activities. I felt she really knew my son and could meet his needs the way I could when he was home with me, which was important to me.

I've worked in a daycare facility and also as a nanny. Having this experience, if I had the choice, I would definitely choose the home care. If you decide on the home care, yes it will be more difficult as far as vacations and illness, however the quality of care your child will receive is much higher. In a daycare center there is a ratio of several children per one teacher and individual attention is limited. I agree with the other poster that she will have plenty of socialization during other activities and she will be back in preschool when she is 3 anyway. Best of luck with your decision!