Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Sorry for crashing, but I need help from BTDT moms. I am expecting our first child and in the process of looking for daycare for when I return to work. I have a friend who has offered to watch DC FT. My child would be the only child in the home most of the day. She has two kids, but they are older and in school. We also found a center that costs just $40 more than what my friend would charge per week (so price is comparable). Which would/did you choose and why? What are the pros and cons? TIA!

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

In my experience:

Pros of a daycare center:

1. great socialization
2. great learning experiences (hopeuflly)
3. independence
4. you never have to keep your child home if the teacher is sick..they've got more!!

cons of daycare center:
1. child is ALWAYS SICK!!!
2. must take off for sick and vactaion days...


ETA what poster below said.

Message edited 4/14/2011 11:27:31 AM.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Posted by Linda1003

In my experience:

Pros of a daycare center:

1. great socialization
2. great learning experiences (hopeuflly)
3. independence
4. you never have to keep your child home if the teacher is sick..they've got more!!

cons of daycare center:
1. child is ALWAYS SICK!!!
2. must take off for sick and vactaion days...


ETA what poster below said.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

They are all correct about the pros vs cons.

However, the woman that watches Lily loves her. Literally loves her. She made me bring the baby over when her parents came for dinner so they could meet her. TBH, sometimes I'm a little jealous of their relationship, but at the same time having someone love my child that much is priceless.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

i think child care is a very personal decision but i knew early on that i wanted my ds in a daycare center. initially ~ i guess pregnancy hormones & mama bear tendencies ~ IMO - i felt it was "safer" in some respects.

the daycare center i use has cameras in every room monitoring what is going on, the teachers all under go back ground checks, there is a security system in place, etc. etc.

now that he has been in daycare for a few months the social benefits are incredible! my son does so many things there ~ they paint with him, play music, interact with other babies, etc. he also kinda "mocks" the older babies and i feel because he sees them trying to crawl, walk, roll - he pushes himself to try to do the same. its pretty amazing.

i have been so happy with my choice! i dont find that my son gets sick all the time ~ but that could change as he gets older and the children interact with each other even more. also - cool things go on @ the school - today the easter bunny will be there for the kids! i think that is fun!

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

our son has been in a large daycare setting since 4 months. there are MANY pros and cons.

this coming August, we are moving him to a state certified home daycare setting. there is actually MORE room for him, better setting for napping, less children (less exposure to germs) ... everything just seems to be all pros...

I cannot find 1 con about this new daycare.

for me, if i was going to put him in an "at home" daycare, it needed to be state certified and so did all of the care givers. they all MUST be CPR/AED/infant first aid certified.

we LOVE this new place and we are VERY excited about the change from large daycare to in home

LINDA ---- dont say anything at TT. We arent telling anyone until the summer

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

For me, the center is what works best.

I like that I don't have to worry about the care taker getting sick, or going on vacation or having a personal emergency.
There is always back ups at the center should a teacher be out.

I like that they are state and nationally accredited and get frequent inspections and follow safety and health rules to the letter of the law.

I like that EVERYTHING is documented- from every single diaper change, to every time she eats, to every nap, to her mood of the day.

I like that everything is age apporpraite and they move through the different classrooms as they progress.

I like the structure of the program.

For us, it was the only choice.

Message edited 4/14/2011 11:53:08 AM.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Posted by Linda1003

Posted by mathteach

They are all correct about the pros vs cons.

However, the woman that watches Lily loves her. Literally loves her. She made me bring the baby over when her parents came for dinner so they could meet her. TBH, sometimes I'm a little jealous of their relationship, but at the same time having someone love my child that much is priceless.

my sons teachers and asst teachers LOVE my son as well.. For most..it's not just a job.. thats something I looked otu for when wantinga daycare..they have to love mychild.. and they do!!

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

I prefer my dd at an in home environment. Right now she is an infant and not doing much socializing and the one on one attention she gets was very important to me.

I worked at a daycare when I was younger (not implying all are like this) but in the infant room there just was too many babies. Only one head teacher and the rest were hs or college students. Sometimes a baby could not always get the attention it wanted (not needed)

I think your friend sounds like a great option just find someone or somewhere you can bring your dd if your friend is sick or has an emergency

Then when dd is older you can think about a center option for socialization and learning

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

My suggestion - do the in-home until DC is 12 - 18 months. DC will get special, undivided attention. After DC turns one I think it's important for them to start socializing.

That's what I did ...

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

We use an in home provider. She has a daughter who is the same age as my son, so they spend the day together. It's a very loving, yet structured environment. I'm really envious of our sitter because her home is always clean and always quiet....no matter how many kids are in the house on a given day. It's amazing...she's my mommy idol.

The big pro is the cost. She is easily $100 per week less than the center that is nearby.

The big con is arranging alternate care when her kids are sick or our child is sick.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

I've done both and I love both for different reasons. Right now we have a nanny for our two children because it costs less and we LOVE her, but it is hard because when the kids get sick, she gets sick and sometimes has to take off. We are lucky because my sister can fill in for her if needed, but not everyone has that option.

She used to work at a daycare so she does fun stuff with the kids, and she also takes them out a lot near our home (the park, the ecology center, to paint ceramics, etc) - nice things that they wouldn't get to do as much of at a daycare center.

It is also really nice to not have to get them both up and ready in the mornings. I have to leave very early for work and they are both still sleeping then.

If you find a place or person you love, you can't go wrong

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Posted by headoverheels

Posted by NervousNell

I like that EVERYTHING is documented- from every single diaper change, to every time she eats, to every nap, to her mood of the day.

I loved this so much at my old daycare center that I made up my own sheet and my nanny fills it in for the kids every day

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

I moved ds from a daycare to an in home daycare. I love the inhome. I feel its smaller, less kids, more one on one. Ds loves it, hates to leave. I have actually extened his days because he has so much fun. They do projecs, have lessons, play outside which was a big thing for me. I wanted him out and to enjoy the freshair. In the facility, he was sick from day one. So much i was on a first name basis with my oed office. In the inhome, he has been sick, just not as much. I feel the one on one he gets is awesome, i honestly feel his teacher really does love him, she always tells me she does

I bring diapers and wipes and a change of clothes, his blanket and sheet for nap. Everything else is provided for ds, snacks, food, everything. They are licensed and I can pop in whenever I want. Not that I do, but I can.

Its a personal choice really. Go see some place and gets some ideas.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

my ds is in a center. He started there about 2 months ago when he was 3 months.

We are really happy there- the teachers are wonderful with him, he has become more social and because he sees other babies trying to crawl and sit- it pushes him.

My one issue with the center is that he keeps getting colds from the other kids- but when I spoke to the pediatrician she said that either it happens now or in kindergarten... I think I'd feel better about him being sick then though because at least at that point he could tell me what's wrong.

if my job was more flexible and I could have done care in my home, I would have opted for that. But just coming back from maternity leave- I can not be out.

good luck

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

We went with a Daycare Center

I like that it is structured and DS is with other kids his age. There are webcams there so I can check up on him anytime. He is very outgoing and friendly and I attribute that to daycare.

The biggest cons for me are cost and germs but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

I did a center for a few reasons. First, I have absolutely NO backup daycare. I couldn't afford to take more days off for the sitter being sick and at a center, that doesn't happen. They are open everyday but holidays.

Second, I didn't know anyone who did in-home daycare that I knew well enough to leave my DS with alone all day. I figured in a daycare, there is more accountability - more than one teacher, cameras, etc. and I was more comfortable with that.

Another pro that I didn't realize when he was younger is now that he is preschool age, there is more for him to do. My coworkers whose kids were at in-home daycares found that after the kids were about 2, they got bored because a lot of the kids at the in-home daycares were babies. They didn't think their children got enough interaction with peers.

The big con for me is how often he got sick, especially the first year. The second year was definitely better and now, in the third year, he has rarely been sick at all.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment

Thanks for all of the responses. Definitely a lot to think about.

Re: Daycare Center vs. In-home Environment