[megincl]

we're in a quandary about what to do for care for DS in the fall. He will be 17mo and we need 20-25 hours of care a week. We're looking into some home day cares and remember only a nightmarish place we visited last year. What makes a home day care "good" in your eyes? What are you looking for? I'm afraid everything will pale in comparison to our home and to some wonderful cooperative daycare centers that we've visited but can't get into.

thanks!
megin

 

[sweetest]

I have dd at a nonprofit daycare 2 days a week. They have a home-like environment (kitchen, each child has a cubby with thier blanket) but the best part is no TV. While I am in class a friend of mine watches dd for about an hour until dh gets off work and she cant live without a TV on full time. I was afraid of hte same thing at an in home daycare. Plus I know that no one but the caregivers and parents will be there. A old coworker of mine offered to take care of dd in her home along with her granddaughter (the friend has an early childhood development background) but I didnt like the fact she has a teenage son and who knows coming in and out of her house. We love our daycare situation and dd seems so happy there (one of the caregivers in the afternoon has her 3 month old there).

SO ....

I dont think an in home situaiton is automatically better. You have to really visit the places .

Good luck!

 

[1xmom]

My dd just came went from an in-home day care, to a facility. The one thing I liked about the in-home day care was the flexibility. I also noticed when the first time I walked in how homey it was. but I could still see the professionallism. In other words, I could tell my child would not be sat in front of a tv all day. She was always doing something w/them, from outings, to crafts, etc. The provider was very nice and gave me a tour of everything. I could tell she was an experienced person. She had actually worked at a facility before starting her own.
Definately check references also. That is very important.

 

[EFmom]

I agree with the things 1xmom said. Also, I wanted a place where there weren't too many other children. We have used a dcp who I love because she is so patient (way more so than I am), warm and loving.

From the perspective of my job, I want someone who is stable, professional and is not taking random days off.

 

[Bippity]

My DD is in a great home daycare. I love that the DCP only takes babies/toddlers up to 2 1/2 (although I'm already dreading the though of DD having to leave her), she has 2 full-time helpers, so closing when DCP is sick is never an issue - she just stays upstairs & the helpers are there. Consistent care is another biggie, this DCP has been caring for babies for 18 years in her home. Her 2 helpers have been with her for awhile, one 7 years and the other 3 years. I love that there's no TV, no loud music or tons of screaming kids from other classes (like at a center), the place is calm-even with 8-9 babies/toddlers. They use positive, gentle discipline (& not that you need much discipline for toddlers anyway). I love that I know I can pop in anytime and I'm welcome and feel comfortable. I breastfed there every day for months & months during my lunch hour & that helped me feel so much better, too, cause I got to know them all pretty well & could see how they interact and really do care about the kids and give them all lots of love. They never let 'em CIO. They know how to handle breastmilk, They go by DD's schedule & never insist on her behaving any particular way and they ask lots of questions about what DD is used to, what she likes, what she responds to, how she falls asleep, what's she like when she wakes up, etc. It's just obvious that they care and are committed to providing quality day care that's as good for kids as a daycare can be & responsive to parents, too.

We asked around - we asked EVERYBODY and then we interviewed, checked references and sat around there a lot the first few weeks we left DD there.

Good luck, it's a tough thing!

 

[grnmtnmama]

I wanted my son to go to an in-home daycare. Someplace homey where the care-giver could really get to know him, give him lots of love and hold him a lot. Also, I wanted to avoid the germ fest of a larger center. I visited all the local registered daycares and some non-registered ones as well. Some were better than others, some were downright icky. But no one had any openings for Keiran!

So, on the advice of a cousin who is a dcp i ran an ad in a local paper for stay-at-home moms looking for a little extra income by watching my son. I got a ton of responses and visited 4 or 5 possibilities. the moment I walked in the door to see our current provider I just knew that it was the perfect situation. Nice, clean house. Books everywhere and quality toys. she was a director of a childcare center and didn't want to go back after she had her son but needed some more money to be able to stay home. She really gives my son the attention he needs.

She's flexible, but i try to be very sensitive to her life. I'm never late picking up or paying. I don't want to ruin this really great relationship that we have!

 

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Some things that I appreciate about my DCP:
* She's been doing this for 19 years so I think she's found her vocation. On the other hand, she has made a big effort to keep up with developments in chidcare and children's development and adjusted her approach accordingly.
* There is virtually no turnover for the primary caregiver. She has an assist, and they change every year or two, but she's always there.
* She specializes in children 0-3 so when the kids were babies I didn't have to worry about them being hurt by much bigger kids. All the toys and such are geared towards this one age, so I don't have to worry about little things that are attractive to older kids but dangerous to little ones.
* She's very flexible in terms of keeping to each babies individual schedule.
* She has enough time and few enough children to really hold, rock, sing, whatever is needed at naptime.
* She will work with parents in an approach to potty-training -- no following the one way a center likes to do it or at a specific age.
* She will work with parents regarding food choices.
* The home is clean, well stocked, well baby-proofed. Yet it is still a home.

Overall, the most important thing to me was her flexibility and willingness to work with each unique situation.

 

[SweetP]

Like many have said, it's the homey atmosphere that won me over. DD is in a home daycare. No more than 5 kids. Consistant care from the same dcp. So many of the day-care facilities that I visited seemed, somehow, institutional. Plus, there tends to be a VERY high rate of turn-over in regular day cares. As was so wonderfully put in the book "Misconceptions" what to a day care organization is "turnover" to a child is "loss." I love that Cindy is always there for Fiona. I love that Fiona has a small group of friends, some younger, some a little older -- she gets to learn from the older kids and, in turn, teach the younger. I know Cindy's three children (all in Jr highschool and highschool now) and they are a wonderful testament to her parenting skills. Plus, home day-care is far more flexible.
If I can't have my dd at home with me, I'd rather her be in Cindy's home and care than in an institutional environment. It's more personal, more loving.
Charlotte

 

[Liz]

My son has been at his home daycare since he was 6 months old, he's now 4 years old. I, too, liked that it is a home atmosphere. I like that there are a mix of ages. I like that he was the only baby. I like that she has 4 kids maximum. I like that they go out on errands, to the playground, to programmes at her local school, to the library, or just play in her yard. My son has his own community up there - it's only 4 blocks from our house but he knows her neighbours, he knows the mail man, etc. He will be going to her local school because he already considers it his own.

I found daycare centres, even the best ones, too busy for my son when he was a baby. They all say they follow the baby's schedule but in reality they can't. Since my son was the only baby, my care provider could really work around his nap times. He slept upstairs while the other kids played downstairs.

I think home daycare is ideal for infants up to about 3. I think my son would love a big daycare now but I'm going to wait until he starts kindergarten just so he doesn't have too many changes at once. At least my care provider gets out a lot. I know others who never leave the house and I think my son would be very bored there by now.

My care provider works through an agency. They run a daycare centre but they also over see a roster of homecare providers. They screen them and their families, they do drop in visits continually, they offer training programmes in early childhood education, first aid, etc. They arrange alternate care when she goes on vacation or is sick (in my case it is usually my care providers SIL who happens to work with the same agency and lives even closer to me). All payments go to them and they in turn pay the care providers and provide benefits, etc. It's really a great situation for her and us. She's been with this agency for 10 years so I could talk to parents of kids she's cared for in the past. I really recommend talking to other parents and particularly past parents because they have less at stake. Present parents want to believe that everything is hunk dory but a past parent might admit in hindsight that something was less than perfect.

Anyway, I'm babbling. I love my homecare situation!

 

[boomingranny]

DD started in a home daycare when she was a baby. It was good for babies and kind of a yuppiesh place. I placed her in a neighborhood daycare center when the turnover at the yuppie place became an issue. i also didn't like how the home daycare lady treated her staff. The neighborhood place I sent my dd had very little turnover, A director who had been a daycare provider for 20 years and it was very warm, simple, affectionate and stable. BTW, home daycares can be germ factories too especially if the providers don't follow correct hygeine.

So the moral of the story is...visit and get references, make sure you can drop in un-announced. Observe the providers...what is the changing diapers routine like? (washing hands, etc.). What about food? Are the kids focused or is it chaotic? It really is about the Director and the staff. The lower the turnover the happier the staff the happier the kids.

cheers