Daycare options-your experience and advice is truly appreciated!

[crazyshopper]

Hi everyone!

I am looking into daycare for my son, who will be 12 months when I place him in daycare. I would love to hear about what kind of daycare everyone has...why they chose that route, and the pros/cons.

I am stuck between a few choices...on the one hand, the daycare centre has 1:3 ratio, a highly regarded literacy program, voted number one in my area (Mississauga, Ontario), and a one year waiting list (it must be good if it's that hard to get in!?!)

However, the in-home daycare lady has maximum of 5 kids (legally she can have no more than 2 kids under 2 years old. A friendly, loving environment and close to home. No specific "learning" program, although lots of exposure to toys/books/kids of other ages (up to 5 years old).

So...

In general, do these "learning programs" that daycare centres provide really make a difference or are they just marketing tools? Are daycare centres too impersonal? Not clean enough? Too rigid for a 12 month old? Do you think they are more "regulated" so there are fewer chances of abuse? How about abuse in home daycare, where there are fewer "witnesses". Am I depriving my son of the education that could help him develop at the critical early age? AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Or should I give up the whole idea of going back to work, live paycheck to paycheck and stay at home.

Advice anyone???? PLEASE (and THANK YOU) !!!!

Thanks :)
crazyshopper

[KMommie]

It sounds like you have two very good, but different child care options!

So, are these learning programs marketing tools? IMHO, to an extent, yes... but does that mean your son won't enjoy it? He probably will enjoy the experiences. Are the centers impersonal or not clean enough? In my experience, the centers (other than the Infant Room) have "teachers", and the in-homes have "mommies". Are mommies teachers? YES... Are teachers mommies? Sometimes... With more children running around, you're bound to have a few more germs no matter how clean you keep the place. BUT, if a bug should go around an inhome, and the caregiver gets sick, do you have backup childcare? That might be a consideration, as centers will have other teachers to cover an ill teacher. Do either of these options have field trips? Real life experiences are important for learning, too.


As a teacher, and now a parent, I firmly believe, that parents are the most important teachers a child ever has. I always tell my parents in the classroom, I have your child for 6 hours a day, 180 days of one year times 20 children. That really isn't very much time. YOU are the most important teacher your child will ever have. The learning programs, IMHO, are nice, but not necessary.
I would see if I could talk to parents who have children already in the center or in the home you're looking at. You might be able to get a better feel for what actually goes on at both.

hth,
Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[christic]

We've been very happy with in-home daycare, although in our case it's sort of a hybrid of in-home and a center. It's located in the back of her house and has a completely separate entrance/kitchen from her family's house. She also has a couple part-time assistants.

The pros for us have been:

It has more of a family feel with kids starting as babies and staying through the toddler years.

We only need daycare part-time and she is much more flexible with us than any center was willing to be. We can save up extra hours and use them for extra days when we need them.

She is very willing to work with us with feeding, naps, etc. rather than having rules that the parents follow.


That's it for now...baby waking from a nap!

[Piglet]

We had virtually the same choiecs when DS was turning 1. We chose the dayhome and couldn't be happier. I have many friends that have chosen daycare and while their kids are just as happy, I think mine is sick less often. Now, it could have everything to do with his immune system, but I think that exposing him to 5 kids a day (some days only 3), is way better than exposing him to 9 kids in the baby room, 12 kids in the 2-year old room, etc.

I haven't found any benefits to the programming in daycare - I mean a SAHM caring for her own child would not have programs, and that is a great way to raise a child! As for the caregiver being sick goes - in 1 year, we have had maybe 5 instances where we had to find alternate arrangements, and 4 of those times were brought on by my paranoia that the caregiver's son had a bug that I didn't want DS to have. She has been very accomodating as far as diet, napping and toilet training go.
The final straw for me as far as this decision went was the napping - at the daycare they had a room with 9 cribs for nap time. My son would never sleep in such an environment. He is a great sleeper, but needs his own room, or at least some privacy. That was the deal breaker for me.

If you are looking for a hybrid of daycare convenience/dayhome environment, try calling a dayhome organization. I am in Calgary and we have a handful of organizations for dayhomes. They guarantee the caregiver to be certified for first aid, and periodically check on the caregiver to make sure they are operating cleanly, safely, etc. The best thing about these organizations is that they will find alternate arrangements for you if the caregiver is sick. These dayhomes generally cost more than other dayhomes, but usually are less than daycare. That having been said, we found ours through an ad at the grocery store and we just felt that the fit was perfect.

Good luck to you!
Marina

[MamaKath]

When my dd was one we had a similar dilema. We went with the home daycare. There were lots of reasons why. Among them- similar parenting style, multi-age interaction, true bonding vs staff turnover, just the feeling of family in general.

We could not have been happier! Our caregiver made our daughter a part of her family, much to our delight. She had instant siblings who adored her, and who enhanced her life and skills, especially her vocabulary. She participated in school outings, day to day experiences (store, post office, bank, gas), meals. She was loved! Ironically she also resembled very closely the caregivers children in appearance, so her participation at there school was never questioned, lol.

The hardest part about it for me was that she really did bond with her provider. She called her "mama" for the longest time, and then moved onto Auntie as she realized that I was mama.

It was better for us than the issues of her bonding with someone who moves onto a different job without a good-bye. Or being lost in a sea of kids the same age (as a teacher I know that the kids you remember most aren't usually the good ones- there is a reason for that). The center we looked at would have been wondeful too, but she would have been another "student" vs "part of the family".

Talk to parents whose kids participate in the two programs, ask lots and lots and lots of questions, and go with your gut!

HTH

[SeekerMage]

Honestly...having worked in daycare in both the home and the work setting, I would have to say the homedaycare is a much better choice. The centers I feel are nicer when they are older, near preschool age as they are more a classroom type setting. Also at that stage they are less likely to get attached to their teachers and there is a VERY high turn over rate in daycare. At a home based setting you wont have the turn over possiblity. I also agree that its a more Mommy type teaching rather then the typical learning type.
Another thing I personally feel is that at 12 months, they are still babies, what do they need to be learning literacy and such for, let them explore and learn at their own pace, the literacy and such will come when they are more able to grasp it. Not only that, but in a setting that has children up to age five or older they will be learning from their older peers. I nanny for a 15 month old and take my three year old with. Since we have been going there he has gone from not talking at all, to using several words, playing house, sitting to read a story and many other things cooperatively with my daughter that he could not do before.
Personally, as you can tell I prefer home daycare. If you are at all nervous, look into her liscence, talk to the other parents, and see about having a background check on her. Honestly it sounds like a nice situation and a 1:5 ratio is not bad at all!
Good luck...I know what a tough decision it is :)

[kransden]

I went with a commerical dc, but it is at a university. It is close to where I work, so I can stop by for lunch. Several of the teachers have been there for over 5 years. The kids gets lots of love and attention. They do get to do things that I wouldn't ever do, or an in home daycare wouldn't either because of the manpower/mess factor. Since I am not from the area I wasn't able to find an in home that I was comfortable with. Every situation is different and lots of people brought up great points. My dd is very social and now can sleep though anything. I would spend a full morning at BOTH places and aee how things work. I think you will be able to make a more educated decision then. FYI just don't do it on a Monday, that is the fussiest day!

Karin
Katie 10/24/02