day care

We are planning on having the twins in day care 2 days a week atarting at age 1 since I decided to go back to work part time (I'll give it the college try for a while any way.)

My MIL keeps saying that we should talk at the church if there is a "old lady" who watches kids (her words and she is one so it must be OK).

Any one have opinions on in home day cares versus day care centers? Pros/cons?

Thanks

 

I personally do not like home daycares. They tend to be overcrowded with not enough adult supervision, they tend to favor their own kids (if they have any) over the others. They don't seem as structured and safe as a facilty. Alot of this I speak from experience, I remember my days in a home day care I was treated like crap.

but do some research and talk to people about where they go. good luck, hope you find a good place for them

 

I have (rightly or wrongly) a bias against in home daycares. To me, it's a worst case scenario. Someone alone with your child without supervision, and they have a lot of other children to watch as well. I know it works for a lot of people, and if I knew someone personally who did it I might feel differently, but we went with a center and have been happy.

 

I've not tried an in-home center for my DD's, but I was in them when I was a child. When I was looking for daycare (starting around age 2) I opted for a center because:

1. They were placed in a room with children of their own age range, not a bigger range that could occur at an in home center. They are in a room of 18-30 month olds, with activities geared specifically to that age range.

2. If the provider is sick, I'm not out of luck. There are many teachers who can cover for anyone who is sick.

3. There is no favortism to their own child going on.

4. The center has their own, nice playgrounds, a toddler specific and an preschool specific, plus outdoor riding toys, tricycles, etc.


My biggest reason for moving away from a nanny M-F while I worked, to daycare 3 days a week/nanny 2 days a week was so they could have more socialization with children their age and craft/learning activities daily. The daycare I chose accomplished both of these things and they love it.

Also, look for state licensing, which both in home and centers can have. This was a must for me.

 

We prefer in-home day care. We will go to a small center for the first 6 months because it's the only place that had room for us. I visited and hate it. There is a room that is basically a closet with 4 cribs in it and another tiny room with no windows for the infant room. After 6 months, there is a wonderful in-home day care (licensed) who can take them. They do all kinds of fun activities, take walks, story time at the library, etc. She's wonderful and I know her personally. I think it really depends on the situation. You should make visits and talk with other parents to find out about the places you are considering.

 

I'm nervous about in home daycare, but centers are very pricey- at least where I am! They be cheaper after 1 year old, but infant care is expensive! It may be cheaper for you to get ananny- depending on prices in your area. My area is really expensive and it would cost about $2400/month for center infant care for me!

 

The cost will depend on where you live. Here it is approximately $900/month for the center or in home. We're a very rural area though.

ETA: that's for two infants

 

I'll be one of the one's to say I love my in-home day care. Now I had known the lady doing it for years before I had kids, so that might be most of the reason. The thing is she is like a Grandma and truly loves all the children she watches. Over the past 5 years I have had to work with her on introducing my son to more academics and social situations, but I figure during the day he is being loved. You can't guarantee that at a center. She is extremely flexible, as long as you let her know in advance what you want. She even offered to watch my son overnight one time when i had to travel for business and was trying to figure stuff out. She takes the kids to swimming lessons, to the park, to gymnastics, and for walks. I love her, and will continue to use her until my girls are probably 4 years old, and I will register them for preschool at that time.

 

We went with a day care center. I really liked the program and the facilities. I also liked that I wouldn't have to worry if the day care provider was ill or on vacation. But most importantly for me, I really liked who would be taking care of my children, and I think that's what matters, no matter whay type of care you end up going with.

 

Its a tought choice and as PP have said I believe a lot depends on the home or corporate center options you have. For example my boys have be in an in-home daycare since three months. However there are five adults at the house, she converted the entire first floor into a daycare. I prefer this option because she is more flexible and I have gotten to know the women who work there. I also like my kids being exposed to the variety of sge groups, the other kids often relay how my boys day went and they have no reason to lie. Our reasons for not going to a corporate care program was I was uncomfortable with the sterile infant environment. it should also be noted that workers at the corporate care programs may have children in the center as well. Therefore some of the above "child preference" issues may still hold true, you should ask. Corporate care was also much more restricive about "sick time". My daycare lets kids with low grade fevers come and only sends home when vomitting, high fever, contagious...etc....now this means I don't have to pull them out as much but it also means they are exposed to more. I am ok with this although not everyone would be. Really visit and ask a lot of questions with whatever options you chose. Go with your guts and know you will have doubts with any solution. No one is you.

 

I use to have my 4 year old in a daycare center that was costing $400 to $500 per month. I loved that place, but they closed down once the insurance rates in our area rose dramatically. So now, I am keeping my kids and 4 others here at my house. I do everything that the daycare did for my daughter.

I don't see a problem with Home caregivers as long as they are willing to do what the daycare centers are doing. My house is always clean, I play with the kids, treat them as if they were my own, but I tend to be harder on my 4 year old because she is usually picking the fights. They are her toys that get played with--lol.

I know CPR and will be getting my certification soon. I am not running an inhome daycare, I am just babysitting. I know the people that I sit for very well and we are all friends, so that makes a big difference. I already know how the parents expect their kids to behave and I continue what they are trying to do and then some. I work with all the kids in their alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and I have a list of the expectations from the school in our area for Kindergarden entry and what the kids need to know before they can enter kindergarden and I help the parents inteaching them the things that are needed to be worked on. I also have a back up person to help me if I need help or get more kids due to drop-ins.

Not all home caregivers are bad, you just have to do your research. Ask for references, and check up on them. I always give people interested in me babysitting for them my references and info for a backgraound check if they wish. But that is just me. Not every one is going to do what I do. The prices that home caregivers might be less but that doesn't mean that they are bad. I only charge $50 per week per child. I only ask that the parents provide food, clothes, diapers, sippy cups, tooth brushes, and other personals that the parents wish to include.

Meshell

 

I worked in a child care center for 2 years. I would not suggest sending a child to child care unless you have no other option. My reasons are your child is expected to be sick at least once every month. A cold or worse and they will keep a runny nose. Just as it goes away it will be right back. Other children bite. The school is not allowed to tell you who is doing the bitting. I worked at 2 centers and at both the biters are not taken out of the schools after bitting so many times. They tell you they have so many chances, but that is just to keep you calm.

I would put a ad in the paper for a nanny have someone come to your home and do things your way. This way the kids are in there enviroment. I know in my area they have a nanny service in the yellow pages. You can always run a background check at your local police dept. if you find someone on your own. Make them take a infant/child cpr class. Good luck.

 

QUOTE(ExpectingTwins 7-31-07 @ Jun 4 2008, 06:20 PM) [snapback]809855[/snapback]
Other children bite. The school is not allowed to tell you who is doing the bitting. I worked at 2 centers and at both the biters are not taken out of the schools after bitting so many times. They tell you they have so many chances, but that is just to keep you calm.

I would put a ad in the paper for a nanny have someone come to your home and do things your way. This way the kids are in there enviroment. I know in my area they have a nanny service in the yellow pages. You can always run a background check at your local police dept. if you find someone on your own. Make them take a infant/child cpr class. Good luck.


Well, I have a nanny 2 days a week, and my girls are in daycare 3 days a week. Lily gets bitten by Grace, at our home, with the nanny or DH or I. For a while, it was pretty much 2-3 times a day, but consistent timeout and making her apologize has cut that down to maybe once every two weeks (knock on wood). At daycare, Grace has never bitten Lily or any other child.

I think biting is a natural toddler thing to do, not saying it is a good toddler behavior, but it is natural and hard to control. If you want your children to be able to play with other children, especially of their own toddler age, biting is going to happen. There are things the daycare can do to try to stop it, it worked at our house. But it is going to happen. And if you have twins it can just as easily happen in your very own home!