daycare or babysitter? what do you think?

My 4 yo dd has gone to the same daycare since she was 3 mos old and we love it. They have a separate infant room, each baby has his/her own crib. The caregivers in the infant room are the same ladies who were there when my dd was a baby. We have no doubt about how loving and caring and able they are. They have up to 13 infants and 3 - 4 caregivers. Typically, the ratio is 2 or 3 to 1.

However, this time around, with our twins, I'm reconsidering putting them in daycare. We have a friend whose dc have been in a family home environment for the same number of years. The caregiver there is a lovely lady. She takes up to 5 children. I haven't thoroghly researched to know if she has separate cribs, but I doubt she does.

I was thinking that it might be better to put the twins in the home environment, because there may be fewer germs. With 13 infants and 3 - 4 caregivers at the daycare, I worry about what the boys could catch, especially since they'll be starting in January. But then, I thought that at the daycare, they are very fastidious about washing hands and each child is assigned a caregiver, so the boys would actually not be exposed to handling by each of the caregivers. And I can't know how fastidious this lady in her home is about washing her hands and, more importantly, keeping the 2 - 3 year olds from touching the babies. At the daycare there is never a reason for the older kids to come into contact with the babies.

So, as I'm writing this, I think I'm leaning toward the daycare, after all. But I'd still like to get your opinions on this. And is there anything else I've missed as I'm thinking about this?

Thanks for your help!

 

I'm letting my girls go to daycare. Any germs they can get from daycare they can get from the home environment. If your DD went to this daycare with no problems, why do you think the twins will? Your DD daughter went there so you actually know how everything goes and you're already use to the caregivers there. With the home environment you will not know if the 2 to 3 yr. olds are touching and/or playing with the babies or anything else in that matter. I would keep leaning towards the daycare. Good Luck!!

 

Hi! I saw your post in the new ones, and so, here I am...

All of my girls go to daycare and love it. My girls got a little more colds (I suspect, but who knows?) than they would have at a home babysitter, but I was not dependant on her schedule, her illnesses, and daycare is a great place to find babysitters for when DH and I need one at night. I love the structure and options they have - my oldest is taking gymnastics and dance there. All 3 are getting their pictures taken there next week. They are open through level 2 snow emergencies - things like that. They are pretty strict about sending kids home that are ill so that things don't spread (it's a licensing thing). They get audited at least twice a year, and have to report if any more than 2 or 3 kids end up with certain illnesses to make sure the center is not spreading them.

My friend swears by the home babysitter thing, and basically has her as an extended family member. Both ways works for different circumstances, but I definitely made the right choice with daycare for our situation.

 

My kids are not in daycare, however if they were, I think I would lean more towards a home daycare or have a nanny come to my house, especially while they are so young.

Good luck making your decision!

 

QUOTE(Shasta @ Sep 5 2007, 03:17 PM) [snapback]394182[/snapback]
If your DD went to this daycare with no problems, why do you think the twins will?


My dd was born a robust 8 lber, full-term. So, I guess I'm thinking the twins will be more fragile.

 

I struggled with this as well, especially with RSV season right around the corner, I plan to go back to work in January part time. DH and I decided that we felt more comfortable with an in home provider vs. a daycare center. But, as it turns out my MIL is willing to watch them 2 afternoons a week so that I can work 2nd shift 2 days a week and get my hours in (can't beat the price, she's free!). MIL will have them from about 1:30 until DH gets home at 5:30.

Your case is a little different though b/c you already know the center and have some level of comfort with it. I would interview the other provider and tour her house, then make a decision, it's a tough one. Also, if the twins go to the in home provider, will your older DD as well, that's something to think about, whether she'll handle the transition okay or you are willing to make 2 drop off's/pick up's at 2 different places.

 

We have hired a nanny and I love it for my ds. He was in daycare starting at 3 months, we took him out and brought him home with a nanny around 16 months - what a difference! He went from constantly being sick to not being sick at all (except for teething and bug bites). We knew we were going to be getting a nanny because once the twins come, it will be cheaper than having 3 in daycare, but we chose to start ds with the nanny earlier. Our biggest concern became turnover in the daycare. I couldn't stand showing up and seeing someone in the room with my child I had never seen before and had never formally met. Althought I really liked the center itself, I realized one day that I had no idea who was actually with my ds throughout the day and I wasn't comfortable with that. Having ds at home has been a great situation for us. But, there are disadvantages to a home daycare or nanny situation - the biggest one being flexibility. If your provider is sick - you have to take off work. That isn't a problem for me, but for some people that would be a big issue. Our nanny had a death in the family and needed to go home and she was gone for over a week - which meant I needed to take a week off of work unexpectedly. Not everyone can do that easily.

 

I'd keep them in the daycare that you like, since you'll be taking them out either way. We actually went the nanny route, which is nice because she comes to use everday. I work FT from home.

 

Well, I think that this is a decision that only you can make, but I will still throw in my 2 cents!

My daughter has been in a home daycare setting since she was 5 months old. I love it! I love the fact that I know every kid that she interacts with and that they know me. I love knowing that there will only ever be 5-6 kids there max, and I like knowing that she is in a home/family environment similar to what she would be if she were home. I looked at a lot of center style daycares with 12+ babies together, and I just felt that I didn't want my daughter to be a number I wanted her to have a relationship with her caregiver. In terms of seperate cribs... My daughter's home daycare had a pack-n-play for each baby/child for nap time.

As far as fewer germs in a home based daycare there probably are fewer, but that was not the reason I choose the home. It was more for the level of attention and the relationship that my daughter and our family built with her daycare.

The opinions on this are most likely going to be one way or another with little or no middle of the road. The best thing for you to do is really visit both settings for an hour or so (even though you know the center) and see what feels right for your family. Choosing a caregiver for your children is the most difficult decision ever... I used to say that they should pay me for the privlage of being with my daughter!

 

I think it really depends on both the center and the home daycare. There are positives and negatives either way. A couple things to think about with the hdc: is the provider licensed? are there regular visits by DSS? and, is it just that woman or are other adults around to help?

One thing I would worry about with the hdc is the lack of accountability if it's jsut one adult. It can be very stressful caring for all those kids and on the worst days who is going to give that person a sanity break? On the other hand, as someone who grew up in a hdc and worked there as a teen, I know how special the bond can be between kids and caregivers; to this day I get school photos (well, now they're in college! yikes! ) of kids that I helped care for in the hdc.

Ultimately, all you can do is research the heck out of it and go with your mommy gut! Good luck

 

I looked at both home daycare and daycare centers when I was expecting the twins. I interviewed the providers, toured the facilities (homes), etc. I chose the daycare center. It was independently owned (not a chain, although I did like Kindercare nearby), but was a center with teachers, etc. I had friends who had taken their kids their and liked it. I got a great feel for it in meeting the teachers, etc.

Some of factors which contributed to my decision:

Sickness: In a home daycare, if the provider is sick she either continues to care for the children or you have nowhere to take them. There was a network of home daycare providers who would "fill in" but then my children would be with someone they didn't know. The same would hold true for vacations.....I would have to seek alternate care if my vacation wasn't the same as theirs. With a center, if one teacher is sick, there are other teachers to take over for her when she calls in. The daycare center was open regardless of vacation time, etc.

Education: While homecare providers are licensed to care for the children, the teachers in the rooms at the center were licensed teachers. They had lesson plans (obviously at 4 months that's not a big deal, but as they got older it was to me) and my kids seemed to learn a lot there. (The owner had been a kindergarten teacher who decided she wanted to be with her kids, so she opened a daycare). They also had college students in Early Childhood Education working in the center.

Cleanliness: One of the homes I went into had a cat and a dog, the mother and her charges were running around in barefeet (In November) and it just seemed messy to me (I also thought that if she had an appointment with a prospective client, she should've dressed the part.....not sweats and barefeet, seemed careless to me). The daycare center has to comply to state standards, I think they get reviewed probably more often than home care.

Staff: I really loved the staff there. I knew the owner (she was ahead of me in high school) and met most of the teachers at my meeting with her. As I got to know more of the staff, I was happy I made the choice that I did. They loved my children and my children loved them. I was sad taking them out when I decided to be SAHM. I cried, the teachers cried. Each time we drove by after that, Meghan would ask to see Tracy (the owner).

My kids did get some colds in the two years, but nothing too bad, not sure if they caught it from daycare or me and dh. They never had an ear infection. No extreme health issues.

If you are happy with the center, know the teachers, etc., my advice would be to stay with them.