In Home VS. DayCare Center? Which do you prefer?

[Kylia | Editor]

When if comes to child care, many parents choose to trust their kids to an established daycare center, but what about in-home Child Care. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.

I've used daycare centers and worked with moms who are certified to take care of kids in their home. One of the biggest differences that I've noticed is quality of daily activities provided to the child. In daycare centers you typically will have a curriculum setup to keep the child active. Including hands on arts and crafts and field trips.

Another difference is that choosing an In-Home child care provider, limits the number of kids your child will interact with. Daycare centers, depending on the number of staff will generally have more kids.

There is also usually a cost difference with In-Home child care providers. With all this, based on my experiences with the two, I prefer the Daycare Center. For me, I like the structure and the variety of activities available.

This is totally based on my own experience. Please share your experiences. Your pros and cons for both options.

[Kris Murray]

I have used both types of care. I like in-home providers who provide a learning environment, a curriculum, and field trips. Interestingly, very few home providers do this. I created a system to help in-home providers (and centers) use tools and techniques to make themselves more marketable and ultimately more successful & profitable. Go here to learn more: How to start a daycare

All the best,
Kris

[Andrea]

For the worry of not getting enough "social-ism" in a home day care-so not true as I am a home day care provider and with up to six children at any one time, the children are exposed to socializing plenty, with adults and children...for really young toddlers sometimes a huge room full of childre and teachers can be overwhelming on a mental and emotional level-not too mention that by the time preschool and grade school comes they are more mature and emotionally/mentally prepared naturally due to their age to deal with that new social situation....so I think its much more quality at these younger ages rather than quantity-how many friends can my 18 month old make, how many others are their age in the same room, etc...in-home will give your child the quality one on one attention and small group/team building experience-especially at the tender ages..

[Amy Silvernail]

I have worked in childcare centers and now have my own home daycare. I cannot believe how much less stressful it is to be in a home without rigid schedules and maxed out daycare rooms (way too many kids per provider). There is rarely an accident in my home, whereas in the childcare center there were daily accidents. If the children are fussy, I can move up nap time or meal time and be flexible in the daily schedule. The children get plenty of socialism between the 3 or 4 children, and they get much more one on one attention with me than they would in a center. It is not necessary for there to be 10-15 children for children to be socialized. The parents feel good dropping their children off in a home environment close to their own instead of a school like setting. I am still able to do structured activities throughout the day, but I don't have the pressure to throw things together like I did at the center. I have memories of rushing children to hurry up and push their hand in the paint to make their quickie picture so mommy would be proud so we could get all the children finished in time. I like actually being able to take time with the children to make the experience meaningful. This has just been my personal experience. I would be interested in seeing other people's views who have experienced both childcare settings.