Babies
Ok guys. I need some input. I'm at a Crossroad. My DD is in day care right now but I'm not happy with it. There is a teacher who is "floated" to the infant rooms in the afternoon that I just don't trust caring for my 4mon old. So I am looking into alternatives.
Family child care:
There is an individual who provides family child care (in her home). She is registered with the state. The cost is comparable to what I'm paying for day care. She keep her 2 children & one other child. Her hours are suitable to my needs. The only down side is she has no back-up. So if she is ill or goes on vacation, I am responsible for finding back-up child care. (I'm feeling out some back-up options ie MIL, FIL, my good friend's mom, etc.) just in case we go with this.
Day Care Facility:
I have found another day care facility that is comparable in price to the one I'm using now (current $90/wk, this facility is $110/wk). There is currently no waiting list. Of course their hours are also suitable to my needs. I wouldn't have to worry about staff being out or on vacation b/c they have additional staff to fill the "holes".
I'm torn b/c I want my child to be cared for appropriately. Any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions? Any pros/cons I didn't think of? Thx!
Replies
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Hmmm....that's tough. I don't know what I'd do. I've been a sahm since my oldest was born. I can see pros and cons to either side. I would probably go with a daycare setting because of the backups issue. But that issue alone probably isn't enough to make a decision. I'll be curious to see what other people think. Good luck in this!!
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I'm a SAHM, but if I had to put my son in daycare, I think I would prefer something more personal. I have a friend who takes care of 2 children and she's had them for years. There is a real connection, she LOVES the children she watches. I like the idea of my boy being with someone who loves him, rather than him just being one more kid to look after.
Elke
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We just moved our son from a larger daycare to an in-home facility. The in-home is much smaller (5 children) and more personnal. In the agreement it was stated when she takes vacation or had days off (i.e. holidays). This person also has an assistant so if she's sick they are still under the state ratio--she is state registered as well. There are some day care centers that have drop in service you could use as back-up (La Petite is one of them). The nice thing about the center day care was that you didn't need a daycare, but I found as my son got older the class size grew with the ratio (for example the toddler room had 30 kids but there were also 7 teachers so they were under the VA state ratio of 1:5. We thought it was just too much. Good luck!
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I have my son in a family child care situation. She has a few boys of her own and watches two others in addition to my four month old. She too is state certified. I like this better than a daycare because even if she is at her max., I know my LO gets more attention then if he was at a daycare that had several infants. Also, with him being there with less children, he still gets exposed to more germs than at my house, but not the degee that a daycare would have. She keeps things really clean as well since it is her home and not a work place. As for back up. She has recommended some people and we have my parents and a good friend of mine just in case. My MIL comes in if it is planned to help out.
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What about asking your back ups (MIL, etc) if they would be willing to take it on...and you pay them?? My parents have been watching my oldest since she was born - now almost 5 and my twins who are almost 2. Then my sister works part time, so she is back up. I feel for you though..not sure how I would feel about an infant with strangers. They can't tell you what happened throughout the day. Family is more willing to help, if they can....if you pay them.
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I don't know..I am a WAHM so I have never had to make that decision. They both have their good and bad points...I would think a nice daycare would be better, as long as they don't have like 100 kids in there.
Good luck...keep us updated!
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I noticed that most moms say family child care. I would say day care facility for two reasons: 1. they are more structured than home based child care and 2. there are always others eyes watching. I would be more paranoid to let my child in someones home.
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I agree. Unless I knew someone who used the family care, I would be worried. My son is at a small daycare. There are 2 baby rooms, one is infants and immobile babies and the other is for babies who are becoming mobile (crawling, walking, etc.) This way babies aren't crawling on other babies who can't move! In each room, there are only 4 babies. I really like this. For me, this was the best of both worlds. It was a small ratio, and they have their own room separate from the rest of the daycare.
Quoting Hazeliiis:
I noticed that most moms say family child care. I would say day care facility for two reasons: 1. they are more structured than home based child care and 2. there are always others eyes watching. I would be more paranoid to let my child in someones home.
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In my opinion, I would opt for the family child care. I myself would never want my DD in a childcare center--that is until she's older. But that's just me.
My DD is 23 mos. old and has gone to the same family care since she was 3 mos. old. My DCP is very reliable and I hardly have ever had to find back up care. She takes like a week off per year and on those days, I must take leave from work as I have no relatives nearby for backup. If you have backup as far as relatives go, you're lucky. I would go w/ the family daycare.
Your DD will still get socializing skills in family DC since there are already a few other kids there now.
Just my 2 cents worth!
Dayna
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the perk to having a nanny is the one on one attention your child will recieve in contrast to a daycare. you could check out Care.com its a nanny site and you can look for someone that meets your criteria or at least solidify a back up. i suggest doing whatever you feel is best. right now while i go to school on monday my family keeps my 2 month old, but next semester when I strart my internship i am going to us a nanny the young lady i am heavily considering operates out of her home and if she could not keep my son because she falls sick, my family is a great support system. i personally feel more comfortable with a nanny vs. a day care because i used to work at one and I know some of the possible bad things that occur. Although if I found a great one I would consider it.