Why are centers preferred when ...?

[Blackcat31]

There is also a huge difference in being the actual hands on provider and the staff person where as a difficult child is not the same issue for the two different situations.

A home provider imho, is much more invested in not only the child but the parents, the day to day activities and the business itself where a center worker or staff person has the hands on day to day contact but HER paycheck, livelihood and general day to day activities aren't so connected or invested in that child.

The directors don't always have the hands on contact with the child during day to day activities so often times, they are only aware of what a staff person has relayed to them. Saying a child has been rough and aggressive all day is not the same thing as trying to manage and control a child who has been rough and aggressive all day.

Many centers only require the director and one lead teacher to have the education/credentials required and the staff can get by with little or no education, training and/or experience other than CPR etc.

Two very different environments and as always, up to the parent to decide what's best for their child.

I don't believe one is better than the other in comparison but one is better than the other for each individual situation.
One of my own children loved attending a center verses a home daycare and my other child was the opposite.

[CedarCreek]

For us, every place is different. It's not so much a "center vs. home care" debate as it is individually debatable.

We just left a home provider over communication and supervision issues. The other home providers I have checked into in this area have had some serious deficiencies. BUT, so have some of the centers. Everyone gets them but I'm not leaving my child somewhere that has had sanitation violations or were over ratio.

To me, it doesn't matter if its a home daycare or a center, my main points need to be hit. They are: safety, communication and nutrition. (It doesn't have to be organic, just healthy) But we are additionally limited because of my tube fed DS.

So, we ended up settling on a family-run center. So far, so good.

[daycare]

here is my experience with centers

they have longer hours, which means parents get to spend less time with their kids. Children that spend less time with parents=more problems connecting and behavioral issues.

They will deal with a naughty child, bouncing that child from teacher to teacher, then admin until something serious occurs. If you have a hard to place child, most centers will work with them and more than likely have more resources.

Often the center is based on 1 person's philosophies, not the employees/staff, so they don't care or are motivated to see it through.

The staff/children turn over is crazy high

The center my son attended allowed ill children past a common cold, so we were often sick too. but for whatever reason people didn't stop working they just kept coming and dropping off kid.

Ours did not offer any field trips to children under first grade. So my son was stuck in the brick and motor walls for everyday he was there.

Most centers do no close for vacations

I did not have siblings attending at that time, but I did know that they were able to give sibling discounts, some allowed sliding fee scales.

Centers have more wiggle room to offer discounts because they have 144 kids vs home daycare 4-14 kids.

[Unregistered]

I've used in-home, center, and nanny for my kids (and now I'm a DCP). The center I used the most, but that's because it was attached to my work. It was a wonderful place. The facilities and hot food were paid for by my employer, so our tuition money went almost completely to staffing, so there was almost no turnover (four years after we left, they still have the same teachers) in part because they were paid extremely well. That's the kind of center I can get behind. But I know it's not the norm.

My kids have almost aged out of needing childcare, so there's no need for me to choose anything, but if I were to go back to working outside the home, I'd pick an in-home provider. Much more like family. It's unlikely I'd find a center like the one I had access to before.

And don't even get me started on nannies. I know there are great ones--just haven't met one yet.

[Unregistered]

I've had experience with both centers and homes. In high school I worked at a center. Our first soon was in center for 3 years, and then two of our other children were in homes two different times.

I will say neither the center where I worked nor the one where ds attended had high turnover. I worked for 2 years at the one and we were in the other for 3 years and I only saw one staff change, because of a pregnancy. Where I worked some of the women weren't amazing, but I would trust them all to keep the kiddos safe. Obviously we loved the center where our kids attended as well. We were also happy with the dayhomes.

I'm getting ready to go back to work and we have one child that will need care, 3 yo. We will probably put her in a center, assuming we find one we are comfortable with.

Dayhomes all seem to want the kids picked up so early, and I just can't get off before 500.
She really thrives on lots of playmates and activity, and we think she would enjoy a bigger class size.
We like the variety of activities a center can offer.
We like that there are always other adults around, even if it is a false sense of safety

We had good experiences with the homes we used also, though.

[racemom]

I am quite biased myself, stemming from over 12 years of experience working at various "high end" centers. I can say with certainty that there is no way I would send a young child to one of these places- a preschooler, maybe, but the older the better. It seems that the parents pay the most for infant/toddler slots, yet they are "taught" by the least educated and lowest paid employees- doesn't add up. I was teaching kindergarten when I became pregnant with ds- there was no way in h*ll I was going to put my child in a room with some of the women that were working in the infant rooms. I agree that the larger centers appeal to the parents, but most have far too many children in a room for their own good. I used to teach Pre-k in a class of 20 with 2 teachers (legal). Can you imagine the chaos?! Their solution...set up small groups and divide time. So what happens? One child is placed In a quality small group with most likely a caring, dedicated, and likely an experienced educator. Another child is placed in a group with anyone they could pull off the street (not literally), a person that really doesn't care much about the job and will quit in a week- and guess what?! Both parents are paying the same amount.

I am offended by your assessment of infant room teachers. I am one of the lead teachers in the infant room. All our lead teachers have degrees, have been at the center at least 5 years, and are very close with all infants. We are sad when one moves up to the next class, because we genuinely miss them. I am not saying all centers are like ours, but not all centers are like the one you describe either.

[Sugar Magnolia]

There have been posts about centers not usually terminating children, when lots of home providers say they would term.
Does it seem that centers do not refer families for help with issues, when home providers do? Or terminate children if families will not seek help? And if so, why are centers preferred by the majority of families?

I own and operate a small center. I DO terminate children that are not a good fit for my program. Violent children do not stay here. I do suggest early intervention when referrals are needed. If the parents seek help or not does not matter, aggressive children do not attend. I have seen on this forum a million times, from home providers, "don't suggest term please, I can't afford to term them, I need the income", so I don't see how centers can be labeled as "not terming because they need the money".

I can tell you why parents enrolled in my center. It's clean, cozy, and has a calm and structured environment. There is zero lead teacher turnover because the two lead teachers are the owners. We have a curriculum and a play based approach. We are multi age, and cater to each child's interests and personalities. We are below state ratios and have small group size. We have a male lead teacher and this is great for kids lacking positive male role models at home. We have a spotless record. We are inspected regularly. We have a convenient location, we have an amazing beautiful historic home as our facility. We also love not living where we work and our own children do too.

[Shell]

I am offended by your assessment of infant room teachers. I am one of the lead teachers in the infant room. All our lead teachers have degrees, have been at the center at least 5 years, and are very close with all infants. We are sad when one moves up to the next class, because we genuinely miss them. I am not saying all centers are like ours, but not all centers are like the one you describe either.

Didn't mean to offend the good ones, my bad. I do wish there were good ones at the multiple places where I worked- but anytime a good one came around they were either made to feel like an outcast because the bad ones outnumbered the good ones and quit, or they were so underpaid that they wound up leaving. I'm guessing the conditions are great where you are, as it sounds like there is less turnover at your place. I apologize for offending you, I have worked with a lot of troubled ladies at centers.

[Blackcat31]

I own and operate a small center. I DO terminate children that are not a good fit for my program. Violent children do not stay here. I do suggest early intervention when referrals are needed. If the parents seek help or not does not matter, aggressive children do not attend. I have seen on this forum a million times, from home providers, "don't suggest term please, I can't afford to term them, I need the income", so I don't see how centers can be labeled as "not terming because they need the money".

I can tell you why parents enrolled in my center. It's clean, cozy, and has a calm and structured environment. There is zero lead teacher turnover because the two lead teachers are the owners. We have a curriculum and a play based approach. We are multi age, and cater to each child's interests and personalities. We are below state ratios and have small group size. We have a male lead teacher and this is great for kids lacking positive male role models at home. We have a spotless record. We are inspected regularly. We have a convenient location, we have an amazing beautiful historic home as our facility. We also love not living where we work and our own children do too.

Sugar, you are definitely the exception to the common misconception parents have about centers.

It's not fair that you get lumped in with the big centers that seem to dictate the negative thought process some people have about centers.

lovethis You run a VERY unique program and one as a parent I would seek out if I lived near you.

[drseuss]

Didn't mean to offend the good ones, my bad. I do wish there were good ones at the multiple places where I worked- but anytime a good one came around they were either made to feel like an outcast because the bad ones outnumbered the good ones and quit, or they were so underpaid that they wound up leaving. I'm guessing the conditions are great where you are, as it sounds like there is less turnover at your place. I apologize for offending you, I have worked with a lot of troubled ladies at centers.

That's how it is in centers in our area, too. If they would maybe pay people what they are worth, we might not have this problem, at least to the extent we do. There are two centers in our town. One of them has very high turnover and is dirty, and the other one, despite their five-star rating, employs prisoners working on the Huber Law. Parents are so happy because they are taking their kids to a 5-star center, but they have no idea who their kids are spending their days with. What the?

The parents around here who prefer centers do so because there are no sick days at centers. In general, the cost of center care here runs just slightly lower than home child care.

[nannyde]

That's how it is in centers in our area, too. If they would maybe pay people what they are worth, we might not have this problem, at least to the extent we do. There are two centers in our town. One of them has very high turnover and is dirty, and the other one, despite their five-star rating, employs prisoners working on the Huber Law. Parents are so happy because they are taking their kids to a 5-star center, but they have no idea who their kids are spending their days with. What the?

The parents around here who prefer centers do so because there are no sick days at centers. In general, the cost of center care here runs just slightly lower than home child care.

Centers are lower? They must have slammin ratios.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Centers offer very long hours for a flat rate. They do not close except for major holidays. They allow parents to hang out in the room as much as they like. They do not term until a harmed child's parent threatens to term. The person who decides whether or not to term is not the one caring for the kid. The staff turnover is huge. Each slot turns over an average of four times a year. Multiple adults care for each kid every day and most have other adults in the room. The staff in a center are not charged with neglect if a child harms another child unless it is egregious and easily proven that the staff assistant intentionally set out to allow it. A home provider is charged and accountable if she doesn't prevent it... even with biting.
When multiple people are responsible for a group each members individual accountability diminishes. A home provider is soley responsible for everything.

Parents like centers mostly because they believe they are a school and they believe their child's chances of survival from injury or death is lessened because safety in numbers. This is statistically correct as death and serious bodily harm that is intentional is very rare in.centers. It is rare in home care but much more rare in centers.

NOT ONE WORD OF THIS APPLIES TO MY CENTER.

You could sprinkle in.a "some centers" or "generally" or "many centers" or a "not all centers are like this" in there somewhere.

[Unregistered]

Great discussion. I was pondering the specific issue of what is done with children who clearly have behavioral issues, and whether there is a clear divide between how this is handled in a center vs home daycare. It could also apply to developmental issues, I suppose.
I started thinking about this after reading many posts about terminating for behavior problems, and it seemed to me that most home providers said they would terminate, while most center caregivers said their center would not terminate. Obviously not a scientific sampling !
In my home daycare, I have never terminated for behavior, but have made many referrals for testing, so that the children and families can get the help they need. Sometimes that means the child ends up leaving for an environment that offers specialized help, but more often they stay and receive special services at home, here, or at another site.
A few years back, I talked with one of my families about seeking help for their almost-3-year-old.
They did have him evaluated, but then got angry with me (possibly misplaced anger ?) and left my daycare. They enrolled him in a center/preschool and I figured that was for the best, because I assumed at that time that a center would have more resources/connections and that he would certainly get the help he needed. I think I figured the center would force the issue, actually, though I have learned since then, that any child care can only suggest evaluating, receiving help, etc. The parent totally has the right to refuse (although I believe I would be within my rights to terminate if I could not deal with the issues.)
So, this child ended up receiving NO help until he went to kindergarten, almost 3 years later. His center never even asked for an evaluation. On the first day of school, it reportedly took six people to get him in the building (several of my former kids went there, and parents remembered him) and he has since been diagnosed with several issues, including an eating disorder that I saw no sign of while he was here.
Anyway, all of that was stewing in my mind, and prompted the original question, above. (I am the unregistered OP, but not the other unregistered commenters.)

[melilley]

Before I opened my home dc, I worked in 3 different centers in the span of 14 years. Let me start by saying that I worked for corporate centers, which I believe, most if not all, are different than private centers like Sugar Magnolia's.

In my experience, I have only seen one child get kicked out of these corporate centers. (there may have been more, but I honestly don't think so). This child thought he was a dinosaur and went around biting everyone, constantly, at the age of 1.5. His admittedly let him watch Jurrasic Park and mom would tell us other things, no wonder he was the way he was. That was the only time I have seen a center expel a child.

I have seen kids hit, kick, smack teachers and other children. One child (4 years old) constantly would run out of a room and of course the teacher who was responsible for 11 other children would get into trouble. I'm not saying that the child shouldn't be supervised, but with what was expected of the teachers, it was difficult for them to provide one on one care-the center didn't care. I have never seen a director give a referral to a family with a child that needed one, maybe for fear of losing the child or I just may not have heard of them doing so.

As a home provider, I do refer children if I think that they need to be evaluated, even if I think I will lose the child.


Centers here will not (usually) term children because:
They are struggling to enroll new children and don't want to lose any current families, including aggressive children.

A lot of times, like bc said, directors are not in the room so they don't know the full extent of the problems with the children. Staff is just expected to deal with it.

A lot of directors are forced to maintain a quota and won't term. ( A huge corporate center in my area just shut down due to low enrollment)


I'm not sure if parents prefer centers over home dc's around here. I hear a lot of pros and cons of both. I do know that centers rates are significantly higher than home dc's, but a lot of centers are threatened with being shut down due to low enrollment, like the one near me.

[melilley]

NOT ONE WORD OF THIS APPLIES TO MY CENTER.

You could sprinkle in.a "some centers" or "generally" or "many centers" or a "not all centers are like this" in there somewhere.

I think that there is a huge difference between "corporate centers" vs "private centers". I would love to come to your center!