In Home vs Center!?!?

[Crazy In Mo]

I would like to hear from other people why you would prefer an in home DC over a center. My children have never been in a center so I feel that my judgment might be based on rumors or the fact that I have an in home DC I find myself talking to a lot of new parents that are unsure of which to choose and I've never stepped foot in a center so I'm kind of clueless on explaining how a center works.

[Blackcat31]

I do NOT and I will repeat do NOT feel that a home child care is any better or worse than a center. Things happen at both.

I think the right answer though is that a parent needs to choose what works best for them and which best suits the needs of their child.

Some childre need social interaction and to learn how to funtion in a group of peers which isn't always possible in a home child care when the age group is mixed and small.

Some children need that small group atmosphere and thrive there.

There honestly is no right answer...just what works best for the child and family in question.

My own children were as different as night and day. My DD was a social butterfly that functioned very well at an early age in a large group setting whereas my DS couldn't even deal with a small home child care and needed one on one care so he had a nanny (or manny to be PC).

Different strokes for different folks but absolutely no way is one better than the other imho.

[itlw8]

I do think inhome care is best for infants but those in a center do fine.

I think in a center children are exposed to more germs because there are more people. Because some centers have high turnover or rotate teachers They bond with a home provider. But those in a center still thrive.

I prefer a mixed age group because they learn from each other. I prefer a QUALITY home childcare that does lots of activites but does not do worksheets and flash cards. I want lots of child directed activites. Lots of time to explore.


But a center can be better because they do not close for vacation or sick days. They do not close if there is a death in the family. Some are open later You need to trust a home provider because they work alone and unsupervised.

Many parents fail to notice the educated director they talked with at the center rarely is in a class room . Often it is an 18 to 20 yr old with little experiance an low pay.


Good and bad about both Parents have to pick a quality program they trust.

[daycare]

I have done a lot of research on both....and I do have to agree with CAT..

I also have to say, it all depends on what the families wants are for their children.

Example:

I offer several different learning environments 2-3 days a week by taking the kids off site. Hiking, trail walks, parks, library, stores, zoos, and so on. I offer this to ALL children enrolled in my care which are ages 20month to 5 yeras of age not enrolled in school.


At every single one of the centers that I have talked to in my area, they will not offer any type of field trip to children until they are 5 years of age and enrolled in school and only during the summer.
SO in a center, they will never get to participate in offsite activities.

Some parents hate that I transport the kids and won't enroll, others come here for that very reason.



another thing that I found was Staff:

DC- Zero to very low amount of staff turn over. If you are the only one there, then no turn over, if you have an employee, you may experience some.

Learning programs: Most of the large centers did not offer a learning program for children under the age of 4 and even then it was still very minimal.

My dacycare: I offer a variety of lessons for all ages no matter what.

I could go on and on........However, I don't think that one is better than the other, I really do think it all depends on what you want for your child...

[Crazy In Mo]

I do think inhome care is best for infants but those in a center do fine.

I think in a center children are exposed to more germs because there are more people. Because some centers have high turnover or rotate teachers They bond with a home provider. But those in a center still thrive.

I prefer a mixed age group because they learn from each other. I prefer a QUALITY home childcare that does lots of activites but does not do worksheets and flash cards. I want lots of child directed activites. Lots of time to explore.


But a center can be better because they do not close for vacation or sick days. They do not close if there is a death in the family. Some are open later You need to trust a home provider because they work alone and unsupervised.

Many parents fail to notice the educated director they talked with at the center rarely is in a class room . Often it is an 18 to 20 yr old with little experiance an low pay.


Good and bad about both Parents have to pick a quality program they trust.

Great answer! Thank you

[Crazy In Mo]

I have done a lot of research on both....and I do have to agree with CAT..

I also have to say, it all depends on what the families wants are for their children.

Example:

I offer several different learning environments 2-3 days a week by taking the kids off site. Hiking, trail walks, parks, library, stores, zoos, and so on. I offer this to ALL children enrolled in my care which are ages 20month to 5 yeras of age not enrolled in school.


At every single one of the centers that I have talked to in my area, they will not offer any type of field trip to children until they are 5 years of age and enrolled in school and only during the summer.
SO in a center, they will never get to participate in offsite activities.

Some parents hate that I transport the kids and won't enroll, others come here for that very reason.



another thing that I found was Staff:

DC- Zero to very low amount of staff turn over. If you are the only one there, then no turn over, if you have an employee, you may experience some.

Learning programs: Most of the large centers did not offer a learning program for children under the age of 4 and even then it was still very minimal.

My dacycare: I offer a variety of lessons for all ages no matter what.

I could go on and on........However, I don't think that one is better than the other, I really do think it all depends on what you want for your child...

Lots of good points! Thank ya

[Crazy In Mo]

I do NOT and I will repeat do NOT feel that a home child care is any better or worse than a center. Things happen at both.

I think the right answer though is that a parent needs to choose what works best for them and which best suits the needs of their child.

Some childre need social interaction and to learn how to funtion in a group of peers which isn't always possible in a home child care when the age group is mixed and small.

Some children need that small group atmosphere and thrive there.

There honestly is no right answer...just what works best for the child and family in question.

My own children were as different as night and day. My DD was a social butterfly that functioned very well at an early age in a large group setting whereas my DS couldn't even deal with a small home child care and needed one on one care so he had a nanny (or manny to be PC).

Different strokes for different folks but absolutely no way is one better than the other imho.

[daycare]

one thing that I was just talking about the other day about my DC is that in an in-home you get a lot more personal with the parents. YOu build stronger relationships with them and with the kids. YOu really do feel like family......


In a center I know that a lot of kids go unsupervised do to the ratios of child to adult. Often kids that are bad will get away with more, because no one saw it.... NOt saying that this does not happen in a DC, just more likely in a larger center with tons of more children.

One of my kids that graduated out of my program had me over for dinner on sunday. the Mom said that she is having a hard time adjusting to her daughters private kinder class, teachers and parents. She said, you really made us feel so important. You always gave me a daily report, nothing ever went unnoticed.

At the school, I dont find out anything and when I do, it's always when my daughter got sent to the principal office and then they said well she did this this and this and now this so this is why we are calling you to come in. Ummmm you had to wait for all of that to happen before telliong me???

So there are a lot of pros and cons for both.....

[Willow]

IMHO the only pro with center care is availability.

One teacher/staff gets sick, or goes on vacation, or needs to move....there are others right there to fill in.

There is nothing else about it that fits with my personal beliefs about what's best for the care and raising of children of any age. Main reason being ratios. I don't believe any child could possibly grow and learn better with less one on one attention. Centers in general have to be very institutionalized to function - large "class" sizes with low teacher/staff ratios and they have very little flexibility as far as the individual child goes.

There's nothing about that rings "good" in any capacity for me.


I spent A LOT of time in multiple daycare centers from the age of 6 weeks through 8 years old. The rumors you reference were ALL true in my experiences.....no exaggeration. It was truly hell on earth and there is no amount of money that could persuade me to every put any child of mine in one.

I won't say they are all bad because I can't stand sweeping judgements. I just have yet to come across one in my experiences and in the experiences of family and friends, that isn't.


I do share that opinion with all of my interviewing parents. I have yet to run across one who disagrees.

[mamac]

For my own kids I wanted a home daycare. I didn't feel that they needed to be in such a structured, regimented program until they were in kindergarten. I wanted them to be children and to be able to play while learning. But I am not opposed to a Center.
My oldest just started kindergarten this year. Very bright little boy. Advanced for his age. Learns without really being taught. He was in a home daycare from age 2 until he started school. I was a SAHM for 4-5 months of the year and he stayed with me during that time.
My youngest was only in DC for about 8 months and now he's going to be home with me while I try to get my own DC started. He is much clingier and much more shy than my first so I'm hoping to send him a couple days a week to either another DC or a center. I know he'll get enough play time learning with me and will hopefully become more independent somewhere else.

I agree with some other posts about it being a Quality home daycare though. If not they'd be better in a center.

[grandmom]

I've never heard of a center-based teacher being asked to keep the children for a week while the parents attend a conference in another state.

Or be invited to a birthday party years after they've aged out.

Or to a high school graduation.

Or a wedding........

Only in a family child care program can you have the long-term relationship with these children. Only with a long-term relationship can you speak into their lives the positives.

[melilley]

I've never heard of a center-based teacher being asked to keep the children for a week while the parents attend a conference in another state.

Or be invited to a birthday party years after they've aged out.

Or to a high school graduation.

Or a wedding........

Only in a family child care program can you have the long-term relationship with these children. Only with a long-term relationship can you speak into their lives the positives.

I disagree, Until recently I have worked in a center based setting for 14 years and there are a few families that I still talk to and also attend functions for/with and have babysat for for weekends at a time, however I will admit it is rare for a center based teacher to do so. I agree with BC, there are positives and negatives for each setting. For both, you do have to find a quality program to have a positive experience.

[Crazy In Mo]

IMHO the only pro with center care is availability.

One teacher/staff gets sick, or goes on vacation, or needs to move....there are others right there to fill in.

There is nothing else about it that fits with my personal beliefs about what's best for the care and raising of children of any age. Main reason being ratios. I don't believe any child could possibly grow and learn better with less one on one attention. Centers in general have to be very institutionalized to function - large "class" sizes with low teacher/staff ratios and they have very little flexibility as far as the individual child goes.

There's nothing about that rings "good" in any capacity for me.


I spent A LOT of time in multiple daycare centers from the age of 6 weeks through 8 years old. The rumors you reference were ALL true in my experiences.....no exaggeration. It was truly hell on earth and there is no amount of money that could persuade me to every put any child of mine in one.

I won't say they are all bad because I can't stand sweeping judgements. I just have yet to come across one in my experiences and in the experiences of family and friends, that isn't.


I do share that opinion with all of my interviewing parents. I have yet to run across one who disagrees.

I couldn't agree more

[Patches]

There are pros and cons to both. But one BIG pro that I loved about having my son in a home daycare is that I knew he wasn't being "bumped" around to different rooms and different people all day long.

[pandamom]

I have to agree with the others that it depends on the facility/dcp and the family and individual children.

For us, a center is what worked best for my sons. I work in the same center. Ratios are strictly adhered to- 1:4 for infants, 1:5 for 1's, 1:7 for 2's and 1:12 for preschool age.

As staff, we're expected to build the relationships- so at drop off and pick up, there's always a teacher to talk about the child's night/weekend and just do small talk to build the relationship. The teachers in my facility have really bonded with the kids and parents in our rooms.

I like the resources available. Our center has a child psychologist that is available for parent/teacher questions/concerns about the kids. She also spends time in each room to observe children to see if there are any red flags.

We have a trainer who oversees our curriculum and is always looking for ways to enhance the children's environment. My twins have speech delays, so our trainer worked with their teachers on things that can be added to the daily lesson plans to help (they do go to speech therapy outside the center).

Our center does nature walks outside the center and little field trips. Preschool and toddler rooms used to do big field trips like going to the German zoos, but had to stop after the Air Force bus shooting at Frankfurt airport. We also coordinate days where the fired department or police department will come and do show and tells with their vehicles- kids LOVE that!

I do like that during business hours of the center, my boys can always get care. I don't have to worry about a single provider being sick or needing to take off work for dr. appointments- etc.

It all boils down to personal preference. Just like anything else, something that works for one person may not for another.