Switching from Day Care Center to Home Daycare

My daughter is 16 months and has been in a home day care for a few months now. I agree that you definitely need to spend time compiling a list of home day cares and take the time to sit down and meet with as many as possible just to get a feel for the place. We did this and were able to find a home day care that has been amazing. We actually prefer home day cares since one of my girlfriends works at day care centers and tells us the horror stories of how they don't really watch kids, or don't clean the bottoms when changing diapers... the home day care we found has 2 ladies watching 6 kids and its an immaculate house w/ teachers coming in every day to work w/ the kids in dance and music, but it did took us about 2-3 weeks to research and interview as many day cares we could find. I think you will like the sepcialized attention of a home day care. Good luck!

My son used to go to a home daycare and it was wonderful - so much so that when she decided to officially close up shop on the daycare (she was sort of retiring after doing in home daycare for 30 years) she started coming to my house to watch my son! Like others said you want to make sure whoever you pick is licensed. You should be able to verify this with your state. Word of mouth is an excellent way to find a good home daycare so start asking around. My oldest child went to daycare centers but I feel like she didn't get the same level of personal care that my son now gets.

During the time I was searching for a good home daycare situation for my son I found a woman who had a 3 year old and was pregnant with her second child. She claimed she would only need 2 weeks off when she had the baby which I found pretty unbelievable! Not only that it would have put my husband and I in a bad situation to find alternate care for 2 whole weeks. She also wanted to be able to take my son places which I was not comfortable with (my current provider takes my son places but that's only because she's been with him now for 2 years I trust her immensely). I asked her about the kinds of meals she would provide and she said macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets and pizza - another no no. That stuff is fine once in a while but my children don't eat like that on a daily basis.

The only drawback to a home daycare situation is if the provider gets sick or goes on vacation - you don't ever deal with that in a center. Luckily my provider keeps herself healthy and has been sick only one time in the past two years. She tries to make any doctor appointments she has very early in the morning or schedules multiple appointments on the same day. She takes two personal days and goes on one one week vacation per year. Our arrangement is that we don't pay her when she goes on vacation or when we go on vacation.

Our son had to leave his center due to behavior problems when he was three. I never wanted to use a home-based daycare, but found it was a GREAT move! There are a lot of pluses. The key is finding the right provider. Arrive with a list of questions, check the place out, research licensing and talk to references (I picked randomly off the list, not just those listed at the top).

Our home-based provider embraces kids like our son who have behavioral, physical or learning disabilities -- which centers get rid of as soon as possible. She's so patient and caring and has become like part of our family. A lot more one-on-one time than in a center. Our daughter is excited when it's a "Miss Lanie day." She does all sorts of fun activities and takes the kids for walks around the neighborhood. We love her so much that we've waited until our daughter is four to move her to a pre-k program (next month).

A big plus is that our home-based provider isn't as skittish about colds. She doesn't send kids home for just a runny nose, for instance. She isolates potentially sick kids (achy, fevery) in another room, but doesn't insist on us leaving work ASAP. I found that centers call you at the first sign of anything. I missed a ton of work when our kids were in a center and a handful of days now with home-based care.

Speaking from experience, it can be a wonderful move. Good luck!

We have the opposite problem. Our boys have always been in home daycare, and now they are at a center. They both really love it, but it was hard for my husband and I to get used to the idea.

We loved the home daycares the boys were in. They were "at home" there, and they became part of someone else's family, too. I think you should go for it on a tiral basis (two weeks or so) and see how the kids adjust. If they don't like it, go back. But if they do, great!

Perhaps it would actually be more economical to consider getting a nanny? I know that my girlfriend (lives in the Twin Cities) has kids about your age (actually a little closer together) and she figured out that the nanny route was much cheaper. She also factored in that she would rarely need to use sick days since her kids got sick less and the nanny was more willing to watch a sick kid vs. a home daycare or center. She still signed her older two for a few activities for some socialization and the nanny took them to and from it.

Just a thought :)

I always had my son in a home daycare. I felt very good about it. He could play naturally like at home, he so loved it. He still talks about the two homes today. He is almost 17.

Be sure you sign a contract with them. Even if you know the people, and they are 'so nice', you may have certain things, safety things that you are deal breakers for you. make sure you make that clear in th beginning. speak honestly and don't be afraid to put yor concerns out there,

I really enjoy the home daycare that we have. I did try a center once and had a bad experience. One positive I have found for a home daycare is that all age levels are together and my children can learn to interact with various stages where in a center they are in specific age groups. Also with siblings they are still together during the day rather than split.

I have actually worked at a day care center (kinder care you may have heard of them) but a few things I would look for at a home day care is that they are liscenced-that is the MOST important thing because that means your child will be well cared for and that their home daycare is being policed by the state, and I would look for art work that looks like a child did it because that would indicate that the teachers are well engaged with the children. Also ask about curriculum and the teachers should always be able to show you what the children are learning about.

the thing that I love most about home daycares is that the number of children are a lot smaller so there is more focus on your child. good luck!

I am a stay at home mom and am looking to go back to work part-time and can't afford to put my daughter in a center. I was thinking about looking into home care because my daughter loves to play with older kids because she is a little more advanced than most kids her age. I agree that a lot of research needs to be done and make sure that you look at more than one. Maybe even see if they will let you hang out for like an hour to see how a day goes or ask for a dail schedule to see what they do through out the day. I am the kind of person that if I am paying someone to watch my child I would hope that they have a day planned and not just have free play all day which leads to more break downs and more injuries. Good luck and let us know if you make the switch and how it worked out.

We made a switch as well and we all love it! One thing that was important to me was that the caregiver didn't have any of their own kids at home. I don't care what they say, I don't beleive that a mom would not put the needs of her own child ahead of someone elses. It was also very important for me to know that she was not going to be running around with my daughter all day. I don't like the idea of someone else driving her around al lthe time just to run arrends and stuff.
We used care.com to help us find a sitter. I think we had to pay $30 for the month but they do background checks and stuff so it was totally worth it. Our sitter has been doing it for almost 30 years and has only called off one or twice.
I would be sure to ask about their vacation policy as well. Our sitter gets 3 weeks paid vacation, which means we have to find alternate care or use vacation time to cover her days.

We made the same switch and it was GREAT. You just need to take extra time and interview lots of people to find the right fit. My son is very shy and the center was overwhelming to him. At a home daycare they get a chance to really bond with their care taker and the other children there (since there are typically just a few other kids). The downside is that since there is only one caretaker (sometimes 2) you need to have a back up plan just incase she gets sick or one of her own kids gets sick and she needs to close for the day. Ask in the interview process how she handles these situations. Sometimes they have a back up person you can use. Also, since she is most likely not a certified teacher you will want to make sure she does learning activities daily with the kids and doesn't use the TV. Since my son only goes 2 days a week this isn't a huge issue, but could be if they are there full time.