Child Care or Family Day Care?

[com com]

I am returning to work and need to put my DS in care one day a week then 2 days a week from Jan 2008.
I am leaning more towards Family Day Care so he can be in a home environment with a small number of children. Can you please let me know of any good/bad experiences with family day care or if you recommend a child care centre instead? Thank You:confused:

[Chickadee]

When I returned to work my DD was 4.5 to 5 months old, and I found a spot for her in a family day care. Like you, I was more comfortable with the smaller numbers. She was there for around 1.5 years and it became like a 2nd family to her. I think I got very lucky. The type of care is very much dependent upon the carer - mine was great for babies, but for pre-schoolers I think they might have been a bit bored at her house. If you go with family day care, do shop around and interview a few if you can.

Good luck.

[~Kimba~]

My son has been in Family Day Care since he was almost 6 months old (he's almost 9.5 months now). He goes 4 days a week for 7 hours a day.

I like that it's a home environment and that there's a small number of children (never more than 5). His carer is lovely and really seems to like him, the children all seem quite happy. My son seems quite settled there and eats and sleeps well. The carer's husband and teenage daughter are both also lovely and are often there in mornings/ afternoons playing with the children, so it's like 3 carers for the price of one.

I really love that it's so close to home (just around the corner) and of course the cost is almost half of what a childcare centre would be, which is another big plus.

One thing I'm not so sure about is that all the other children are older than my DS so he isn't really associating with babies his own age. I'm not sure if this is an issue or not though!? I suppose it's closer to a genuine family situation with older siblings, so maybe it's actually better for him developmentally...? When he gets the chance (Mother's Group etc) he does seem to play a bit rough with babies his own age though, I'm not sure if this is just him, or from playing with bigger kids.

Another thing I don't like so much is that the carer lives in an apartment so they don't have much room to run around, or play outside on grass. She takes them to the park at least once a week, but still...This isn't so much of a problem now of course, but he could be bored when he gets older. I also think that child care centres seem to be better for older children as they seem to have more stimulating/ developmental activities, but I could be wrong!

[Lipsmacker01]

Mum used to do it and being a teenager at the time I saw lots of kids come and go. Nothing wrong with your child being amongst older children. They do rotate the children a lot heaps come and go. The council will probably give you a list of 3 contacts (home based carers) for u to visit. This is where you would check out where bubs would sleep, eat, play etc. This is where you will also familiarize yourself with the carer and you would need to watch how they are with your child or other children. I must admit mum did have handful at times. There is a danger element involved sometimes. Kids can tend to scratch each other, or pass on colds to each other. This can all happen in kindy too.
I guess you need to look at how passionate these people are about caring for children. A lot of them dont care about kids much and do it for the money as they only get about $4 per child an hour and the more kids the more $$$ in their pocket. Make sure they have a set routine so theyre not plonked in front of a tv babysitter all the time as you want them to learn while they are there too. Mum used to take them to play group too (parents would pay a small fee). Mums house had to be compliant, eg rubber corners on tables, fire alarms in rooms, fire blankets, first aid training. She would also attend monthly sessions with council to be informed of child care updates.
Look there are heaps of benefits of this type of care but plz sus out the familys and find out who else will be present with your children. Normally they shouldnt accept visitors as the carer/partner and kids get a criminal record check. Id be prepared with heaps of questions. eg house rules etc as sometimes there can be communication barriers. Most of this is in a contract that you sign at the start. It covers things like pets, house rules, who provides what, war toys etc.

Considering day care myself and I hope I havent talked anyone out of it. Our family has made some brilliant friendships along the way.
Just make sure you do your homework first:thumbsup:

[aimz]

my daughter who is one tomorrow(yay) was in family day care from when she wasa bout 4 months old til about 9 months old, she is now in a child care centre (family run) that i adore, however i loved both family day care and her new centre - it was just unfortunate that my carer quit as we all had such a strong bond and personally i wasnt prepared for chloe to get so close to one person again and for them to leave so chose a day care centre ... i think everything is so regulated these days that its whatever you feel comfortable with

however i dont think that there is much of a price difference between fdc and a centre, as a centre is a set price per day and mine also includes food whereas fdc is per hour....

[charlieangus]

My boys go mto family day care 2 monrings a week and they LOVE it. SO much so that CHarlie askes most mornings to go. We tried ABC centre but they didnt get enough 1 on 1 for my liking and it was so busy and noisy for a little one to rest and sleep.

Try out a few different things b4 you have to go back to work if possible and see what you find suits you.

Good luck and enjoy the adult contact at work...I know I do:thumbsup:

[Angel333]

My 2 year old goes to FDC 2 days a week he loves it. He seems much happier when he gets home.The carer is lovely she tells me what they will be doing that day and I like the layout of her centre.Clean and tidy with lots of toys for my son to play with.