When parents ask you what the pros are in comparison to a licensed daycare center, (Kindercare, Goddard School, etc.) what do you tell them? I'm still new at this, and after having worked with in a center setting, my home simply cannot offer what the big places can. Can you help me be creative with this?

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The most important thing is the ratio of staff to children. The major complaint I have heard from interviews and current parents is that there are just too many children in centers and it contributes to over stimulation of the children there. Not enough of an ability of staff to give more individual attention. That's the biggest benefit.

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I believe that the best place for young children is home with a parent. If that is not possible I offer the next best thing, a loving home environment. My day is flexible. I do not follow a rigid schedule like the centers do. I go with the mood of the kids. I can take them to the library, park, zoo, etc.
I find that I don't feel I need to compare myself with a center. It's a completely different environment. I don't like centers.

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I'm with you on this completely! I don't feel that I need to justify it to myself, but when I am put in a position to make a comparison, I would like some more answers other than 'I just think I am better for your kids', lol. A lot of parents, I feel, like to check out home daycares because they can be a lot less pricey, but then they will go on and on about the bigger centers with their space, technology, teachers with master's degrees, access to funds for more toys, games, play equipment...and I know I can't compete with that. Even though I think my level of care is more personal and attentive.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

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I think the main thing is that you ARENT competing with the centers....you are totally different service so its up to the parents to decide what is most important for their child and make a decision based on that. I dont compete with facilities, I offer something totally different. My daycare is not like a center, only cheaper. What I view as important is not even close to how many centers view it. I dont push kids to learn academics or technology...we have fun/play/explore for as long as possible. I dont have a masters degree, but I do have a lot of real life experience and a lot of love and attention to give to these kids. You cant learn that in a classroom. I purposefully keep our toys and equipment very simple to keep kids exploring, versus being entertained, and to provide a more calm, low key envirnoment versus the rush-rush-rush of trying to get 2 year olds to master preschool or kindergarten skills. I dont have a "school", I have a home away from home and try and do things as close as possible to what a child would be doing at home if their mother was there with them. We go for walks, not stay inside a room all day. The kids eat family style meals and become their own little family here, we dont have a ton of kids in and out constantly, never knowing who will be here one day and gone the next. I know each child very, very well and can use that knowledge to help them progess at their own pace and to provide preventative measures to avoid a lot of the behaviors I see at daycares....territorial behaviors like biting and hiting or attention seeking behaviors because the child is one of 25, instead of one of 8.

Here are some of the things I think I can offer that a center may or simply cant

*a low ratio
*strong bond with a provider, no turnover here with multiple staff members in and out and kids shuffled from teacher to teacher
*strong bond with other kids of various ages, security in knowing that your same little friends are here day after day, siblings can stay together, all children learn to be around multiple ages
*home like environment
*accommodating to special requests (within reason). I have no problem cloth diapering, following a parents already established routine as long as it doesnt interfere with a group setting, and other personalized services. If your child needs a bottle past one year, I dont take it away from him....in a center, kids have to follow the class rules whether it is best for them or not
*less exposure to germs and illness

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I taught in an excellent child-care center and then in public school for 13 years before beginning family child care, which I thought I would not like, but would endure in order to be home with my kids. Turns out I prefer it!

Ditto to the above answers.

Also, I love that the kids have the opportunity to participate in real life in a way not possible in centers. For example, in my home, food preservation is a huge part of our family life, and so is a huge part of the children's curriculum, as is cooking.

Another example: at home, I find we spend tons of time getting to know and observing people in the community: mail carrier, milk man, librarian, elderly neighbor, UPS guy, public works employees, etc, etc. In school you might do a "community helpers" theme; at home, community helpers are an integral part of your life and you know them in a far deeper way.

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Thanks for your outlook! That is helpful. I worked in a really great center and our ratios were never at 25, even for school age! They were 4-1 for infants, 5-1 for 1s, 6-1 for 2s, and 10-1 for 3s,4s, and school age. Usually there were 2 teachers in each room. I thought that was a state thing, but maybe some just don't follow it--not good. That is insane that other centers would let ratios get that high. And we always knew what children were coming everyday, we didn't allow drop-ins.

Thank you for pointing out the drawbacks of centers that I was not privy to as the one I worked at was good and our turn-over was very low. I left for reasons other than unhappiness with my job, and decided to try my hand at having my own home-based center. I thought my good experiences at my center were fairly universal, so it is good to know that I can offer something better than some of the others.

Thanks a lot. I am a pretty confident person usually, I just have a hard time talking myself up after coming from such a great place. At least now I know they aren't all so fantastic, and I help use that to bolster my strengths.

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did anyone say no staff turnover? as long as they are there, you'll be caring for them!

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I think there are plenty of fantastic centers out there and there are plenty of home daycares too but the MOST important aspect of going with either choice is what is right for the child.

If I had a parent ask me the difference, I would not answer, but would encourage the parent to do the research for themself. Visit several centers and home child cares, observe, ask questions, do your homework because ONLY the parents knows what their child/family needs.

I have seen kids do horrible in both quality family care and in a quality center and NONE of the behavior had anything to do with the level of care in either place but had more to do with the child themselves. Some children thrive in busy environments with lots of stimulation to keep them busy and occupied. Other kids do better in quiet family style care environments that offer a slower pace and fewer choices for playmates.

My DD thrived in a center! She is such a social butterfly that one caregiver and a small mixed age group of kids would have bored her to death. My DS however was bordering on needing a nanny but did ok in family care where it wasn't so busy. Each of my children were uniquely individual and had totally different needs and none of those needs had anything to do with whether the family child care or center was better than the other.

I think family child care providers, centers, and parents need to stop comparing the benefits and negatives of one to another (as they all have their own pros and cons) but do the work and find what care setting/environment is best for THEIR child.

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Just to throw another thought out there, a dcm of mine who switched from a center said that she really enjoys the ease of communication now. She used to have to call the office, then be transferred to his classroom only to sit on hold for a while. Now she can just send me a quick text and I get back to her within minutes. She also likes the flexibility. Dcb is a terrible sleeper at night and one morning he arrived looking like he could fall asleep on his feet. So I let him take a short morning nap while everyone else did freeplay. That never would have happened in a center.

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I worked in child care centers for three years before starting my own home child care twenty years ago. Personally, I feel home child care offers a nurturing environment. When families enter, they become a part of the child care family. Siblings are able to stay together along with children of mixed ages promoting peer learning. Home child care is equipped to enhance social-emotional, cognitive and physical skills for children preparing them for kindergarten. Sure, when I interview future clients, I express what my program has to offer and I present it in a way that displays my confidence/experience with family child care. In the end, it is still "the parent's choice".

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Center here. 15 total students. 1:5 ratios. Specializing in individual attention

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Center here. Offering loving home environment, no RIGID schedule, but a schedule nonetheless, and a structured setting with curriculum. Sorry you "don't like centers", but you've never seen mine. I don't like generalizations.

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Didn't know technology, funding, teachers with degrees and more toys was a bad thing.

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I simply can, and do, offer all of that. Luv you Cheerful, but you know all centers are not alike. A small center can be everything a home daycare can be.

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Center here. In six and a half years, replaced one assistant. That's it. Now have younger siblings of my first wave of students. Parents delighted by the low turn over. Also appreciate we are owners AND operators, not an absentee kid mill with low paid and poorly trained staff.

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Thank you Blackcat. Nice to see someone is not making sweeping generalizations.

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Sorry everyone, just tired out defending centers. I don't like the big corporate box centers either. I like kids, and parents, and doing the right thing. Don't we all? Seriously? Just because my license says "licenced facility" does not automatically make my place any better or worse than yours. Honestly, I just feel tired of reading center bashing posts. The one last week was even titled "see what happens at centers? Even with cameras rolling?" followed by a link to some horrible abuse story. It would never cross my mind to post a link to the terrible house fire in texas and label it "see what happens in home daycare? With no licensing oversight?" That would be a gross generalization. Someone, maybe blackcat, did say "some centers" so i left it alone. Sorry again, done with vent.

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Sugar~ You are absolutely right in getting upset because I too, get tired of people who generalize anything for that matter.

I have 2 kids of my own and I know first hand that no kid is just like another and each had their own unique set of needs and likes etc and like I said in my previous post, each required and thrived in a completely different environment. One in a center and the other in a home setting.

I think that ultimately parents need to do their homework and find which setting best suits their child's needs. I have seen some horrible centers, but have seen some seriously fantastic ones too!!! The same can be said about family child care providers and nanny's and babysitters and teachers and au pairs and cars and sofas and colors and seasons and etc and etc.......

As a person who works in the field of Early Childhood, I think being impartial and open to different situations, cultures, environments, settings and things like that should be second nature to us. I don't think we should automatically say "centers" or "home providers" as a genralization EVER.

Mostly because we all work with children and children, even from the same set of parents, are so uniquely different that generalization of anything shouldn't even be in our vocabularies.

So don't stop speaking up when this kind of topic/thread pops up. People (parents and providers in all capacities) need to be reminded (sometimes repeatedly) until we automatically stop comparing. The only comparison that should ever be made is whether this or that environment is right for this specific child. period.

I am not really a family child care provider as I don't operate within my family home and the set of issues and perks that come with that yet I am not a center as I am not licensed as one and don't have employees so I can easily fall to either side I guess but instead choose to happily be called both....either way I provide great care to the children in my program, whether I am called a center or a home child care.

Heck, call me a babysitter, daycare lady, child care specialist, teacher, hey you, or anything you want. I really don't mind. WHAT the children get out of being in my specific setting is all that really matters.

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Very well said Blackcat, better than I could say it because I let my emotions take over. Thank you for your kind words and support. As a "center person" I truly feel unwelcomed here sometimes.

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I don't see how centers can offer loving home environments when they aren't a home. And everyone is entitled to an opinion.

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Really? Actually, it IS in a home, a very nice historic home, furnished completely with child sized furniture, lots of windows, very charming and comfortable. It is also a multi age approach school, with NO children relegated to a single room. Why on earth would you say a center can't offer a loving environment? Pretty harsh and uninformed thing to say to a center operator you're never met, a center you're never seen, and a program you don't understand. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but your assumptions and generalizations about centers is simply unfair. And for what its worth, I don't see how a child being cared for in someones private home automatically garentees they are in a loving environment.

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I take a total different look on home versus center but its because of the state I live in. We have 3 different type of childcares.

You must be licensed as a registered family child care home if:

•You provide child care to more than three (3) children, up to a total of ten (10) children at any one time, unless they are all from the same family;

•You provide child care on other than an occasional basis; or

•You receive payment from an agency that requires you to be registered.

Also must be done in a home

Many other steps to obtain this


Certified family child care homes:

•Provide child care for up to 12 children, may be certified for up to 16 with prior approval from the Division

•Are located in a building constructed as a single-family dwelling.

•Must comply with the Oregon Administrative Rules that apply to this type of Child Care.

Many other steps to obtain this



Certified Child Care Centers:
•Typically provide care for more than twelve children;

•Typically provide care in a building that is constructed as other than a single-family dwelling.

Many other steps to obtain this



So in my eyes and please don't take offence to this but I see BlackCat and Sugar more like a Certified family childcare home at least in my state. Not a registered family home but not a center. In the middle of the road.

It wouldn't be small but wouldn't be to big. I think of centers where there are tons of kids from birth to 5th grade. More like a school almost!

So I just wanted Sugar and Blackcat to know how I picture there childcares.

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I haven't had time to read all of the respinses but I have this in my parents handbook:


Benefits of Home Child care
What are the benefits of choosing in-home care? A family childcare provider continues the parent's role of caregiver, nurturer, comforter, and first teacher. The provider is not just a babysitter. She plans meals, schedules, and safety. She organizes the children's activities. She will appreciate your family values and child rearing practices. She is a professional and you can rely on her judgment. Working together as a team, you will provide the best for your child. The provider is not a substitute for you. You are the most important person in your child's life and the provider respects that.

Here are just a few of the advantages of home care:
1) Child Care Homes are required to have a lower child/adult ratio than centers so your child receives more individual attention.
2) There is more flexibility than in a center.
3) There is less illness because there are fewer people in and out, which means fewer germs are spread to your child.
4) Your child is cared for and taught by a trained childcare professional that is usually a mother as well.
5) Children have the opportunity to play and learn with other children in a much smaller group than in a center.
6) Many children cannot handle the noise level and increased stimulation of a daycare center and do better in a smaller setting.
7) Children are not grouped by age and have the opportunity to spend time with other children of all ages.
8) Your child has the same caregiver all day, everyday. That means one person who knows exactly what your child has done, eaten, etc. throughout the day.
9) Centers tend to have high employee turnover rates.
10) It is possible for your child to remain with the same provider from infancy up to school age.

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I never said those were bad things. I think they are very good things--and also not what I have to offer, for better or worse, which is why I said I couldn't compete with centers who can offer such things. You are obviously very defensive about your center. If you read through this thread, you will plainly see that I have disagreed with some generalizations that were made about centers as I had previously worked in a very good one but decided to try my hand at my own.

Please don't put words in my mouth simply because you have some sort of complex. Not appreciated.

I am well aware that sometimes, it seems comparisons simply cannot be made. To us, that makes sense. We DO this. To parents, well, it's a different story. They want to know what they are getting and they ARE comparing. I'd like to be prepared with an answer that will satisfy them one way or another.

Thanks for your help everyone. Very enlightening.

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Country Kids! No offense taken at all, in fact, I consider your words a compliment. In Florida, how the building is constructed makes no difference to how you are licensed. We also have 2 designations of home child care, regular and large, and them there is licensed facility. If the building in question is NOT used as the primary living quarters of the provider, you are a licensed facility. We don't live there, so even though it is totally a residential structure, we dont live there, so we are licensed and inspected as a facility.

The entire and complete reason my center has been a successful center is because we are small, owner operated, family-like atmosphere, home-like environment (best of the home daycare concept) AND the structure, curriculum, staffing, and stricter regulatory oversight (big draws for centers). Country Kids analysis was right on.

So yeah, I only take offense when sweeping generalizations lump me and other quality centers on with the ones we hear the horror stories about. Same way any quality home child care provider would be offended being labeled as a babysitter, sitting on the sofa watching soaps and eating bon bons. I guess I just get frustrated because it seems like the shoe is always on the other foot here with "centers" always being the bad guy. I'm not a "bad guy" because I simply have a home I go home to at night and another home I use to provide a loving home-like care by day.

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No way! That's wonderful! You cannot do that here. Centers are like schools. If a daycare is in any type of home, whether you live there or not, then its a family daycare and there can only be 12 kids max.

I was saying a center can't offer a home-like environment. Where I am centers are all hard tiled floors with hard chairs/furniture. It's not a comfortable environment.

And it is so true that not all homes are loving environments. You never know what is going on behind closed doors, especially if a provider works alone

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