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Parents and Guardians Forum>Switching From A Church Daycare To Home Daycare
Unregistered 07:21 PM 09-10-2012
I am heartbroken. I have a 2 year old who goes to a church daycare. I just got notice they are closing in 2 weeks b/c they don't have enough kids. My husband wants to look into a home daycare. His 2 older kids went to a home daycare when they were little and he/they loved it.

As for me, home daycares make me nervous. We have an interview for one on Wednesday. The provider had closed her daycare last year and is re-opening it. My daughter would go from a class of 3-4 to being the only kid for a while. As oddly as that sounds, I don't really like that. I want her to be around other kids. She likes playing with other kids and since she's the only kid at home I want her to learn and know how to interact and play with other kids.

Also, the church daycare, if a teacher was sick another one would cover for her. With a home provider, if she's sick, I'm screwed for daycare for that day or couple of days. How does that affect other parents? Does it happen often?

I have a ton of questions to ask her on Wednesday, but I'm really not going into this with an open mind. I just really loved her daycare. She loved it and the teachers really loved her and all the other kids.

Also, with her being at the church, I could pop in and check on her when I wanted. My dad would sometimes go in to see her for a few minutes too. With a home daycare I don't know if the provider would let me do that.

Maybe I'll look for another church.........
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Michael 11:12 PM 09-10-2012
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daycarediva 03:27 AM 09-11-2012
I run an in home daycare. I have an open door policy, parents are always allowed to pop in and check on their child. Depending on demand in the area (and especially with a daycare closing) your child won't be the only child in care for long. I have 5 kids under 5 so although it's a small group, I was able to hand pick each child. I have know some of them (and their families) since they were infants, and had their older siblings, etc.

I give my days off for the year in January so that parents can plan accordingly. I don't schedule a long vacation (3 longer weekends). I have called in sick ONCE in the last year. Most people who have home daycares are VERY reliable. I know I have 10 parents counting on me! That being said it is VERY hard to find a back up provider to go through all of the licensing requirements for MAYBE 3-5 days (vacation and sick) per year of pay, kwim?

I say give her a chance and try going into it with an open mind. I truly love and enjoy each of the kiddos in my care and think my home/daycare is the best spot for them, or I wouldn't be doing this!
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MyAngels 06:19 AM 09-11-2012
I can understand your feelings, even though I run a home daycare. I would definitely start by asking for referrals from anyone you know who has their kids in care. That makes a lot of parents more comfortable - knowing someone else has had a good experience in a care situation. I would do a lot of shopping around, perhaps including daycare centers, homes and church daycares.

Don't hesitate to ask a lot of questions of the provider, including how he/she feels about dropping in for visits. There are a lot of providers on this board that would not allow it on a regular basis, so I think that's something that may vary from person to person. Communication is key to having a good relationship with any provider.

One thing you might want to consider is that in many states church daycares do not have to follow the same regulations/standards that other licensed centers or caregivers do.
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sandrapitt 07:31 AM 09-16-2012
People are a bit apprehensive about home day cares and it is kind of normal to feel nervous, especially when you see your child might be alone. I suggest do not hurry into it. Look out for some more day cares, see what seems best for you and your child. Read their policies and only then select one. Do not rush into it. Good luck.
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clep 10:49 AM 09-21-2012
I run a home daycare and have an open door policy. Parents can come anytime they wish. If they do not have clear boundaries with their child and their presence creates poor behaviors in their child I do not want them to come.

The only time I get sick is when a parent brings their child sick and gives them tylenol to mask the sickness until after lunch. By the time I know they are sick for sure they have infected the toys and the whole day home.

I run my day home like a day care administratively as well as regarding activities. We are very active with a no tv policy.

There are sheets you can print off of the computer for questions to ask. Interview at least six places then go with your gut.

Let us know how it goes.
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Unregistered 11:57 AM 12-02-2012
On average, most home daycares are WAY better than most church/faith based daycares. MOST (I'm not saying all) faith based daycares are exempt from liscensing regulations (including ratios and background checks/safety training for staff). This of course depends on where you are. Children also are less likely to get sick from home daycares than from centers because they have less children (which means less germs and easier to sanitize). And the fact that she would be the only child for a while would mean that the provider will get to know her better than she would now any of the other children and your daughter would be her #1 priority while enrollment is building up. It's almost like having a private nanny for a while (without paying the private nanny price or worrying about coming home to a mess). You can ask her if she has a sub she can call if she where to fall ill though as a parent it is YOUR responsibility to find back up care-but it never hurts to ask if their is anyone she could recommend.

Legally parents have a right to visit their child regualarly throughout the day at any child care facility (they are your kids after all) UNLESS there is a lockdown due to a safety issue (my CC's Child Care Center was locked down become some crazy guy sped from an elementry school to the college and was shooting at cars in the parking lot)

HOWEVER- keep in mind while it will give YOU peace of mind to see her every couple of hours; remember that once she is in elementry school you cannot do this all the time because it is dissruptive to her learning. Also, it's not good to make her think that you will visit 5 times a day before you actually pick her up it is dissruptive not only to the teacher and your daughter but the other children (once there are some) as well. She will ask you for an emergency call card- anyone on those cards can pick up your child- but most likely they will NOT be allowed to hang out all day because it is dissruptive to their schedual (routines are VERY IMPORTANT infant- to- kindergartens). It may be fine when she is the only child but I think once other children are there it would be disrespectful to expect that someone will let someone's regually just "hang out" and inturrupt lession plans/scheduals. You have to understand that most daycares have scheduals, routines, and curriculums so yes it is very dissruptive to the day when Sally's mom or Grandpa are there all day to just "hang out" and are trying to talk to the teacher who is trying to teach or pulling Sally away from a learning activity just to hug her and ask her if she had fun since you were last there an hour ago. And if you wake her up during nap time just to hug her and leave- I would (personally) say "FORGET IT!" Unless you plan on taking her with you because 1) you are inturrupting her sleep 2) if there are other kids and she starts crying be cause she is grouchy you woke her up and upset that you are leaving she will wake up everyone else and you won't be the only one going home to a grumpy toddler.
If they are volunteering that is different be cause they are activly participating in the education of the child. But kids aren't going to want to participate if they see someone who is just who is just sitting there and making empty complements (such as "Good job!", "I like/love it", "Thats nice"). Some of the other parents may not like it if they see other peoples families always their and their kids say "yeah s/he was there all day" it may make them feel uncomfortable because they want to make sure that their child's information is between them and the provider and that the child is able to concentrate and adapt to a routine.

I am not saying that you (or your husband/father etc.) do any of these things, I am just saying try to think of it from the teacher (AND the CHILD's, and OTHER parent's) point of view. In most daycares, there is a method to the madness and a reason they do everything. She CANNOT tell you you cant see your child but just try to be considerate of her scheduals, routines, and lesson plans.

IMHO, it sounds more like your church daycare was just a run-of-the-mill babysitting service, not really a structured child care center.
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satcook 08:50 AM 12-03-2012
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
On average, most home daycares are WAY better than most church/faith based daycares. MOST (I'm not saying all) faith based daycares are exempt from liscensing regulations (including ratios and background checks/safety training for staff). This of course depends on where you are.
This is definitely not true in Kansas!! I have never heard of any states where this is true!! Does anyone know specific states where they are exempt??

Lori
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