Private Daycare - How do you feel?

Adrienne522 wrote: My son, Scott, is 8 weeks old. I HAD to start back back at work last week. I found a private daycare from word of mouth from a friend of mine. The lady seems nice, the kids like her, and her price is really reasonable. Do you think that private daycares are better than other daycares?? I guess I am just questioning myself and my choices. I heard that mothers tend to do that. I was thinking on my way to work and dropping Scott off, my brother was so lucky to have my mom babysit my nephew from 3 months until 3 1/2 years old. Not only did he save $$, but he knew that Austin was getting the love and attention that he needed.

boyohboyohboy replied: HI! Your scotty is so cute!
I had to return to work when Caleb was 3 months old, but he stayed with friends till he was 9 months old. I then put him in a public daycare, It was very expensive, $190 a week. But I found that he wasnt getting good care, and the sippy cup and bib I was told I had to leave there, that would be cleaned by their staff, wasnt, and I found it with mold on it!
I immediately removed him.

I like private sitters, if you find a good one. I think no matter where your kids are you just have to keep a close eye on whats going on, and talk to the kids there, and come and go at different times of the day, to just pop in to see whats going on. But if you do find a good on, make sure you spoil her! They are hard to come by.

I think everyone feels the way you do, No one wants to return to work and leave their kids.

It sounds like scotty is in a happy place.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I've never had to find a daycare, but I think I would prefer a private one to a large public one. I just don't see how the kids can get good quality care at a big place with lots of kids. I hope it works out for you!

Momof3inMe replied: I was very lucky with my boys when I had to return to work. When tyler was born he stayed home with his aunt for the summer then he went to a daycare that I had gone to. The lady was the best ever she lived right by my moms witch was where we were living and from there he went with me to work at a daycare center and with Carter he went to a lady that my mom knew and he loved it. When Carter was about 6 months old I stayed home and did daycare in my home. I also think that a private daycare is better then a public one.

mummy2girls replied: i like private better .. and im not saying it because i just opened up my own dayhome Jenna was in a public daycare at 4 months of age is when she started, and it was a nightmare, she was neglected and so forth. Then she was in other public ones and each one was a nightmare. So i decided to try a private one and it was awesome! There are some awesome public ones , you just have to do a good search and ask tons of questions. I think your son will be happy... just call throughout the day and dop drop ins if you can:)

C&K*s Mommie replied: If the workers are loving and attentive then it really does not make a difference to me, homecare or daycare. I do prefer small groups in a daycare or homecare versus daycares that are always at the state limit of worker to child ratio though.

Smaller is better in my opinion. Overall, neither is the better than the other to me, as long as they are attentive and loving and take the time to care.

luvbug00 replied: Yes smaller is better!

TheOaf66 replied: well I may be bias but my wife does that in our house, seeing that compared to one of the big daycares it is like night and day. She only watches 4 kids so they all get one on one attention and it is more homey feeling and the child doesn't feel like a number. I think it is a more loving environment so I think you are doing the right thing.

holley79 replied: So far Annika has only been in dayhomes. She gets lots of one on one time. There are plenty of people who have wonderful experiences with daycare facitilites but we don't have any close to home that I trust.

Adrienne522 replied: Thanks everybody!!! I appreciate the comments and they made me feel better!!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
It totally depends on what is best for the child and family. There are pros and cons to everything. I can understand your second thoughts. It's your baby. We all do that when we are taking our child's best interests into account.

I agree with everyone when they say smaller is better. Now that I have seen both sides of the spectrum...large group centers and small in-homes, I know the benefits of an in-home far outweigh the cons. The only con that parents see that I know off hand are when I am closed they have to find alternative care since I work alone, but I do not take advantage of that. It's a small sacrifice for better care if you ask me.

Added: as with anything, there are good and bad group centers, and there are good and bad in-homes. Just do your checking, ask a lot of questions (you ARE the parent), and make sure you feel comfortable with whatever you decide.

luvmykids replied: I agree that great people can be found in a large daycare but another thing to consider is the general atmoshphere, when I had to work I figured if the kids had to spend 9 hours away from home I still wanted it to "feel" homey. I found a lady and it was perfect, she was awesome and the kids really felt like they could make themselves at home and relax. In big centers it seems that sometimes it's go, go, go and just seems to me like it would feel like such a long day for them.