Why we ♥ In Home Day Care
Finding infant day care and baby day care can be stressful. I remember with our first, I was overwhelmed.
Researching day care in my local area as well as sifting through the different options was daunting.
But in the end, we’ve always found day cares that met our criteria. That nay I say it, we LOVED.
I want to provide a tool for working parents to help them make the best decision for their family when it comes to day care centers and child care for the babies. That way they can LOVE their day care and feel they’ve made the best decision for their babies.
I have two other related articles that you might want to start with if you haven’t read them already:
Day Care 101: How to Choose the Best Day Care
Day Care Simplified for Working Parents
This article is going to delve into the pros of finding an in home licensed day care provider as your primary child care option and basically tell you why we HEART in home day cares.
My husband and I have primarily used in-home day care providers as our TOP choice for day care for our infants and toddlers for over four years.
I hope you are reading this article like super early in pregnancy. Like, really if I could, I would argue BEFORE you are pregnant. But in reality I know that’s not true.
So, I started writing this article as if from the perspective that your maternity leave is coming to an end – and FAST. Because let’s be honest, you’ve probably been focusing on just having that baby and surviving and thriving the first few weeks with a newborn!
Related Articles You Might Like: Postpartum Series: Your Post Baby Body, Postpartum Series: Tips for Newborn Sleeve Deprivation
I understand, I really do. But the unfortunate truth is, day care waiting lists can be LONG, and if you want to find a provider you LOVE, as well as a day care at an affordable rate, then you might have to be on a waiting list for a while. You might need to be flexible.
You might need to shell out some money. Lots of money. Bye money.
I have heard SO many friends and colleagues say, “My maternity leave ends in three weeks, and I still haven’t found a day care! I’ve been on the waiting list for 5 months already!”
Look for day care options while pregnant. End of story. Start of story. Tell your friends, please.
Unfortunately in this day and age, you have to be thinking about day care options while you are still pregnant, if you want to find the right one for your family.
There is often a lot of research involved with finding the right dare care option for you and your family. On top of that, many day cares and facilities have waiting lists for newborns because they have less openings.
So once you find one that you really like, you might not even be able to get in it. For months.
I hope you are reading this while you are still pregnant. But if not, hopefully, this article will help you find an in home day care that works for you and your family as soon as possible.
Related Article: A Minimalist Baby Essentials List
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Our Story
On several occasions, for various reasons, we had to change day care fairly quickly (within the month). Thankfully in home day cares were an option because we were able to find care for our then 3 and 1 year olds that was affordable, licensed, and safe.
Some of the day cares even had great preschool programs and/or fun art projects every day for the kids.
I will outline the pros we have enjoyed from in home day care as well as the cons (in a separate article). Each day care option should be considered as a family unit and is a personal choice of the family, but hopefully this will help you make an educated decision for you and your family situation.
I will caveat everything that I have only used in home day care providers for our kids, although we’ve had several through the past 5 years. But I have put my kids in drop-in care at child development centers on several occasions and have toured many child development centers when researching for our own family.
I’ve just never found one that outweighed the benefits of in home day care (the biggest being cost).
Related Article: 58 Budget Categories You Need to Begin Living Frugally
Pros of In home Day Care
1. [Potential] Flexible and Better Hours
The hours for an in home day care are often more flexible.
Since I was in the Air Force when I worked full time, I sometimes worked different hours than a standard 9-5 job. For example, I taught Air Force leadership at Colorado State University. I attended physical training aka workouts with the cadets once a week at 0600 in the morning. No day care centers that I know of open that early.
But during our research, we found several in home day cares for our two kids that were willing to be flexible to meet our needs.
Now, I mentioned “often” when I said in home day cares are more flexible because you might find some that are more restrictive as well. Don’t be discouraged.
One friend’s son attended an in home day care that was only open Tues – Friday and kids had to be picked up at 4:30, no questions asked. So, you really have to ask the question and communicate if you need more flexible hours!
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘Don’t give up. Don’t settle for less when it comes to choosing the right day care.’ #moms #bloggerstribe” quote=”Don’t give up. Don’t settle for less when it comes to day care.” theme=”style2″]
Remember, day care providers are most likely looking to make an income from home, so use this knowledge to negotiate. You have something they want (money), and they have something you want (affordable, quality day care for your b aby), so don’t be afraid to ask for exceptions.
You may have to pay more but then you are able to provide the flexibility you need for your family.
2. In home day cares allow cloth diapers
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘Many child care facilities do not allow cloth diapers. But in home day cares do.’ New blog post on why we love in home day cares. #moms” quote=”Many child care facilities do not allow cloth diapers. But in home day cares do.” theme=”style2″]
I’m assuming it’s because they have way more kids in their infant rooms than in home day care providers, but I have yet to find a child care facility that allowed the use of cloth diapers. I know they also don’t have the facilities for sanitation reasons to support cloth diapers.
If you are considering cloth diapers because they are more affordable, better for the environment, and better for baby’s bottom, then an in home day care might be for you.
Sometimes our day care providers weren’t sure about the whole cloth diaper thing. But when I showed them how easy the Bum Genius Freetime snapped on, and that we used these flushable wipes for poop, they didn’t mind as much!
Related Article You May Like: A Minimalist Baby Essentials List
3. In home day cares are licensed
Before becoming a new mom, I didn’t even know in home day care licensing was a thing. Maybe I’m just naive, but I thought all child care facilities were those small little building with those bright big letters and the kids laughing on the playgrounds outside.
But the state actually licenses and inspects day care providers in every state. Day care providers meet certain qualifications, their homes must be inspected, they have surprise inspections, and food requirements.
But you can run a full day care from your home!
Each state varies on the specific requirements, but there are minimum standards in each state. You can look up registered and licensed providers for your specific state if you’re interested in learning more.
Here’s is Texas’ Health and Human Services page on Child Care for reference.
4. Lower infant to adult ratios
So this particular pro is a catch 22. I’ll talk about the con of this later, but the pro is that most in home licensed providers are restricted to 2 kids under the age of 2.
This means your little baby will have a much higher chance of getting one on one attention from your provider. Since they are only restricted to two babies, then your little one is more likely to be able to eat exactly when they are hungry or to be changed as soon as they have a dirty diaper.
I’ve occasionally had my kids at drop in care at a day care centers, and each time I’ve gone at lunch to feed my babies, there were two workers for 8-10 kids in the room (sorry, don’t remember exactly).
Babies were crying. So much crying. Probably because they were all hungry at the exact same time. Babies sat in swings to be comfy, rather than being held getting one on one attention and TLC.
One of the workers would be feeding one baby while the other was changing a dirty diaper. It was loud and overall not a positive experience for me.
Now, I’m not saying it’s like that all times of day, but it was enough to confirm to me that I appreciated our in home day care providers even more.
5. Better napping environment
Sleep. Huge. Baby sleep can make or break your day. Even when the baby gets home at night.
At in home day cares, since they are run out of a home, the location is often quieter. The day care provider can provide a darker room for your baby to nap.
When you interview an in home day care provider, ask them where they are authorized to have their kids nap and what the rules are. Typically, they are able to put a pack n play in a relatively quiet room, with the door open so they can check on the babies every 15 minutes or so.
They can turn off the lights, play soft music, or whatever else they need to do to make sure your baby sleeps wells and stays on schedule, relieving a lot of stress about baby sleep.
At a day care center, since not all babies sleep on the same schedule, the lights stay on, and the room stays bright. Many babies do not sleep well at day care because there is just too much commotion.
The lack of regular naps is probably the number 1 complaint I’ve heard from moms with kids at a full day care center.
6. More affordable
Save money. Yes!
From my research, I’ve found in home day care providers are more affordable. Because they do not have as many facility costs as well as employees, they are typically cheaper than a day care center.
In home day cares also can apply for food benefits if their menus meet a balanced die. This helps offset costs for them as well.
Saving money on day care is huge. On average, people spend almost $10K per year on day care. I know we were averaging that PER KID.
Yes, we were paying over $20K per year on day care. If we had been in a day care center it would have been closer to $28.6K for our area though. So, we really were saving money with in home day care.
In home day care is a much more affordable option than a full day care center.
7. Better communication and real-time text messages/updates
My day care providers provided cute pictures throughout the day either via personal text message, private Facebook groups, or Group Me Chats with parents so they could see what their kids were up to all day.
If you opt for this child care option, talk to your day care provider about what kind of updates they give during the day.
Sometimes, especially those first few weeks, you will miss your little one so much! This better communication was a huge benefit me as a new mom looking for day care.
8. Breastfeeding flexibility
Speaking of text messages, you are also able to text to coordinate a better breastfeeding schedule. Keep the baby on the boob!
With each of my babies I took the advice to nurse my babies as much as possible. Including during my lunch break as much as possible.
I used my lunch break every day to feed the babies when they were under 1. This means I had to work with my day care providers to time their morning bottles/feedings. I needed to know when they ate in the morning, so I could try to pump at the same time.
I also needed to know so that I made sure to get there in time for the lunch feeding without driving the day care provider crazy because my baby was crying non-stop because they were so hungry.
With both pregnancies, it took a little looking but I was able to find a day care provider that was willing to work with me to help me succeed at breastfeeding while working full time. Day care facilities just don’t have the ability to communicate in the same way due to manning.
Related Article: Breastfeeding Tips: 5 Ways to Successfully Pump at Work
Free Day Care Decision Matrix
Simplified Motherhood blog is a blog for new moms about surviving the first year, being more productive, living a more FULL life, and overall motherhood topics. If you would like a tool to help you make the best day care decision for your family, here is a free day care decision matrix, please download it here.
Additional Reading You Might Like:
Day Care 101: How to Choose the Best Day Care
2 Bedtime Routine Examples for Toddlers and Babies
Morning Routine Ideas for Frustrated Working Moms