| Part 2 of 2 - When you are looking for child care, | | | | an au pair, or nanny. Unlike family child daycares |
| there are three basic types of child care you can | | | | or daycare centers, in-home childcare providers |
| consider. These are daycare centers, family child | | | | are not required to be licensed. |
| care, and in-home child care. All three have their | | | | Advantages: The biggest advantage to in-home |
| own advantages and disadvantages, so you need | | | | childcare is that your child will be cared for in their |
| to determine what will work best for you and | | | | own home. Familiar surroundings are comforting to |
| your child. | | | | a child and how more familiar can you get than |
| Family child daycare | | | | your own home. Your child will be sleeping in their |
| Family child daycares are also licensed through the | | | | own bed, with their own blankets. Your child will |
| state and are adults caring for children in their | | | | be getting more one-on-one care, unless your |
| home. In most states, the family daycare can | | | | child's caregiver is watching TV all day! You don't |
| have no more than 10-12 children at one time. | | | | have to worry about going and getting your child |
| Advantages: In a smaller group setting, your child | | | | because they are already home. The only |
| will be getting more one-on-one attention. Since | | | | transportation issue will be if you need to pick up |
| this is in someone's home, your child may feel | | | | or drop off your child's caregiver. In-home |
| more relaxed, even though it's not their own | | | | childcare is often much more flexible to work with |
| home. Because your child is being cared for in | | | | as far as hours go, and even may be flexible |
| someone's home, the provider may be more | | | | enough to include occasional late evenings and |
| flexible with the hours that your child is there if | | | | weekend hours. |
| you have a late meeting or need to run an | | | | Disadvantages: Having one-on-one attention can |
| errand. | | | | backfire in that your child will miss out on vital |
| Disadvantages: Whereas in daycare centers there | | | | interaction with children their own age. You also do |
| is usually a specific curriculum that runs through all | | | | not know exactly what goes on during the day as |
| age classes, in a family child daycare, you may | | | | you would in a larger setting. This means that |
| find that there is no specific curriculum and the | | | | whoever is watching your child could actually be |
| day may go on the whim of the provider. As with | | | | watching TV more than she is watching your child. |
| any other daycare where you are dropping off | | | | Unless your childcare provider has teaching |
| your child, family child daycares will usually not let | | | | experience, your child may be missing out on |
| your child come if they are sick, so you will have | | | | academics that larger facilities provide. In-home |
| to arrange for a day off, or have a backup adult | | | | childcare can be more expensive than other types |
| to watch your child when they are sick. | | | | of childcare, especially given that if your child's |
| In-home Childcare: | | | | provider calls in sick at the last moment and you |
| In-home childcare is anyone from your Mom | | | | are left scrambling to find someone to care for |
| coming over to care for your child, to you hiring | | | | them in a hurry. |