Babysitter or Daycare Center, Which Is Better Environment?

a few thoughts

daycare cares for the days childcare cares for the child

illness if your child is ill you have to take off work

illnesses run rampid in centers and do loops so as soon as you think your child is healthy boom they are sick again

when you visit the centers look to see where the staff are are they on their feet or engaging with the children

there are also child to teacher ratios in Oklahoma at age 3 there is a 12 children to 1 teacher

will your child be getting the skills you want him to learn or is their chaos drop in a few very in oppurtune times to see the stress level of the day ( i worked at a childcare center) lunch time, snack time, outside time, free play, and the curriculum that is used ask for a schedule of daily activities and pop in to see the staff unexpectedly for best results

the socializing can be great but can also be negative as you will notice in your child as he picks up good habits he will also pick up bad habits

uncles wife sounds good now please keep in mind that if there are rules at your house you can ask and monitor if there is consistentsy at home as well as uncles wife

uncles wife is family

uncles wife also will not call you all the time if the little man gets a cough most private or family will keep the child even when sick and little guy will be more comfortable too.

as far as kindergarten most kids at that age are mature enough to handle the change from home to school easily and its only a small chunk of the day

Good luck H..
S.

My son went to daycare when he was 3.
They can learn a lot there like playing w/other children and sharing. They get naps there. The one I had in Ohio even taught children to swim.
I would check out what these daycares have to offer.
Babysitter is ok til you can get the child in a center.
The children do occasionally get sick. The general rule is that if child has a fever he/she isn't allowed to attend til it is gone.

I have a had both babysitter and daycare for my kids. We live in a small town and we dont have much choice on what to pick from sadly. But we do have a lot of great people that do watch children. We dont have probably the same daycare that most places have. But I just had to move my daughter to a new one (due to her old one closing the doors after 15 years) She has thrived so much more at this school. Our kids have to know so much now when they go to kindergarten here. They get tested before entering and I was so worried that she was not going to be ready. Her old childcare had babies also and they didnt end up with being able to school the older ones as much as they would have liked. This new one is 3 years and up. She has learned so much in a short time I am not as worried now. Yes at all our babysitters and daycares here if the child is running a fever they can not be there. But those are the same rules that will apply at regular school and they will be around the germs also at regular school. I think that you are on the right idea of putting him with kids his age. It is hard for most kids if they are not used to the rules and the schedules and our daycares go by the same as regular schools. So the only thing that is different for them is the buildings. And another plus is they already know kids that will be in thier class. That helps a lot. Good luck with what you choose.

I work at a daycare/preschool center...I have for a long time..I understand your dilema because I am also a Mom of 2 girls..Check out the facility with a fine tooth comb, ask alot of questions, but most of all see how your child acts around the teacher/caregiver..I love all my kids(at work)and I have learned through the years it does help children get along with others and learn how to play with other kids...the social thing is important along with the educational thing.
Both of my girls attended preschool/daycare and i am glad I did send them.....

I have a daughter that will be 11 in April and a 5 year old son. I worked when my daughter was little and she was in daycare until she was 4. I have been at home with my son since he was born. I was concerned that he would be very behind because he had not been in a "school" setting. He started school this year and he has done GREAT. The teacher brags on him all the time. We did as you said you are doing. We worked on his colors and his numbers and the ABC's from time to time but nothing all the time. When he started he could say his ABC's, Spell his name, count to 10 and knew his colors. He could not tell you which letter was which by looking at them, though. He could just recite his ABC's. I think you should do what is best for your family but I don't think that him being in a "school" setting should be the deciding fact. Good luck. Remeber he will only be little once and he has 16-17 years (if he goes to college) of school ahead after he starts Kindergarten.

I have an 8 month old and have faced this delima. There are pros and cons to both and at the end of the day the decison is in your hands. With an at home sitter they have less interaction with kids their own age and they become dependant a lot of the time (I say this through experience with neices and nephews), also they do not get near as sick, but the down side to at home daycare is that when they start school they could possibly be behind the other kids from not learning what they needed to. A day care has its good and bad. They close for holidays, kids get sick, and plenty of other problems, but the good thing is your kids can build their immune system and get the child interaction they need and they also get the learning for all age groups. I hope this helped and if it didnt then i am sorry

Hi H..
You have been so very lucky!!..
I think it is always best to give a child some varity. He should soon be ready to learn how to share with other children. So your on the mark, he needs to go to either a day care or a pre school also. I began putting mine in 2 hour a day pre school at age three. I was a stay at home mom, but knew they needed to communicate with other chilren to. It was very good for them both.
I think you should have him go to the day care, that would be my first choice.
Both of my sons are very well adjusted. And they were honor students :)
One thing I also recommend, is to put your child or request when they are starting school, to put them in the morning Kindergarden class. That way when they begin 1st grade, they are used to getting up and dealing with people in the mornings. I learned that the hard way..lol
K.

Hello H.,

I worked at 2 different daycares each for 2 years. I learned so much from those four years. I had the opportunity to work with all ages from 6 weeks old up to 5 years, and then in the summer time, we would have school-agers up to the 5th grade. The biggest thing I learned from this work experience is that I never want my son in daycare. There ARE lots of benefits, don't get me wrong, but in my opinion, I would rather not have him in that type of environment. At most childcare places, the turnover rate of employees is usually pretty high. Also, I've seen a lot of young people get hired, who usually don't have children or know anything about children....they just think that they LIKE kids.....and they usually don't last very long....then your child gets to meet another "teacher" and the cycle continues....also, the children get "attached" to certain teachers and then don't understand why their teacher has been replaced by another strange person. I believe that as long as your child is learning and being taught age-appropriate things, that they are better at home or with a sitter, preferably family....but I understand that most people don't have that advantage and that's why there are daycares with waiting lists longer than you could imagine.
As in every job field, employees (teachers) cut corners and slack off quite often and do things that you definitely wouldn't approve of if you were to see it.....everything from not changing diapers as often as supposed to, foul language, impatience, anger, yelling, lying, favoritism, ugly nicknames, picking on certain kids, propping bottles, not sanitizing necessary items, sharing utensils, leaving children unattended, unnecessary punishment, and I could go on....and I saw this at 2 different daycare centers in 2 different counties.....one of which my family is the owner/director. I do believe that the interaction with other children is important, but I joined a local MOM group and we have playdates and our family is large so my son has lots of cousins to play with.

I think that there are great benefits to both daycare and in-home care, but I strongly believe that not going to daycare is better. But of course, these are only my opinions and experiences, and I hope not to offend anyone by my words.

Thanks, J. B