What is Home Daycare and is it Right for Your Child?
In the United States, there are more children in home daycare than in daycare centers.
As the name implies, home daycare, also called home-based daycare, family child care, and family child care homes, takes place in the home of the person who cares for the children. Just like center-based daycare, there are a wide range of options when considering home daycare.
What are the licensing requirements & regulation of home daycare?
Every state has different requirements for the licensing and regulation of home-based daycare. Some states require that all childcare providers be licensed if they’re caring for two or more non-related children in their home on a regular basis. Some have various types of licensing, like registered family child care home, or different licensing conditions to be met depending on how many children you want to care for. Other states permit up to 12 unrelated children to be cared for in a home daycare.
As the licensing of home daycare varies so much from state-to-state, the oversight of them do as well. Licensed providers will have surprise inspections, just like childcare centers have.
What educational requirements exist for home daycare childcare providers?
Every state sets their own rules as to what, if any, formal education is required for home daycare providers. Nearly every state does require CPR training, background checks, and fingerprinting of home daycare providers, but you should confirm that your provider has recent CPR training and that all members of their household have been background checked prior to enrolling your child – this is especially true for legally unlicensed childcare.
How many children can a home daycare have?
The number of children a childcare provider can care for in a home-based daycare varies greatly between states and depends on their license, if they have one. Some states require a second teacher to be present if a certain number of children are present.
Nearly all states have laws dictating the ages of the children. For example, a home daycare who is licensed to care for 10 children generally cannot have 10 infants if they are the only childcare provider. They are often able to care for children from birth through age 12 and may do drop offs and pick up for school-age children from local elementary schools or bus stops.
Do home daycares offer preschool or any formal curriculum?
Many home daycares offer a structured preschool day similar to center-based care. Often in these cases the childcare provider may choose not to care for infants. Keep in mind that social emotional development is the most important aspect of preschool and many home daycare offers a social emotional curriculum even if it’s not a formal one with lesson plans.
What are the benefits of home daycare?
There are many benefits to using a home daycare provider. Home daycare offers stability that you may not find in a daycare center, as daycare centers often have high turnover rates.
Home daycare may offer more flexibility than a daycare center. Sometimes childcare providers are willing to do an early drop off or late pick up, provide night and weekend services, or even overnight care for your child on occasion. You may also be more apt to find one that has nontraditional hours, is that’s what you need.
Home daycare environments mimic the natural way children have been raised for millennia. Children have always been in mixed-age groupings and most home daycares have that same structure. Younger children learn from older children and older children spread their leadership wings.
Another benefit of home daycare is often cost. Centers have higher costs, including overhead, staffing, and materials. Therefore, the cost to families is higher at center-based daycare than home daycare.
If you have older children, or are planning on having more children, a home-based daycare who provides school-age care can be great for convenience, so you have one drop-off and pick-up instead of two.
Are there any drawbacks of home daycare?
There are pros and cons with every daycare you’ll consider for your child, and home daycare is no exception.
One drawback is the need for backup care. Center-based daycares can bring in substitutes to cover so staff can get much-needed vacation or take sick days. When a home daycare provider gets sick or takes vacation, you’ll need to have your own backup care arranged.
Children are naturally curious, hands-on learners. As your child gets older, if your home daycare isn’t incorporating art projects, science projects, and other play-based and project-based ways of learning, you might find him or her bored and craving more stimulation.
Because home daycare providers work out of their homes and are the primary caregiver, they tend to be more selective about the families in their care. For example, a colicky infant in a room full of napping toddlers may be too disruptive and be cause for termination.
Anything else to know about home daycare?
Home daycare can be a fantastic option for families in need of childcare. One key to finding a great childcare provider is to go in with an open mind and find one you mesh with. You should tour both home daycares and centers if they both meet your basic scheduling and budgeting needs and weigh the pros and cons for your family.