wfm1@mhuxo.UUCP (METCALF) (09/16/85)
I am a new subscriber to this newsgroup, and would like to call on some of the wealth of experince out there. As a putative patent, I am interested in polling opinions on paid child care. Questions are 1) The merits of the various types of care (live-in, live-out, childminders, daycare, etc) 2) The relative economics of the above 3) The effect on the child of the type of care
sed408@ihlpg.UUCP (s. dugan) (09/17/85)
> I am a new subscriber to this newsgroup, and would like to call on some > of the wealth of experince out there. As a putative patent, I am > interested in polling opinions on paid child care. Questions are > 1) The merits of the various types of care (live-in, live-out, > childminders, daycare, etc) > 2) The relative economics of the above > 3) The effect on the child of the type of care I have tried several of these methods of child care over the years. I feel qualified to address several of them. "In-home" day care usually refers to a person who takes children into their own home (not your home). The quality of this kind of care varies greatly. These people are supposed to be licensed by the state/county (I'm not sure which). However, a lot are not. If they're licensed, they are required to have certain facilities (such as fenced-in yards, etc). They also have restrictions on how many children and of what age they can have. You might want to contact the local licensing agencies to find out what requirements they have. Advantages: An in-home day-care provider is usually more flexible regarding payment and hours. Also, since they are required to have fewer children, they *might* spend more one-on-one time with your child. Disadvantages: They usually cost more per hour than day care centers. Since the children there usually vary greatly in age, it's hard for them to really play *together*. Unless you're really careful who you pick, you might get someone who plunks the kids in front of the TV all day. (I had that happen once!) You also want to be VERY careful about the forms of discipline the person uses! I think it would much easies for a person to abuse kids in this setting. By "live-in" I assume you mean someone who comes to your home while you're gone. Basically, I think this has the same drawbacks and plusses of in-home day care, except that your child doesn't have *any* other kids to play with. Also, I think it can disturb your sense of privacy a bit to have someone else roaming around your house all day. I'd have to really trust that person. Luckily, I have had a very good experience with the day care center my daughter goes to. Again, you will want to check out local licensing laws and make sure they comply. The center my daughter goes to separates the kids into 6-month age groups. (They have one room for kids 2 to 2 1/2 and another for kids 2 1/2 to 3, etc.) This works out really nicely for the kids. They get to have a lot of contace with kids their own age. A couple times a day they all end up out in the play ground together, so they still get to see kids of different ages. Advantages: The kids usually get more structure in their lives than in the in-home setting. Also, my pediatritian says that kids that have lots of contact with other kids of the same age group tend to do much better in school. The kids in day care seem to get more exercise than they do in the in-home setting. Disadvantages: Kids in day care centers seem to pass around nose and throat infections. Talk to the school about their policy regarding kids who are sick. Make sure they properly isolate the kids and send them home as soon as possible. Also, if your child tends to catch things easily and not get over them very easily, you might want to consider other arrangements. I hope this helps. One last word of advice, make several visits to the facility to the see the children, care provider(s) and grounds in several different situations. Every place has its good days and bad days. P. S. What is a "putative patent"????? -- Sarah E. Dugan "One Day At A Time" ########################################################################### # AT&T Bell Labs IH 1D-408 The Forest (home) # # Naperville-Wheaton Rd. 1353 Crab Apple Court Apt. 101 # # Naperville, Illinois 60566 Naperville, Illinois 60540 # # (312) 979 - 5545 (312) 355 - 0445 # ###########################################################################
charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips) (09/17/85)
In article <1159@mhuxo.UUCP> wfm1@mhuxo.UUCP (METCALF) writes: >I am a new subscriber to this newsgroup, and would like to call on some >of the wealth of experince out there. As a putative patent, I am >interested in polling opinions on paid child care. Questions are > 1) The merits of the various types of care (live-in, live-out, > childminders, daycare, etc) > 2) The relative economics of the above > 3) The effect on the child of the type of care According to our pediatrician, a full-time sitter in your home is probably the best option, if you can afford it. (I can't.) Day-care has the following advantages: 1) It is usually the cheapest form of child-care. 2) It is always there. We take our 1.75 year-old son to a sitter's home. We have done this since he was 6 weeks old. The advantages are: 1) He gets a more home-like environment (and more attention) than he would get at most day-care centers. 2) He isn't around as many children, and so is less likely to get sick as often. (For example, the recommended age for the new meningitis vaccine is 2 years old for kids taken care of at home or by a sitter, 1.5 for kids at day-care centers.) The primary disadvantage is a degree of unreliability. Sitters get sick occassionally, and they take vacations, and so on. If you use a sitter, I would urge you to have a "back-up" sitter lined up for occassional sitting when your primary sitter is not available. No matter what kind of day-care you choose, make sure you check it out thoroughly! Interview whoever will be responsible for caring for your child. Check references. Inspect the premises, looking for anything unsafe. (We *briefly* had a sitter that didn't believe in child-proofing. We discovered this when my husband went to pick up Jonathan and saw a can of antifreeze sitting on the floor near the door. Needless to say, we changed sitters immediately.) Discuss discipline, child-care philosophy, anything you think is important with them. Make sure they don't have too many kids for the number of adults. Then, after your child has been staying there, drop in unannounced from time to time. It is possible to get good paid child-care, but it takes some work on your part. charli
rpm@hlwpc.UUCP (Dick Muldoon) (09/17/85)
In <1159@mhuxo.UUCP> wfm1@mhuxo.UUCP (METCALF) asks for opinions on paid child care. In Virginia we had our infant daughter with a (state certified) home daycare provider. It was great because Maria--former kindergarten teacher--loved kids. She took at most two infants plus six older kids, had a teenage helper, and a house made for daycare--eight private naprooms and an immense playroom. It was as close to a family environment as we could and ever will find. We couldn't find the certification, the ratio, the house, (or Maria) in daycare in NJ. Anna (age 3+) now attends Summit Child Care Center part time and loves it, thanks mostly to a succession of (underpaid) wonderful teachers. Lots of exercize, lots of crafts, story-time, creative play (e.g., kids are fascinated with story about Jenny, who breaks her arm, so teacher builds a play-hospital with bandages and stethoscopes, etc.). Emphasis on socialization--kids learn to play together; discipline by "sit in the chair and think about what you did" methods. Worries about "restraint" don't last when you walk in--normal kid din audible through closed doors. There's a parent rep network that actively canvasses parents for comments/concerns. (And Family Kitchen--different story.) Rates (not sure, but close): $150/wk infant care; $75-80/wk preschool; $3/hr partime preschool; more for infants. They also offer 3/4/5 day nursery school programs at $80/105/120 in place of normal I don't like "Kids who do are better than kids who don't" claims. Still, I find it nicer to babysit 4-5 daycare children (any multi-kid daycare, not just the Summit center) than 4-5 just friends. It's no quieter, but there seem to be more group games, more toy-sharing, more pairs and trios going off together to explore, and lots of sympathy/hugging for kids who cry or get hurt. I don't know if that last part comes from daycare or not, but I like it. Dick Muldoon hlwpc!rpm AT&T Bell Laboratories