Benefits of home daycare: Home-Based or Center-Based Childcare | Childcare

Top 10 Benefits Of Home-Based Childcare

• February 18, 2022
• Childcare

Top 10 Benefits Of Home-Based Childcare

As a parent, picking or selecting the best form of childcare for your child or children can feel overwhelming because we love our children and making simple decisions on their behalf sometimes can be daunting.

After deciding to go with home-based childcare, selecting the right childcare services for your child or children becomes the next problem and that’s because there are so many factors you’ll have to consider. The factors to consider when selecting a home-based childcare provider are numerous, factors such as affordability, curriculum, accessibility, and location usually come into play when selecting one. Finding a home-based childcare centre that meets all your needs can be difficult and even when you eventually do as a parent you’ll want to be sure that the home-based provider you have chosen to go with has everything necessary to help your child grow and that they can be trusted as well so you can rest easy knowing that your child’s security is being prioritized.

Parents just like you have long preferred home-based childcare services over other forms of childcare even before the COVID-19 lockdown. In 2012 a national survey conducted in the US showed that 29.5% of families rely on home-based childcare in comparison to 11.9% who preferred childcare centres and 20.8% who use other options. Interestingly, over the last decade, the number has been on the rise.

Why home-based childcare? Why has it become so popular? Why should I pick it over other forms of childcare? To find out more about the reasons why many families prefer home-based childcare, continue reading.

Home-based childcare, also commonly referred to as “at home daycare” or “family” is a form of childcare where you employ and pay someone to take care of your child or children from within a home. This type of childcare service has grown popular for several reasons but a lot of parents seem to favour it because it’s often easier to find a local caregiver close to your residence and also because their hours can sometimes be flexible.

A typical home-based caregiver will watch close to 6 children or less on any given day. The variation in the number of children home-based caregivers can take care of is usually based on the local and state regulations or the caregiver’s decision. The curriculum of home-based caregivers are structured to help your children and depending on the caregiver you choose for home-based childcare, there may be more freedom in the curriculum they offer which means your children get to grow at their own pace which makes learning a comfortable yet exciting experience for them.

Unlike daycare centres (also known as childcare centres), home-based childcare offers you the convenience of knowing that your child is being attended to all the time. Even before the COVID-19 virus became known to the world, home-based childcare services have always given parents a sense of relaxation knowing that with fewer children and caregivers around their loved ones, the spread of germs is reduced.

Now that you have some sort of knowledge about what home-based childcare is, let’s quickly look at the top 10 benefits of home-based childcare.

1. Wellbeing 

First of all, the wellbeing of a child or children is the degree to which the child or children feel safe and relaxed, and enjoy the activities they are engaged in. Since the children will be learning from a location they are already familiar with and also around faces they are familiar with, it improves their wellbeing.

2. Low child / Adult ratio

A low child/adult ratio enables caregivers to adjust the education and care to meet the individual needs, interests, and routines of each child. The ratios are usually determined by the Ministry of Education and in some countries, the caregivers are only allowed to care for up to 4 children under the age of 6 and 2 children under the age of 2. Compared to many centre-based services that cater for as many as 5 children under the age of 2 per adult and 10-15 children over the age of 2.

3. Builds secure attachments 

Research has long established the importance of children developing secure relationships with the people in their lives right from the beginning. These relationships are crucial in forming the foundation that determines their behaviour and attitude in relationships later on in life. Home-based early childhood education usually consists of the same caregiver consistently taking care of your child or children which provides the opportunity to develop predictable and warm relationships between you; the caregiver and your child.

4. Flexibility 

Home-based caregivers provide parents with more flexibility when compared to other forms of childcare services. Some Home-based caregivers can fit your schedule into the strict opening hours of traditional centres which means you’ll only have to decide the hours you want your child or children to be taken care of and it’ll be handled by the caregiver.

5. Less stress

With home-based childcare, your child’s or children’s needs and routines are met responsively and quickly which makes your child or children feel cared for. This is only possible because the caregivers are only allowed to care for a small number of children which gives them the time and opportunity to handle all their needs.

6. Group size

The group size is one major difference between home-based childcare and traditional daycare centres. Daycare centres can cater for the needs of up to 15 children with only 2 adults which isn’t ideal as the needs of each child will not be properly taken care of. The same cannot be said about home-based childcare services because the number of children a caregiver can take care of has been dialled down to around 6 which means that the caregiver can better handle the specific needs and interests of your children.

7. Noise

The noise in a home-based setting can be carefully restricted and monitored. The feature of home-based childcare service comes in handy in situations where your child or children find it difficult to cope in louder or busier environments. 

8. Child development 

In home-based childcare, you can optimize the development of your child’s motor skills. With closer attention to each child, the caregiver will have more 1 on 1 time with your child or children which means they can better assist them in improving all their skill sets which prepares them for school later down the road. Additionally, by helping them hone their motor skills, they’ll be able to learn how to play well with others or pick up interests in sports or any other physical activity they may enjoy doing.

9. Location 

Location is a major benefit of home-based childcare since it’s basically a home away from home. Home-based childcare makes the transition easier for children who are leaving their parents for the day. They can feel more at home since the surroundings of a home-based childcare centre mimic a home which is more familiar to the child than a daycare centre.

10. Mixed-age group

In a home-based childcare centre, it’s more likely than less likely that the children under the care of the caregiver will form a mixed group setting and having mixed age groups is more advantageous to the children because they’ll be able to learn from each other’s actions. In a mixed age group, younger children will learn to follow instructions because other children are and they will also be able to mimic the actions of older children which will help them learn and develop faster.  

Older children in a mixed group setting will be able to learn leadership skills by teaching the younger ones and becoming their role models. This ignites a sense of pride and accomplishment in children.

Home-based childcare services seem to offer more benefits when compared to other forms of childcare. Just because the number of children to be catered for in home-based centres isn’t as much as daycare centres don’t make managing home-based childcare centres easier. Home-based childcare centres also face some of the challenges that daycare centres face that’s why many home-based childcare centres have started using apps like Wündercare to help them better run their home-based centres. Apps like Wündercare do not only help caregivers run their centres but also provide their parents with real-time updates which mean that as a parent, not being physically present doesn’t deter you from seeing how your child grows and how well they are being taken care of. Interested in the app? Then you can visit them at mywundercare. com to learn about this amazing childcare app.

Benefits of Home Daycare

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You might think that home daycare is babysitting, but there are so many more benefits of home daycare than people ever realize! For more on running a home daycare, click here.

I hear people say all the time, I would never put my child in a home daycare. But I know many providers that are doing their very best to provide a loving nurturing environment that rivals most other kinds of childcare.

Home daycare provides a comfortable homey family environment. Care is provided in our homes and it’s made to feel safe, comforting, and loving. There are soft surfaces and comfortable places to play and feel like part of the family.

Quality childcare providers are much more than babysitters. They are entrepreneurs running their own businesses with pride. They invest in their business and care about the outcomes for the children who are a part of it.

There is nothing better than a parent telling me that at parent-teacher conferences the teacher asked where the child was before school and the parent telling them about little sprouts. When the teacher tells the parent, they can tell they came from a quality setting, that is the big payoff for me.

Kids leave here prepared for school socially and academically and I love that. I take pride in making sure each child is equipped and ready.

Home daycare vs center daycare

In home daycare, you have the benefit of having the same person with your child from open to close. Not a rotating group of adults that work 8 hour or 4-hour shifts. This gives continuity of care that is unlike any other environment.

The adult to child ratio is smaller in home daycare than center caregiving more one on one attention from the provider for the child. Having fewer children in the home environment, less illness travels through the children because they are exposed to fewer things.

Home daycare has a far lower turnover than center care. The children have the same teacher all day, but also year to year and home daycare providers, in general, stay in the business longer.

Home daycare is more affordable than center care and it’s also convenient. Home daycare procedures are often made with personal families in mind instead of in an institutionalized way of herding many children and families in one direction.

The smaller teacher to child ratio and home environment as well as having the same teacher from open to close day to day helps children form a closer bond with their caregiver. The caregiver often becomes part of the family. I know for me; I consider all my families as my family too.

Many people remark that home providers are less educated than center providers, but we are all required to take the same amount of continuing education every year and I know many many home daycare providers with degrees in early childhood, Child Development Associate credentials, and certificates of mastery. We aren’t a bunch of dumb, uneducated nobodies.

Also, remember that smaller groups are less stressful for children as well. Another great benefit of the small group is that parents can more easily build relationships that become close to other families as well. I try to have a lot of parent involvement activities that give families opportunities to see each other throughout the year.

Nanny vs daycare

There are a few benefits to having a nanny care for your children in your home. One of them is definitely convenience. It’s wonderful not to have to take your kids to daycare and drop them off. Obviously, children are not socializing with other family’s children at home and that’s a big drawback.

Home daycare is the perfect middle ground for that. It’s a smaller group in a home environment, but they still get socialization with other children. And they get some school preparation helps such as working together with kids in a group, sitting and listening for activities and stories and things, and a little bit of the teacher/student interaction.

Home daycare is less expensive than nanny care as well. Paying someone to watch your children full time could become quite expensive.

Mixed-age classrooms

The one benefit of home daycare over any other kind of childcare is the mixed-age classrooms. In a center, children are divided by age and ability. This is great for making teaching easier, but it makes kids miss out on so much that makes families great. God designed the family to have kids of different ages. So, in family childcare, you still get that benefit.

A multi-age grouping helps older kids learn to be nurturers, and younger kids learn skills from older kids. Kids learn by watching and doing. Mixed-age classrooms help kids learn as much as they possibly can in their early learning years from EACH OTHER. It’s a wonderful thing that is inherent in the set up of home daycare and another wonderful benefit of what home daycare has to offer.

Home daycare, in my opinion, is hands down the very best environment for children. If you can find a good quality home daycare, your kids will be set up for success.

A very close friend of mine left home daycare and became a kindergarten teacher. She told me every year when school started, she could look across her classroom and see which kids were with stay at home parents, which kids went to daycare centers, and which kids went to home daycares. She said that 100% of kids who had come to school from a home daycare did better in kindergarten than kids who had come from daycare centers.

Children had better behavior, better manners, better friendships, and better academic skills. I don’t know if that’s true in every town or everywhere. But I know that it was true in her classroom. Just another something to think about when making decisions on where to send your child while you work during the day.

Benefits of home daycare for the provider

There are many benefits of home daycare for the provider as well. Being able to stay home with your own kids is a big one. Income from a job you work at home is another. Being able to be your own boss is a huge benefit, especially with corporate America being so greedy and uncaring about the workers it employs.

Owning a small business is very empowering. You can set your own hours, make your own rules, and do things the way you think they should be done. There is a lot of peace in setting your own day according to your own beliefs.

There are benefits of home daycare for your family as well. Your kids have more kids to play with and learn from. Your spouse may enjoy the benefits of you being home more hours a day. You can even throw in a load of laundry and get dinner started before the kids leave which will leave you more family time in the evenings.

It’s a really tough job, but there are a lot of pluses to it as well. So think about the life you want to work toward and decide if home daycare is a step toward reaching your goals.

If you are interested in starting a home daycare, check this out. And for more information on how to find quality home daycare, click here.

Pros and cons of kindergarten

Actual

If you have grandparents who agree to babysit the child while the parents earn their bread, then this question will not arise. But if there are no voluntary assistants, then you begin to figure out all the advantages of a kindergarten where you will have to send your child. If you think about it, there are many advantages to these.

1. Independence

In kindergarten, a child quickly learns to eat, dress, put away toys. Home furnishings, when a mother pulls on her socks to a five-year-old, ignoring his cries of “I myself!” leads to relaxation and inertia. If mom is not around, then, willy-nilly, you will have to cope.

2. All-round development

Drawing, modeling, singing, dancing, sports clubs, classes with a speech therapist – you cannot provide all this diversity with home education. Moreover, teaching methods for preschoolers have been developed by specialists in this field.

3. Preparation for school

In addition to creative activities in kindergarten, children are taught basic reading skills and the basics of arithmetic. Of course, in a playful way, but not in vain, primary school teachers notice obvious differences between kindergarteners and “homeschoolers”. School success largely depends on the skills acquired in kindergarten.

4. Getting ready for school

Most adults don’t stick to their daily routine. But in fact, it is very useful for the body to eat, walk, go to bed at a certain time. Can you stick to a routine at home?

5. Communication

The ability to find a common language with peers, overcome shyness, the ability to share, and, if necessary, stand up for oneself. Once in the team, the only child begins to understand that the world does not revolve around him. And whims will not help here.

Of course, let’s not pretend, there are also disadvantages in kindergarten.

1. Frequent illnesses

Unfortunately, this is a problem for any team. Moreover, parents are in no hurry to see a doctor, hoping that “it will pass by itself.” Strengthen the immune system, contact the clinic at the first sign of the disease.

2. The bad influence of other children

Undoubtedly an exaggerated fact. You are still the main authority and role model for your child, and if you show your displeasure, then your daughter will not repeat bad words. All in your hands.

3. The teacher will not keep track

It happens that children injure each other, but who is safe from this on the playground where you go with your domestic son?

And, of course, a child attending a kindergarten needs the support and care of parents more than ever. Spend the weekend together, talk, read at night. It is important that the child has a rest from the team of children, feels parental love and affection.

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