I am an avid supporter of Family Child Care Homes. I have worked as a provider in center based child care, and I see as many or more weaknesses as I do strengths in these programs. Family child care homes allow the caregiver to form a strong and lasting bond with the child and family, that leads to a feeling of security for both children and parents. Often child care centers have a high staff turnover, which means no consistency in the care of your child. Children also transition classrooms with each age change, which can be stressful for them. Of course, there are pros and cons to a multi-age format, (and I would welcome that discussion with parents, as I like the multi-age experience for children), however along with changing classrooms (and not always at the same time as their friends who may be a few months older/younger) there is the adjusting to new teachers.
The childcare center must operate as close capacity as possible to be financially viable. Which means that at any given time there are like more than 10, and sometimes more than 20, children in a classroom. That is a lot of stimulation, noise, emotion, and interaction, and can be quite overwhelming for many children.
The Family Child Care home provides a more natural, home-like, environment, which allows the child to develop emotionally, while still providing small group interaction with other children, and educational activities by a trained provider.
Does this mean that I believe that every FCC home is good? No, of course not. Like choosing any childcare, a parent must be very careful to select the right match for their needs and for their child. It is important to check the history of the provider, call the references, (at least 4), visit the provider, review their education and experience, etc. While "granma-round-the-corner" may be a lovely person, she may not have the child development background that you would want in a provider.
The best advice I can give to parents is : do lots of research into center versus home based care, visit prospective places with your child, check references (even on center based care), and tune into your feelings and intuition....... it's true what they say, mother knows best.
The childcare center must operate as close capacity as possible to be financially viable. Which means that at any given time there are like more than 10, and sometimes more than 20, children in a classroom. That is a lot of stimulation, noise, emotion, and interaction, and can be quite overwhelming for many children.
The Family Child Care home provides a more natural, home-like, environment, which allows the child to develop emotionally, while still providing small group interaction with other children, and educational activities by a trained provider.
Does this mean that I believe that every FCC home is good? No, of course not. Like choosing any childcare, a parent must be very careful to select the right match for their needs and for their child. It is important to check the history of the provider, call the references, (at least 4), visit the provider, review their education and experience, etc. While "granma-round-the-corner" may be a lovely person, she may not have the child development background that you would want in a provider.
The best advice I can give to parents is : do lots of research into center versus home based care, visit prospective places with your child, check references (even on center based care), and tune into your feelings and intuition....... it's true what they say, mother knows best.