Anyone used Family Day Care?

[BrightSparkles]

I love FDC. DD has been in care since 5 months old.
They are only allowed a max 5 kids in care at once ( i think) and only 2 babies at once. DD LOVES it!! I think go for. make sure you check out a few carers etc because there are some dodgy ones out there

[Karina]

I reckon family day care is great! My little girl goes to a lovely FDC near our home. She started going when she was 12 months old and she is just about to turn 2 next week. I was able to spend a couple of hours there at her place when Claire first started at FDC and I chose this particular carer because she just seemed to interact so well with the little ones. Plus, Claire just loved her straight away. On the weekend Claire points to the car, gets her shoes on and starts saying the carers name (hmmm maybe I'm not a very exciting mummy!) and she gets so excited when its finally monday again and she gets to go to FDC again.

Our carer has a maximum of 5 children per day, only 2 can be under 2. If she is sick, usually we get a backup carer who is part of the same scheme. She's only been sick once in the last year, so we've only had to use the backup carer once. Definately go and meet a few carers and see how you feel. I got a good vibe off our carer and she made us feel so welcome, so I actually never went to meet any others! but I've been into some centres where it just didnt feel welcoming at all. I've found that the cost of FDC is a bit less than a centre too, so that helps (especially if you're a povo uni student like me!)

[Danni]

We love FDC and would never ever go back to the centre.

Mason never wants to come home and I know he is so well looked after there. OUr carer has a daughter about the same age so I know she takes care of them well. Her whole house is decked out for the kids and they have such a variety of toys and activities. She keeps me regularly updated, and is generally fantastic!

It works out much cheaper for me too, than a normal centre,although I do have to provide food and nappies. Hope it all goes well for you!

[BekZ]

FDC called me last week and they had a lady who was interested in taking Loren for 2 days per week. Unfortunately the FDC lady could not tell me too much about this lady because she was new to the area. I decided to wait until another spot becomes available with a more well known carer.

Thanks everyone for your opinions