Comments on Family Day Care?

[christy]

Okay... try to get the questions

Matilda started FDC at 13-14 months after a few awful months at a regular centre. She was bitten once, and got recurring infections.

Our FDC accepts babies from 6months but will only have 2 under 12 months. ATM Jovie is there and she is the medium kid. There is generally 1-2 older (up to 4yrs) and 1-2 younger (under 12 mths). True the younger ones take up more attention from Lizzie, but I've watched her work it out. The bigger kids know the rules... they know the no snatching thing, the no hitting etc... They also know the routine of the place, so they know when things happen next, when toilet time is, morning tea etc etc. So they don't need to be monitored as closely. Having said that, our FDC is in Lizzies granny flat, she's set it all up so its a big room with a lounge section, an eating section and her desk, a cupboard with all the "stuff" and a bookcase with boxes of different toys in it. A change station, and through a door is the toilet, washing up facilities and fridge for food.

The 12-18 months at a normal day care centre... I guess I didn't feel safe after what happened to Matilda at 11 months. I tried her at a normal kindy just before she turned 3 and we had a pretty bad time. It was a community day care/kindy. Because it wasn't as structured, and the "rules" weren't laid out for her she fell apart, couldn't focus on any one thing, didn't eat while she was there, wouldn't use to the toilets, cried more.... and came home a complete mess. We pulled her out & put her back into FDH with Lizzie until she was over 3 and went to Montessori, She went 1 day to Lizzies and one day to Montessori for a few months and now is at Montessori 3 days and is almost 4yr old. So much better for her. The defined structure worked better for her.

[nox]

I'll tell you what makes me so nervous about putting him into any care...
do the carers consider individual routines? My son doesn't just fall asleep yet. Would they rock etc? Do routines have to be fit in with? I mean do the bubs have to all have same routine? Or ndividual routines?

I guess that is dependent on the carers?

[christy]

Yep, totally dependant on carers. With both girls I keep them totally updated with changes in what my girls are up to.

She has always tailored the girls days to where they are at. Jovie, is more difficult to get to sleep. She needs to be rocked to sleep & she did that until she didn't need to anymore. She now lays on a mat at FDC and puts herself to sleep, which she is no where near doing at home, but she's found a rhythm there & it works there. I'm happy for whatever is less stressful for my baby. And My FDC is happy to comply with that.

[Karina]

ajw, in our FDC home, there are usually only 4 kids. My daughter is the youngest (14 months) and the other children range in age from 18 months to 2.5 years. When she started going, she would stay for say 2 hours and I'd stay there as well as she was not often looked after by other people and I wanted her to get used to it while I was still there. She spends all day with the other older kids, obviously, but she doesnt really interact all that much with the other kids, I suppose because she isnt really up to the stage where she plays much with others. She loves to play by herself. I have never seen the other children snatch a toy from her or be rough with her, but I dont stay during the day anymore as I am at work now. If she's playing with something and it gets taken away from her, she's usually happy as long as she gets something else to play with. She just likes to have something in her hands. Because she is the smallest and youngest, the carer does give her a bit more attention and protection from the other kids. The carer does get them all the sit down together when she reads to them and also for lunch/morning tea/afternoon tea, and they do other activities such as painting and drawing together. They also have special play days where a bunch of carers all meet, and they get extra carers and they all go to the park or something.

Nox, I think it would probably depend on what your child is like. For example, I prefered FDC for my daughter because she gets a bit freaked out in crowds. I thought that being in a day-care centre with 15 other kids in the room would just be too much for her. I would probably look at a daycare centre for her when she is a bit older, say about 3, but for now, she seems to enjoy the FDC. When she started there, I talked to the carer about her routine. I wrote down the approximate times she wakes up, eats, has naps etc and our carer tries to keep as close to it as possible with feeding and napping. The other kids are a little older and have only one nap a day, but Claire has two sleeps a day. I advised the carer of how Claire goes to sleep (ie she has a bottle of EBM and a song then sleep) and she tries to do this. The carer knows we dont do the cry-to-sleep thing and if Claire is crying she takes her back out to the other kids. So she does try to keeep with the routine we have.

[Nai]

nox, if you are looking for FDC then I would call you council and put your name on the list straight away. Where I live there is no family day care that was suitable (ie. it was in flats etc which I was not happy with). Inner city does tend to be a little bit more restrictive in that respect as there are fewer places with yards and outdoor space.

DD is at a Community Childcare Cooperative and she has had the same carer for the second year in a row now so there are centres with continuity of carer. Also there are 10 children int he room but generally only 8 on any given day. I sit on the board of the centre so I am very involved in how it is run, the curriculum and what goes on which gives me the level of control that I feel comfortable with.

Basically what I'm suggesting is look into the FDC in your area but don't dismiss other options as they may be more accessible and still fit with what you are looking for. Be prepared that there may not be FDC that you are happy with or carers that you are comfortable with. It is a very individual choice so definitely do as much research as you can.

[nox]

Yes thank you, you are right about options.
I have put my name down already in 2 councils and am about to approach a third. One of the councils has predominantly flats and I wasn't sure about that either.
I also have my name down for 1 council run centre and 1 community run centre ... both from way before DS was born. The council one has called but the community one (which I preferred to the council one) hasn't contacted me yet. I have sent them an email though to remind them I exist.

I am just so nervous about child care. I think it is because my mother has told me how unhappy she was with her options -- particularly in relation to my younger brother.