I would look into Family Day Care... I use it for DS, and it is a home based carer, in her home, but overseen but a council run organisation. The carer and all adults in her home are background checked and monitored by the FDC organisation. My carer has been doing this for 20 years, and came highly recommended.
She can have a max of 5 children and they range from 6m to 5y. However, once they hit 3 it is suggested that they attend pre-school for a few days. I think her oldest on maybe 4 and he is only there one day a week.
The FDC organisaion has playgroups and come to her home with a bus with fully fitted child seats and take them out one a month for group play activity.
My carer has been receptive to my gentle parenting philosophies and I spent a half day there with her and the kids prior to enrolling DS. I like the fact that she has had repeat family business (cousins, siblings) and many friend referrals. The family home environment was something I felt more comfortable with, and the personal attention DS gets is great. He can even say her name, yet refuses to say mumma...
We provide all food / drinks, but again, our carer has food and snacks and is very flexible with eating and timing... i.e if I arrive in the morning and DS has not had breakfast she will feed him, or if he doenst feel like lunch at "lunchtime" she will offer again in an hour based on the demands of the children.
My carer is very interactive with the children and DS has learned a few words, but the main thing is the personal interaction he has with her and the other children. They are like siblings to DS and I see him hug and interact really positively with them. Sometimes I think my carer can be to soft on DS, but I am working with her to help him learn in a way that I find acceptable... (And that is not really a bad thing at all...)
I guess most importantly is to ask around if you can and see what experiences people have had in your area with day care, and them go into all the centers and observe how they work and then make a list of detailed questions, just like you have asked us, and see what responses you get. I bet you will have a gut reaction to the centers if you visit them... Good luck....
So with the FDC, its one person with multiple children?? How would she manage? I struggle with just 2!
I was thinking of the childcare so my 3 year old could socialise and i could have alone time with my little one. He goes to the toilet, but needs help.
There are stacks of vacancies in my area, so is that not a good thing?
With FDC it is the same (if not slightly better) ratio than in a centre... up to 5 to 1. In most centers it is the same. But with FDC there are only up to 5 kids at only one time with the one adult, not say, 20 in a room with 4 adults. So that one adult is focused on all the kids. oh and her toilet in in the laundry, backing onto the backyard... But each carers home is different....
My carer has a room (converted garage) and an fully fenced outside area, and it is easy for her to have an eye on the kids all at once...
yes with FDC they have one carer and mutliple children (about 4-5 max but depends on age). i found it a good option at the start but DS1 has done better in the centre he is now in (but it is a great centre and he started there at 20 months). some people have an issue that there is only 1 carer/adult bu tthis wasnt an issue for me
i also went to FDC when i was a kid, and am still in contact with my FDC 'mum' and family - they were like aniother family to me.
Maybe call some centres and check them out - having vacancies isnt a bad thing in itself - maybe your area has heaps of centres...and you could also try out FDC, meet some carers etc and see how you feel
i really think if you go visit you will 'know' if it is good for yu and your child. i personally find it great for my 2yo - he loves playing with the other kids, has made somefriends there and learns heaps - the stimulation and variety is great. it also gives me time with DS2 which i love and it is good for us all.
good luck!
I use FDC too Tan, to give myself sometime for selfcare. I have a great lady who was a center manager. She only has 4 children a day so it is a great ratio. I met with several carers at their homes before I found my one. I watched them interact with the children and I had DD with me so I could she how she reacted and watch them interact with her. I would spend about an hour with each I would say. Lousie impressed me the most as she had a written phiosophy of care and showed me how she plans each day with different developmental stuff and play. She also has scrapbooks for each child where she does observations and tracks thier progress and work. DD had done some works of art!! Not bad for less than 12mths!! There is a set routine and rules and the children know that. There are a few things that we differ on but Louise has been prepared to accomodate my wishes and that is awesome. I have also had to loosen some of my standards but all in all I am thrilled with the way it works. I can see that DD has built a relationship with Louise as she starts babbling and waving when we park outside of a morning! As always hun PM if you wanna know more
Last edited by amy_o; September 7th, 2009 at 05:59 PM.
: Forgot something.....
The FDC sounds nice.... but i'm just wondering, how do you know that they're just not acting nice while you're there? Whereas in a centre maybe they're more individually accountable because they are with co-workers...?
Ahh in my case Louise never knows when I will be back to pick her up!! Some weeks it is at 5 other weeks it can be early like 3. Same with the other parents. Also the organisation that runs it does random spot checks too. Too me that is pretty good insurance, also when I am there I talk to the other mums and that gives you a pretty good feeling as to whether they have concerns. For example two of the toddlers were going thru a bash each other up phase. Each of the mums were really calm about how it was handled (and still handled!!) that was good for me to see.
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There is a set routine and rules and the children know that. There are a few things that we differ on but Louise has been prepared to accomodate my wishes and that is awesome. I have also had to loosen some of my standards but all in all I am thrilled with the way it works. I can see that DD has built a relationship with Louise as she starts babbling and waving when we park outside of a morning! As always hun PM if you wanna know more 
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