Combined ages in childcare?

Hello, a new government run centre has opened up and I was interested until I found out it was combined ages, it was called family structure or something like that. My little boy is 18 months old. I'm worried about him being bowled over by a 4 year old. The centre said they haven't had any problems and the younger kids learn from the older kids. Wat do you think? It is such a shame because the staff look wonderful and it is brand new and very spacious with lots of interesting stuff for him to play with. It would be for one day a week. I'm also concerned that as he got older the younger kdis wouldn't be of interest to him and he may miss out from not being in a 'preschool' environment. I'd really appreciate anything you have to say. The centre caters for around 50 kids I think.

I think it could be done really well and also not so well. My DS goes to CC and at some points has mixed groups (he is also 18months). In the big mixed classes I think there is not enough supervision for him and the equipment is too advanced so I choose to drop him off after that in the morning. When he is with slightly older kids (ie up to 3) the supervision seems good and equipment is well matched. I think you would have to treat it on a case by case situation. If everything else seems great then I would give it a go. DS always loves kids older than him and will gravitate towards them rather than those younger, but does still seem to make a few good friends his own age.
Hope this helps. :)

How does that work hun? Does that mean that all kids are together all the time? Or do they have a room with a large range of ages? You might find that they just have larger groupings for now because they don't have many kids yet? Maybe they'll break it down after a while.

I find my boys have always done well in mixed age group settings, but it does depend on the child. And I agree with the pre-school point. That's why my DS will be going to pre-school next year instead of staying at day care. The day care do have a pre-school program, but there are younger kids in there as well so they can't give the same stimulation as a class of only older children.

If I were you, I'd ask to spend a couple of hours there one day and watch how the mixed age group works. You might be surprised. You can also ask them for a copy of their routine sheet, and a sample weekly program, so you can see what sort of activities they do and how they cater for the younger kids. Then you can make a decision on whether you think your little one will do well or not. GL.

I personally think it sounds fantastic!
My girls are in a similar set up where they go, one day a week, the babies and toddlers are in the same room with a kind of perspex divider and then they have the kinder room but the kids are allowed to go into wherever they like!
When my girls started they were 5 months and nearly 2 and now thwy are 18months and 3 and they are such confident little things and will play with older kids or youngerkids, they dont see ages of kids, everyone is a playmate.
Also we have never had any dramas with them learning bad habbits etc from the older kids (unless you call my 18 monther climbing absolutely everything she can touch a bad habbit!)

You sound as though you are happy with the staff and IMO they are the most important part of any CCC!

Good luck, its a nerve wracking decision to make but remember, if you arent happy with it, you can just change centres!

My boys go to CC 2 days a week and in the morning between the center opening and about 8 they are all in one room which the call "family grouping time" instead of having very few kids in each room they also do this in the afternoons between 5 and closeing time (when the rooms have less and less kids in them!)

It is a great idea this way but I'm unsure about it during the day!

From what I can gather they are together pretty much all day in the same areas (there are two large indoor rooms, one used for quiet time and one for play) and a dining area and the outside area) except for a short time when they separate the younger from the older kids during sleep time for the younger ones. It is a good idea to go and watch though they may not be happy if we haven't joined up yet. I am leaning towards a no at this stage. When I visited the first time the kids could either sit on a rug with a teacher who had ages from 6 months to 3 sitting with her. Or they could play in the sand pit. The 2nd time I went there were two teachers one with younger kids and one with older kids. It just looked funny seeing a 6 month old next to a 3 year old. What would the 3 year old get out of it? Anywhere completely unsure and really appreciate your comments :)

It sounds like a great idea to me.
I think it seems more natural and evolutionarily sound. If I think about the way that children have traditionally been raised I think about extended families with children of differant ages playing together. The youngsters learn skills from the elder ones and the elder children learn how to lead by example, how to nurture younger and weaker members of their group, patience and so on.
The seperation of children into ages is a relatively recent phenomonan that only arose when education became widely available and most children started school.
I grew up in quite close-knit community and spent a lot of time with extended family so I have lots of great memories of time spent with children both older and younger and the friendships I had with people who weren't my age. I hope my children have a chance to experience such interactions instead of having a narrow, age based peer group.
I think that it's great that some child-care centers are challenging the seperation of ages. In my boys CC center they play outside together but have seperate rooms inside.

As Dach says, I think that all the kids learn a lot from mixed age groups. Older kids that have been around babies and younger kids are much better at being gentle and compassion, caring, teaching etc.

Centres are usually happy for prospective parents to spend time there. If they are not keen, I'd be a bit worried that they have something to hide. Really they should encourage it, it works best for everyone if the parents are comfortable leaving their kids there.

I agree with dach, in the home they are in mixed age groups after all! M DS is at FDC and I love that he is around a variety of ages and has friends both older and younger.

Maybe I am just being overprotective. The centre had a much more positive feel to it than any of the other ones I've seen. I can try him out there and if I get concerned then pull him out? Oh it is such a hard decision to make!!

It is hard hun, and I think that mother guilt sometimes makes us see problems that aren't there. TBH, a "postivie feel" is one of my top criteria for child care. It sounds to me like it would be worth a try at least for you. But I would still have an extended visit first, if for no other reason than to ease your mind a bit. Best of luck hun.

It sounds awesome. Go for it.

Family grouping has a lot of benefits. As Dachlo says, it's more natural. If you were looking after 7 kids on your own, would you pick seven 6 month olds, or a 6 month old, a 14 month old, two 2 year olds, a 3 year old and two 4 year olds?
Older kids learn a lot of responsibility from having these younger children around them all the time. Their own knowledge and understanding of their world is reinforced in sharing it with other children. Learning is in everything children do, and the centre no doubt bases their planned experiences on children's interests, so they will learn what they need to when they are ready. Like reading, or numbers.
It's actually a very forward-thinking philosophy, widely well-regarded in the early childhood industry. If you can get it, I really really think you should.

Mixed grouping is fantastic, the older children are great with the younger children and this also allows brothers and sisters be with each other. They should separate for music and group times as each age group has different needs. Go for it, it does work.
This is also a high quality area for accreditation.
Cathie