Question for those in an in-home daycare

[lmb5109]

Our current lady has to close due to medical issues so we are interviewing. I'm heart broken, we love this lady like family! There are not many openings in our area and I'm trying to keep DD with her buddy to make it easier for everyone.

We found a place with 2 openings. The lady only has 5 kids max at all times (in addition to her 2 teenage kids). When we went to interview with her yesterday, she just didn't seem to have a lot of toys. There were a good number of books and about 8 bins with puzzles , blocks, and small toys. I didn't see things like baby dolls, push toys (like a shopping cart or vacuum) or a kid table & chair set. She has a big house and it's nice. The toys are kept in a study off of the main room and she said they bring a lot of the toys out into the main room everyday. The main room looks like a bachelor pad, an older leather couch, matching chair and a big screen tv with speakers. She also lives next to a park so that's where they play when the weather is nice. 

I guess I'm wondering if this is something that would concern you, like would DD be bored? The lady does seem sweet, DD gave her a hug and she usually doesn't hug strangers. So should I shut up since DD seems to like her? She's been licensed and running a daycare for 11 years so she must be doing something right. It's just our current daycare's playroom has decals and pictures on the wall and bookcase of toys, push toys, dollhouses, multiple kitchens, pbk chairs. It's so cheery and fun where she is now.

[lmb5109]

Shit, forgot to ask about reference, thanks @starry!

[simpsongal]

FWIW - it seems like most people I've talked to pull their kids out of an in-home DC around age 2 or 2.5. My friend used our lady and loved her but said she just didn't provide the same level of stimulation as a more formal DC center. It's great that she takes the kids outside - ours doesn't do that. Although I suppose that may be somewhat dependent on the age of the kids. If she had 3 babies, it would probably be tough to go to the park with toddlers.

[mrsGreeko]

Perhaps she has the toys stashed away? When we first started with our daycare there were no toys out, she kept them stashed and brought them out at different times. Now she has the basement finished and there are toys out, but she still keeps some stashed away. Keeps the toys more interestingness for the kids and less overwhelming.

I'd talk to some references. The fact that's she's
Been doing it for 11 years is a good sign to me.

[Deleted]

Few toys would not worry me, as I find kids get overwhelmed with too much stuff and actually play better with fewer options. Call the references. We will use our dayhome through at least Kindergarten, but I did add preK for DS this year. Dayhome lady can drop him and pick him up, though, and it's free for us. So win-win-win in our case.

[osulori]

Yeah, I'd check references too but what you described wouldn't worry me a ton. Our sitter keeps things stored really well when the kiddos she watches aren't running amok-AJ is usually one of the last ones to get picked up so there are never many toys out when I get there but I've picked up early before and there are plenty of toys out then.

[stealthmom]

I would not care about that. My dcp's main room has zero toys in it when she's not working. ALL the kid stuff is kept in a small room adjacent. I don't blame her. That is her home. I wouldn't want my living room to look like a kid's play room either.

I like the idea of a park neaby too.

[havarti]

When I was looking at in-homes, the first two I looked at were similar to what you describe. Fine, the ladies seemed nice, but nothing really special either. I'm sure my kid would have been taken care of just fine. Then we toured an in-home that several people had suggested to us and there really was a big difference. Nice outdoor play areas, different play stations (megablocks, costumes, puzzles, etc.), a separate room for the tiny ones to nap if needed, a preschool element for the older kids, etc. I would keep this one in mind if you can't find anything else, but I would also keep looking and maybe ask around for recommendations.

[mandapanda18]

Well, I love my in-home. The main child care room is painted for the children (Jungle theme), has bright carpets, push toys, kitchen, indoor school bus slide/jungle gym, bins with toys, a million books, two table/chair sets, train, etc. She also has a full outdoor play area equipped similarly to inside. They go out side everyday. I don't think I would be keen on a DCP taking 5 kids to the park alone... too many variables.

[pinkdutchtulips]

dd went to 2 in homes before starting kinder this year

in home 1 - she was there for 4 1/2 years - no wall decals, no visibly stored toys but there were lots of toys, lots of push toys outside.

in home 2 - dd was there for 6 months while in-home was trying to get a grip on her h's MS dx - HUGE house, dedicated kid space w/ lots of wall decals and toys stored everywhere ... but it was 2 dedicated rooms and the rest of the house looked like a modified bachelor pad

call me crazy but I like a more 'lived in' look for an in-home dcp - toys don't need to be visible, I just need to know that they're there.

[Deleted]

My in home is not decorated at all "child friendly." It looks like a normal adult decorated house because...she lives there in the off time too, kwim? You wouldn't want a jungle themed LR why would your DC lady?

She also has no kids of her own so she has no reason to.

She does have stuff the kid made for her around though. It's also clean, warm, friendly. It's functional and comfortable.

Also are you sure the toys aren't stashed somewhere? My DC lady has a huge walk-in closet in her hallway and she stashes bins of toys and rotates as necessary. She also has very few toys compared to my house even. She told me one day she's been DC for over 25 years and has basically curated her collection to stuff kids love over and over again (cars, art stuff, blocks etc.) She also said the less she has to manage the better the kids, the more interactive stuff she can do with them and the less stressed everyone is.

And she is big on outside. While it's nice they are out between 8:30-11am every day. Then it's lunch, nap, snack and by that time it's 4pm and kids are headed home. There isn't that much inside toy time in her day at all.

In winter she does more group focused stuff anyways (Songs, stories, play-doh, paint activities etc.) so again not a ton of toys.

So no I wouldn't worry about it.

[browneyedgirl9]

We use an inhome daycare, but its fully stocked with toys and set up very much like a center.

Maybe she rotates the toys so kids don't get bord with the same toys? I would def check references.