We should switch daycares, right? Long.

[cville]

Yes. You should.

[Deleted]

Center all the way.

Centers 4 life.


Mine is also in converted building and not at all fancy or new and it has been great.


What does your gut say?

[sharknado]

My kids have always been at an in home daycare. When DD started pre-school I made all of the arrangements and my babysitter would pick her up from school. I'm going to do the same with DS.

[malibu]

A red flag to me is that Ruth has mobility issues. This would concern me if she needed to move FAST if my child was in imminent danger for any reason. Once kids are mobile, they can get themselves into trouble very quickly.

Is she licensed? Was the new boyfriend OK'd to be there? My in-home provider's husband (and now her son, who turned 18 last year) had to be background checked for any red flags that may have prevented her from being licensed. If Ruth isn't licensed this may not come in to play or have been required.

Personally, from your list of pros/cons between the two, I'd be more apt to choose the center.

[pugz]

yup, I'd move to the center. The in home doesn't sound BAD but I think the center sounds better.

we have been using an in home since G was 6 months old and I overlook some stuff I'm not wild about
(screen time mostly, dh has some food complaints but he's an anti-sugar freak) because in my line of work the flexibility our provider offers is so important. We have zero safety concerns or anything like that, I just sometimes wish she were in a more enriching environment. However this fall she will go to preschool 2 mornings a week in addition to the 2 days she is at the in home daycare, so she'll get the enrichment there.

[starryfish]

I was thinking in home at first until I got to the negatives about Ruth. I would pick the center for sure.

[dirtyred]

Switch.

[malibu]

RexManningDay I worked in a center from 1997-1999, primarily in the infant and toddler rooms. Even I was surprised during my first weeks there how much attention is able to be given to each child. It's also nice as a staff member (in a center) having backup if needed, which isn't the case with an in-home daycare, unless Ruth has or has had someone else helping her out.

ETA: To clarify that I was referencing your ratio comment, the 1:3 and 1:4.

[cville]

L and O have only been at centers. And while not every teacher has been stellar (eta: but all have been good), the teachers love the kids and love my kids. There are two main teachers per class, then 2-3 floaters who regularly are in their rooms too. Every year, at least one of those 4-5 teachers loooves my kid.

[specialk]

Based on your list, I would move her to the center. It seems like more of the logical decision over the emotional one but seems like a much better set up.

[osulori]

I would switch her.

[electricmayhem]

We switched our kids from an in-home to a center last summer for some of the reasons you described like stagnant menu, tight pickup / dropoff schedule and limited interaction with the provider. To be fair, we also had a number of other issues, the huge one being that the kids never went outside all winter.

In any case, the center we picked is certainly more expensive (sigh), but I feel it is absolutely the right fit for DS (3.5) because it has a structured preschool environment with no TV, loose curriculum, TONS of outside time and plenty of enrichment activities. It has helped MY life tremendously that their hours are much longer too--my kids aren't there any more than when they were at the in-home, but it's SO much better that I can run a quick errand when needed.

In all honesty, I think my younger child (18 months) would have been fine at an in-home until around 2-2.5, but with my older one, I really saw a need for consistent peer interaction and structure that the in-home just wasn't giving him. Additionally, many of the in-homes in my area really recommend signing up for preschool (to do in conjunction with daycare as half-days each), but I didn't have a way to transport him, so that wasn't going to work.

[thebuddhagouda]

May 6, 2015 14:54:54 GMT -5 RexManningDay said:

-More expensive, BUT. I work from home once a week and at the center, I am able to pay for only 4 days a week, which cuts costs a bit. Difference between the two is approximately $2500 annually.

I would definitely switch, but I would not factor this in. You MIGHT be able to get away with working from home with a non mobile baby, but pretty soon it's not going to be an option if you expect to get actual work done for your job. 

[noodleskooze]

I would switch as well.

[cville]

May 6, 2015 15:09:51 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

May 6, 2015 14:54:54 GMT -5 RexManningDay said:

-More expensive, BUT. I work from home once a week and at the center, I am able to pay for only 4 days a week, which cuts costs a bit. Difference between the two is approximately $2500 annually.

I would definitely switch, but I would not factor this in. You MIGHT be able to get away with working from home with a non mobile baby, but pretty soon it's not going to be an option if you expect to get actual work done for your job. 

Oh yeah, I skipped this. You cannot work from home with a child, unless you need only to work an hour or two while they nap. And kids start dropping naps as early as three.

[cuccaro]

I would switch, and I agree with your decision that you'd rather do it now vs later. The boyfriend moving in and being around the kids would make me uncomfortable. Plus I think you would like sharing drop off and pick up!

[nannersp]

May 6, 2015 15:09:51 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

May 6, 2015 14:54:54 GMT -5 RexManningDay said:

-More expensive, BUT. I work from home once a week and at the center, I am able to pay for only 4 days a week, which cuts costs a bit. Difference between the two is approximately $2500 annually.

I would definitely switch, but I would not factor this in. You MIGHT be able to get away with working from home with a non mobile baby, but pretty soon it's not going to be an option if you expect to get actual work done for your job. 

This was my thought, too. 

I'd also switch. 

I loved the in-home daycare I had my eldest in as an infant/toddler, but my second is in the toddler room of a center now, and I think it's worked out nicely. I think her being around more kids her age has been enjoyable for her. And I like not having to worry about back-up if the teacher is sick. 

[nahoku]

Given just these facts, I'd choose the center.

That seems like a lot of kids for Ruth over the summer! Anyway, I've been in a similar situation. We switched from in-home to a center when DD was around 6 months, for a variety of reasons, a big one being personal drama of the in-home provider. If Fridays are a worry for you - did you ask if you could bring her in on Fridays if you gave them advance warning and they had enough staff? If they can, see if they can charge you a one-day/drop-in fee. Our center wasn't perfect but we, and more importantly, the kids, were happy there.

Change might be hard for L, but she will adjust and I think it will be easier to do now, rather than when she is older.

You picked this center for a reason before - presumably those reasons are still valid - maybe you just have cold feet about going through with it now b/c you're worried about how L will handle it (which is also valid!)? Good luck!

[sangria]

May 6, 2015 15:07:03 GMT -5 cville said:

L and O have only been at centers. And while not every teacher has been stellar (eta: but all have been good), the teachers love the kids and love my kids. There are two main teachers per class, then 2-3 floaters who regularly are in their rooms too. Every year, at least one of those 4-5 teachers loooves my kid.

This has been my exact experience with a center. 

I would switch without a second thought. 

[BaliHai]

I'd go center. Your lists are basically my pro/con lists, with the in-home being the con list. It's annoying during the winter when our center closes if one snowflake swirls by, but other than that it meets all of our wants and needs for L, and we are very, very pleased to send her there.

[pugz]

I'm free Fridays too if you need emergency backup

[shopgirl07]

Have you visited other centers at all? Maybe there is a third option out there? Otherwise, go with your gut.

[dojo]

I had a disturbingly similar experience with our at-home (minus the divorce and new boyfriend which would be enough for me to pull out). DS was there from age 1-2 but by 2 the lack of physical activity + not great nutrition was too much. He needed more physical and social stimulation than she could give him and there was way too much tv. I pulled him and haven't regretted it for even one day.

Eta telling them is VERY hard. I had a list of semi-true reasons that wouldn't hurt her feelings as to why we switched (I was a total coward)

[sparkythelawyer]

As much as I adore our in home person, given what you have described I would switch too

[dojo]

May 6, 2015 15:31:35 GMT -5 RexManningDay said:

The center also offers a "date night" option approximately 3 weekend nights a month, where you can send your kids for five hours and dinner/playtime/sleep for a pretty low fee in a familiar environment. I think that's a nice option.

This sounds phenomenal. As an added plus I found that a lot of our daycare teachers babysit the kids on the side. Now we have a roster of awesome people we can call who DS is already familiar with. I couldn't reasonably do that with my at home person because she needed a break during evenings and weekends (understandably)

[ginger]

Kids are resilient. Move her now.

[shopgirl07]

May 6, 2015 15:29:02 GMT -5 RexManningDay said:

May 6, 2015 15:26:42 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

Have you visited other centers at all? Maybe there is a third option out there? Otherwise, go with your gut.

I visited probably six others. I was excited about this one when I chose it, and cried about the fact that she couldn't just start there in January. But I'm comfortable where we are now, you know? Usually.

You should go for it then. I'm terrible at making these kinds of decisions too, but your gut won't steer you wrong and it sounds like the center has a lot of advantages.

[mrsjuleshs]

I had DD in an in home as an infant. Switched to another in home but it had much more of a preschool curriculum. Once she was almost 4 I switched her to a center. I would say move her to the center now.

[trafficgirl]

Given all you've said, I will echo the "switch her" sentiment.

We are dealing/dealt with something similar. We have a nanny who comes to our house 3 days a week while my parents watch the boys on Mondays and I watch them on Fridays (don't work that day). For all the reasons you listed (socialization, structure, education, friendship, activity time) we will be switching the boys to a center in July.

We LOVE our nanny, but we just think they are starting to need more of the things mentioned above.

[robyn]

We switched DD a couple of weeks ago. I was terrified of the change, but DH, DD and I all love her new center so much! If I were in your situation I would switch too, for the screen time and mobility issues of the provider if nothing else. Good luck, I know it's a hard choice.