What are the advantages of a home daycare?

Offers a home-based setting

Home daycare, also known as family daycare or family crèche, is exactly what it sounds like - daycare in a home instead of a centre. This arrangement has been around as long as parents have had neighbours and friends nearby to help care for their children.

Home daycare often appeals to parents who want to keep their child in a warm, friendly, home-like environment but don’t want to leave their child alone at home with a maid or in the care of a family member.

Today it's a way for many parents or grandparents who prefer to stay at home and who truly enjoy taking care of children, to do work they love and contribute to the family finances at the same time.

Flexible with timings

From a practical viewpoint, a home daycare may be more flexible about pick-up and drop-off times, and less likely than a centre to charge you for every minute you're late.

Home daycares also tend to close for fewer holidays than most centres, so you may not have to scramble for back-up care as often.

Offers individual care

Most home daycare providers are mums or grand mums themselves, so you know you're leaving your child with someone who is comfortable caring for babies and children and who probably has a strong mothering instinct.

Of course, you and your provider may differ on some child-rearing beliefs, but as long as you find someone who shares your basic caregiving philosophy, the "mum" factor can be a definite advantage.

Many home daycares can boast smaller groups of children and more individual attention, something most centres can't guarantee. Child-to-staff ratios are important because too many children and not enough adult supervision means your child is likely to get less of the one-on-one interaction that he needs and deserves.