Berkeley Parents Network: Advice about Home-Based Daycare

Berkeley Parents Network

Advice about Home-Based Daycare

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Childcare > Advice about Home-Based Daycare

Excessive vacations at home-based daycare

Sept 2004

My daughter has just started daycare at a wonderful little in-home daycare, but I am extremely shocked to find that many places, including ours, close for up to 5 or 6 weeks a year for holidays/vacations, in addition to another 9 or so holidays, and families are still obligated to pay their regular rate. This is in spite of the fact that many of us who work full time and cannot take as much time off, must find alternative childcare during those excess weeks, essentially paying double in childcare 6 weeks out of the year!

I am wondering if this a commonly accepted practice? I suppose it is a precursor to when they begin school, but it seems a bit excessive. I would love to hear other parents' opinions on the matter and whether this is typical, in which case I have to just suck it up and deal! Overextended parent

I too was surprised when I looked for preschools. Our preschool is closed 5 weeks/year plus holidays (which, surprise, included Valentine's Day.) Another is closed for 7 weeks/year, including most of August. One doesn't even run preschool in the summer, but has an alternative program. The best coverage I know of is offered by the Claremont Day on Claremont at Woolsey, closed only one week/year, plus holidays. My husband and I have flexible schedules and work near home, but it must be near impossible if you both have set hours and commute. NotSureHowOthersDoIt

In my experience, home-based daycares or preschools will have several weeks of vacation per year, simply because it is a small business and those running them need a break. We chose to have our oldest daughter at a large center (St. Johns), which was perfect for her personality and for our schedule. The center was only closed for a few days during Christmas break. The caretakers rotated their vacations so that parents didn't have to take any time off during the rest of the year. The downside is that a center is typically more expensive than a home based daycare, partly for this reason. Our other children were in a home-based daycare and preschool because we felt the smaller scale school suited them better. We knew that these home-based schools would be closed for several weeks during the year before we enrolled our kids, but we felt that it was worth it. What has worked for us, it to have one of the teachers at the small preschool earn extra money during the closure by coming to one of the parents' houses and taking care of several kids. Also one set of parents at our preschool had a nanny, who was willing to babysit some preschoolers during school vacations. You might also see if any other parents would be willing to babysit your child in exchange for you doing the same for them during school closures. anon

Times like that when I wish we lived closer to family for back up day care in emergencies, etc! My son is in a home day care and vacations are definitely a drawback. My daycare provider closes for all major holidays, plus any holiday that herkids school is closed. She closes for the week between Christmas and New Years, spring break and a week in the summer! I have been fortunate to have jobs that respect my role as ''mom first'' and I also have the opportunity to work from home when necessary (although it's extremely challenging with a 2 year old in toe)! I want my son in a home day care environment right now so we just bite the bullet on it and keep the other benefits in our minds......... Rosie

I think five to six weeks is too excessive. I have been a daycare provider for over twelve years, and for the longest time was open year round. For the last three years, I have begun to close at christmas time only, and then only from christmas eve until new years day. This is a much look forward to and much needed break. It doesn't inconvenience parents because most people take time off around the holidays or grandparents visit etc. I think parents should ask up front what the vacation schedule is and then if it is too dificult find care at another facility. Good Luck

Worried about safety of home-based daycares

June 2004

I am just about to start back to work and must find daycare formy 7 month old daughter. It breaks my heart to part from her and I am extremely catious about family (home) daycares. While I was working in a daycare center, myself, one of our previously regular 2 year-olds who had been switched to a family daycare accidentally drowned himself in a bucket in the yard. The bucket had filled up with rainwater from the night before. Regardless, I am now horrified of family daycares but BANANAS tells me that they are the only places available in my ''zone.'' Does anyone have any advice that could calm my fears or point me in the right direction towards affordable local daycare centers? Nicole

There is a wide variety of quality in family daycare. This means that although there can be problems, some of the very best daycare available is also family daycare. My son has been in a family daycare in my area for 2 years, and I cannot imagine a better place for him to have been. The owner and her daughter are absolutely wonderful with the kids. Kids receive lots of one-on-one attention, lots of fun activities, lots of training in how to relate socially, lots of home-cooked good food. And as parents, we've received lots of information about our child (emails telling us what they've done all day, advice about areas of concern, specially organized classes for daycare parents). Also, since we have a strong relationship with the owner, we've been able to make suggestions and have them acted on. Because the daycare is in our neighborhood, we've made good friends with the other parents. The benefits are too numerous to count. In terms of advice, when you are looking at potential daycares, make sure you get a good long interview with the care provider. Ask all the questions that Bananas and other places recommend, and make absolutely sure you feel comfortable with the answers. Ask to check the place out, and make sure you are comfortable with the physical space. In my case, I was half sold on the daycare provider before I even interviewed her; every remark she made on the phone was about what was good for my son -- not about what was convenient for her. And my visit with her only confirmed that impression. Karen

I have found a wonderful family daycare near my home although I had to look at many places before I found one I felt comfortable with. What made me feel more comfortable was that she uses immense care in finding assistants, because she has two of her kids there as well. I checked out all of the day care centers in the area, but I thought that the ones that had openings were too institutional-- my baby was only 4 months old at the time. We are now having a second child and explored all the options again-- nanny, center, family, and decided we are going to put our new baby in the same place. Please let me know if you'd like more information. Sharon

I was quite afraid also about sending my son to any daycare, but feel extremely lucky to have found an in-home Montessori daycare that I love and where my son is thriving and happy (he started at 6 months and he's now 10 months). It's called A World of Learning Montessori and it's run by Denise and her number is 510-233-5574. Certainly, terrible things can happen anywhere - even at home with you. Somehow, you need to put all this anxiety aside and just trust your instincts. Find the safest place you can and ask lots of questions to relieve as much of your anxiety as possible. Good luck! Abby

I understand your concerns about family daycare but I think the horror story that you relate, while tragic, doesn't implicate all family daycares as being dangerous to your child. I searched for a family daycare about a year ago and I found a wide variety of settings. Some were more casual about the differentiation between the family home and the daycare area and some (like the one I chose) had a certain part of the home only used for daycare and the rest is off limits for the children. I liked that because I didn't have to worry about a family member leaving something out that would be potential attractive for my son to get into. I think you just have to look at a lot of daycares and you will get an idea of what you are comfortable with. It is the same with daycare centers - some will seem right to you and some won't. I wouldn't rule it out as an option just because of one horrible story. There are lots of great, safe places for your child and family daycare may be a great option for you - you never know. A happy home daycare mom

I too am one of those people that just don't feel comfortable about some family day cares - the idea of one person alone w/ several kids makes me nervous, no matter how nuturing they may be. But you should definately go check out some family daycares as there are a wide variety of them out there. I've seen some that look like regular day care centers with several teachers, and there are definately family day care providers that take their job seriously and professionally. Bananas has a list of things you should look for when checking them out, such as child proofing, and questions to ask. You usually have to make an appointment, but you can also drive by them and kinda scope out what's going on. Also, you don't have to be limited to the area you live in. Check out daycare centers in other neighborhoods either where you work or on the way to work. I live in N. Berkeley, work in the City and drop my son off at a daycare center in Emeryville. It's quicker to get to Emeryville than to N. Berkeley from the City which makes it less stressful trying to get there in time (as most centers will charge you each minute you are late past the closing time). And my last piece of advice is to just trust your instincts. You will hear a lot of opinions from people about the pros and cons of each type of child care, but in the end you have to do what's best for your comfort level and peace of mind. anon

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