What is home-based daycare?
Home-based child care is just what it sounds like: care provided in a licensed professional’s home that is not the child’s home. Unlike family, friend, and neighbor care, home-based care is usually provided by a professional caregiver that is not a relative of the family.
Home-based care offers several benefits to families that distinguish it from other types of early care and education. Many families prefer home-based care for babies because the environment is more similar to their own homes. Home-based care programs, or family daycare as it is sometimes known, are typically smaller than centers and can offer a homier, more personal feel. The relaxed atmosphere of a home child care can be a great fit for babies and toddlers.
While there are many benefits of home or family daycare, below are some of the most common ones that parents cite as the main reasons they ended up selecting this type of child care over others.
1. Convenient location
Family daycare is one of the most conveniently located types of child care that is available outside of the home.
Part of the reason for that is because there are simply more home-based child care programs in the U.S. than other types of paid child care. For example, Kidsdata.org estimates that 72% of the child care programs in California are home-based programs!
The nature of home-based care means that it is often located in residential neighborhoods rather than commercial districts, meaning that it may be right down the block from where a family lives.
Closeness can be an especially important benefit of home-based care for babies as compared to preschoolers. This is because family daycare can mean greater simplicity in the drop-off and pick-up routine. With child care closer to home, there is less concern about sitting in rush hour traffic with a crying child. Child care that is just a short car, bike, or walk away from your home can be very convenient for parents of babies and toddlers.
2. Affordable
Have you seen the cost of child care lately? If not, you’re in for sticker shock! The total cost of child care until a child enters kindergarten often rivals the total cost of tuition at a 4-year school. Particularly for new parents with babies, home-based care often presents a more affordable than care in a center or employing a nanny.
Home child care programs have lower overhead costs since they don’t need to rent a stand-alone space or pay employees. These costs are passed on to parents in the form of lower weekly rates. Infant care is usually the most expensive age for child care so the savings that home-based care offers can be much-needed at that age. Comparing home-based care for infants to the cost of other types of care shows the savings that are afforded by using this type of care.
The only type of care that rivals home-based care in terms of affordability is care from a family member or neighbor. This is often the most affordable care, however, family and friends are usually not trained to be child care providers. What home-based child care provides is the best of both worlds when it comes to a trained provider and an affordable cost.
3. Small program size
Daycare in a family’s home is limited in the number of children they can care for by their state’s licensing guidelines. Home-based child care run by one person can only take on a limited number of children of each age. These guidelines vary by state but typically one person can mind a few infants and a few older children, with no more than around 7 to 8 children allowed in the program at any given time. Smaller program sizes mean that young babies are allowed to bond with other children and their caregivers.
The smaller program sizes of home-based child care mean that children get to bond and form friendships with children of different age groups. Done right, and with guidance, this is often a wonderful way for young children to grow alongside their older peers. It also gives older children the opportunity to engage with guide younger children in appropriate ways.
4. Individualized attention
With small program sizes comes the opportunity for the caregiver to provide one-on-one attention to each child in the program. For babies, this means ample time being held, rocked, sung to, and just generally loved.
Because home-based child cares are usually smaller, there are typically only a few infants or very young children present. Many home-based daycare providers will only accept one infant at a time. This means that the provider is not pulled in too many different directions, trying to attend to the needs of many very small children at once. Babies in home-based child cars can have time to bond with their provider in a way that babies in centers can sometimes not.
5. Flexible hours
Going back to work as a first-time parent is tough. Some parents find that during this age they want to work part-time or modify their schedule in some way to get as much time as they can with their baby. Balancing the desire to maximize your time with your baby with the need or desire to work is something that many parents struggle with.
One fantastic benefit of home-based child cares is they are often more willing to work with parents who are looking for a schedule that is different than the typical 9-to-5. Center-based child care schedules are frequently much more rigid: it’s full-time or nothing. But with home-based child care programs, you can often work with the provider to figure out the schedule that works best for you.
Some states provide information about child care programs’ hours on their licensing or QRIS websites. You can learn more about how to use these sites to search for child care programs that meet your needs.
6. Availability of programs
Have you found the perfect center for your baby, only to find out it has a year-long waitlist? I’ve been there. It’s frustrating to not be able to use the provider you want. One benefit of there being so many home-based caregivers out there is that they are less likely to have long waitlists.
Additionally, families that live in rural areas may find that there are no options for other types of care, like centers or nannies, in their area. Family daycare programs are more likely to serve areas that are less dense and have fewer programs overall.