Child Care Choice

Making a Quality Child Care Choice

Choosing the best child care for your child is one of the most difficult decisions a parent has to make. When deciding who is best to look after their child, many parents explore private home day care, a child care centre or a friend or relative. If you are looking for licensed, monitored day care, the chart below compares a child care centre to private home day care.

	Child Care Centre	Private Home Day Care
	Setting/Location: Separated by age. Home setting. More than one caregiver per day. Siblings can stay together. May not be convenient location. Choice of homes in neighbourhood.   Usually near schools.   Schedule/Hours: Set hours. Full and part-time days. Limited part-time or flexible hours. Flexible hours   Ages & Ratios: Some infant care to school-age. Infant to school-age. Limited infant space. Infant spaces always available. Large # of children per group. No more than 5 children under 6 yrs. Max. 10 infants per 3 staff. No more than 2 children under 2 yrs.   Staff: Trained - high turnover of staff. Trained - one Provider chosen by parents.   Daily Program: Structured routine. Flexible routine. Focus on group activities. Program tailored to individual needs.   Lunch/Snacks: Follow Canada ’s Food Guide. Follow Canada ’s Food Guide. Set menus, sometimes outside caterers. Parents consulted on menus.   Health: Large # of children. Limited # of children. More exposure to illnesses. Fewer illnesses.   Cost: Can be expensive; subsidy Lower cost; subsidy Tax receipts. Tax receipts.

Penelope Leach, British Child Psychologist and renowned author states, “The evidence shows that babies do a great deal better in more domestic-scale day care…. It’s infinitely more difficult to look after three babies adequately (as in a Centre) …than it is to look after one baby and a toddler and a couple of preschool children (a family grouping).” Otto Weininger, Child Psychologist and Today’s Parent columnist agrees, “…in the first two years of life, it is important for a child to have a secure relationship with a single caregiver.