The decision as to where to send a child to daycare can be one of the most difficult a parent can make.
There are many different options to consider: do you want to send your child to a daycare center or an in-home provider? Are there daycare openings near your home or along your commute? Can you afford the cost of tuition?
Doing your homework about daycare settings, prices and learning styles can help make the choice a little easier. There are two main types of daycare offered in Lincoln: those in a daycare center and those in a home-based setting.
In-home daycares tend to be more affordable. For example, in-home daycare provider Jenny Peterson charges $115 a week for a three-year-old, while in-home providers Jean Peanchon and Ellen Strabala charge $125 for the same age group. Both La Petite Academy and Kindercare charge $195 a week for that age.
However, while both settings can offer preschool curriculum, it is generally found more often in a daycare center. La Petite, Kindercare, Dimensions Early Childhood Education, and daycare offered by SCC all stated they had a preschool-based curriculum with specific activities and learning areas to further development. Of the four in-home providers interviewed, only Jean Pancheon and Ellen Strabala offered preschool-based learning.
While in home daycares might not have the structured learning that daycare centers do, they still have much to offer. “I’m probably biased because I grew up in an in-home daycare,” states Jenny Peterson, a licensed in-home daycare provider in Lincoln, “but I like the ‘family’ feel that you get in an in-home setting. There’s mixed age groups and the kids become like siblings.”
Provider Ellen Strabala agrees. “Some of my kids here have been with me since they were six weeks old,” she said. “I love them like they are my own. I don’t think you get that in a center setting.”
While the in-home setting may appeal to some, others find there are downsides to it. If the provider is sick or goes on vacation, the daycare is closed; whereas, in a center setting, there are substitute teachers available.
Some also find that they feel safer with their child being in a more public setting, where others will be observing what goes on throughout the day. “I’m sure [in-home daycares] are fine,” parent Alicia Hain commented, “but I just like the idea that there are other parents and teachers constantly walking around at our center. I feel like something bad is less likely to happen around so many witnesses.”
The State of Nebraska does its best to help ensure that ‘nothing bad’ happens as well. Home based daycare providers must be licensed through the state if they care for more than three children at a time and that licensing includes periodic home visits and a background check. Daycare centers also must be licensed and their staff must submit to the same background checks.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services provides a website for parents searching for quality childcare at http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/crl/childcare/childcareindex.com. The website allows for searches of licensed daycare providers, both in-home and centers, as well as searches for negative actions against daycare providers. It also offers information regarding teacher to student ratios and further details about licensing requirements.
Ultimately, it is up to parents to decide what setting is best for their children; however, it is nice to know that there are resources out there to help make that decision easier.