Daycare centre vs Home Care

I would like to hear from people who have worked at a daycare center, and what the advantages and disadvantages are to a center vs Home daycare. I know this isn't professional, but I dislike centers because they are my worst competition at least for the french speaking customers. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like for french speaking families this is the thing to do, to put your child in a coccinelle,only accepting them at age 2.5 + so I'm in the mean time...there are at least 25-30 kids here. My feeling is they should embrace the huge amount of english these kids will get because they will be in french for the rest of their lives. Wouldn't you want them having a strong english base? They will be so bilingual by the time they go to school. I think this would be a great advantage.
Am I wrong?

I have never worked in a daycare center. But I HAVE had the (mis) fortune of having access to live video feeds of a few commercial daycare centres. And by live feeds I mean I had access to view EVERY daycare room in the centre and see what was happening every second of the day in real time.

It was heartbreaking.

The kids are so ignored. The staff is indifferent at best. The kids run around like animals and the staff rarely does anything about it. There are far too few toys or the toys they have are often not engaging to the kids. Every surface is hard and "cold".

I have seen workers soooo unengaged. They do EVERYTHING in their power to not interact with the kids.

I have seen workers using brooms to clean left over lunch crumbs off tables (ewwww!!!). I have seen workers use ONE kleenex on multiple kids' noses. I have seen workers hurry kids to eat in such a manner that the kids can't even finish lunch.

I have seen really little ones sitting in car seats or swings or exersaucers for HOURS on end. I have seen little ones not nap the ENTIRE day because the nap rooms are not conducive to sleep because there are so many other kids who are not taught how to nap and self-soothe.

I have seen infants being fed ENTIRE bottles and not burped until the end. I have seen workers change multiple kids diapers and NOT wash hands in between.

I could go on and on.

I always claimed that if my OWN kids ever had to go to daycare I would put them in a center because I wanted to know there were lots of eyes so no "bad" stuff happened. But after having the opportunity to view cameras at MORE THAN ONE center I would never, ever put my kid in a daycare center.

It is sad. Really, really sad to the point that I just could NOT watch it anymore.

I am sure there ARE good centers and good center workers out there. But I have to seriously wonder if this is how the ones I saw operate when they KNOW they are being viewed then how are the ones that are NOT on a video system??

And the bigger question I have is that these centers have cameras accessible for PARENTS to view. HOW do you watch that stuff on camera and then ever send your kid there again???

I have worked at many daycare centers, as a nanny, and now as Home Daycare Provider. Aside to what Judy has witnessed, the centers I worked at were awesome but one!

While I have to agree that the centers may feel 'cold', most educators find a way to warm up the rooms. We tried to interact with the children, and enjoyed it.

I don't like daycare centers, and would never send my own kids there just because there isn't enough one-on-one attention. Not every child will thrive in this kind of setting, some others do. I seemed to be stressed out at the end of each day, too many kids, and that many more parents!

My daughter does not like going to the day care center, she said the teacher there made her afraid :(

Listen to your child and find another daycare or home daycare.
first find out how much notice you need to give and find your new daycare before you give your notice to this d/care. Make sure your child is with you in helping you choose the next one
I have worked at a daycare centre for 10 years and it was a good one and then opened up my own home daycare . THERE ARE GOOD DAYCARE CENTRES OUT THERE.

I think like as in everything else there are good ones and bad ones. It is up to each parent to decide, I had the opportunity to work during a teacher mat leave and as described in their pamphlet the daycare philosophy sounded amazing I wanted to be part of that; anyway when I started the third day I cried I was sad to see how cold and unpersonalized was the place, a director just looking in the opportunity to open another daycare and she wasn't much there to monitor or see what was going on. Young teachers that just finished college with little or non experience, high expectations for the little developing bodies no empathy, the children used to go out to play only an hour but all was rushed. Lunches where just awful served directly from the oven to the table steaming hot, asking the children to eat their veggies when the teachers had their mocachinos or dq orders on the same table.

Only Tuesdays will be a happy day, because that day came the garbage truck and we had opportunity to stay a bit more outdoors. (Can not believe that, that was the only outing) and then even as suggested, they will always have excuses to go out such as: it's too hot, too cold, be safe, it's too much to dress or undress etc. If I haD art activities to do I was told clearly that I will also be responsible of cleaning the classroom. Not help at all. Unfortunately, parents always thought that was the best place (I think because it was the most expensive place). I really wish they could had seen all these, I think they could have thought twice before placing their children there, I couldn't stay the full term I had to leave I started getting really depressed my happy days were gone I felt sad and impotent. Anyway those dark days are gone and I nurture something pretty much the opposite of that days, parents are happy and the children are happy and I love what I do. A nice little group a nice thight group of parents helping and supporting each other and I'm just the facilitator of all those thight relationships, much needed when you raise a wonderful caring child.

But thinking on my sad days, I always question; what about the parents, they do not feel the urge to go and visit their centre earlier once in a while? Even just to check it out, or at least to help.

If your child if telling you something please listen. Or at least question it.

I'm more hopeful since they're paying a bit more attention to daycares, hopefully it changes. I think the ones that are non for profit might be the best ones. I also worry, since the ministry of education clearly is supporting the centre based care, and I have already seen many new centres opening around my neighbourhood, obviously new and offering all the quality possible to attract new parents but, how long it will last? After the second year of this going on I already see and heard parents complaints.