Motivation for running privately?

[playfelt]

I think a big issue for home daycare is just that. This is first and foremost my home and a daycare second. That needs to be respected by any agency and it is not based on some very silly rules. For someone with a basement daycare complete with kitchen where children arrive on main floor but spend day in basement and even nap there never ever going up to the bedroom level since it is gated off why should it matter if I have mouthwash without a child safety cap on my bathroom counter or a razor in an unlocked medicine chest on the wall which is too high for a child to reach anyways. This is my home and I have a right to enjoy it in comfort too.

Arbitrary rules was one of the issues I had with the agency when I was with them. I had a double stroller till one of the two under two reached 18 months and was then expected to walk so the stroller could be passed on to someone else. The fact the child had only begun to take steps at 16 months and was not adept at walking did not factor into the equation. Same thing with use of a playpen for sleeping or a highchair for eating. I use common sense in my home daycare. Something that was sorely lacking with the "rules" the agency was under obligation to enforce. I leave small children in high chairs till they are tall enough to sit comfortably at the table regardless of how old they are. They sleep in a playpen till they move from a crib to a bed at home or they reach 30 pounds - age has nothing to do with it and developmental level is what it is all about. Agency rules forget that all children are different and on their own learning path. A good private home daycare can support that because we are not bound by silly rules of agencies or part of the herd mentality of a large daycare centre.