Hi mummas,

I am looking into putting my 10 month old into childcare for one day a week and was wondering if anyone puts there children into family day care. If you guys could share your experiences that would be great

Thanks
Ellas mumma

My 4 year old has been in family day care since she was 13 mths. I thought this was a good alternative to a day care centre, as she was so young and due to the restrictions at FDC - only 5 children at one time etc. She has thrived in this environment, and loves going. My FDC mum is fantastic, and i class her as a friend also (she came to my wedding in Jan). We have a very open relationship and there has been many a time when she has been a sounding board and a shoulder to cry on. She genuinely adores my (and other) daughter, they give each other a kiss and she tells her she loves her.
At the beginning she was only in 1 day a week, and i found it quite difficult to leave her, and rang at least once a day to see how she was doing. As she got more confident (also i got into uni), we increased her days to 3 days a week. She currently goes mon, tues and wed.
We've currently got my 4 month old in her care for one day a week, and i leave her there for a couple of hours to go and do the paperwork at my husbands business. It gives me a couple of hours of "off" time.
Next year i am (unfortunately) back at full time uni, so i will have both booked in for the three days. But i've also got my (oldest) daughter booked in at a preschool as i think it is important for her to get used to having more than 4 kids around in preparation for big school.
Just a bit of advice - when you meet your FDC mum for the first time, take notice how you feel. In this circumstance, first impressions really do count. These people are looking after the MOST important thing in our lives, so if it doesn't feel right, find someone else until it does.
Good luck with your decision. Be prepared for crying, as the little rascals are very good at making you feel guilty! Trust me, they stop crying as soon as you leave. and don't hesitate to ring them, they are used to it, and most time expect it.

Hi Amy

I haven't used family daycare, but I have a few friend's who have. None of them were happy with it, as the carers were mums with their own young children at home to care for and in all circumstances they gave preferential treatment to their own children - eg one of the carer's son's used to snatch my friend's son's toys as soon as he walked in the door and the mother/carer did nothing about it and that was in front of my friend so goodness knows what went on after she left. Her son then started misbehaving at home and hitting his younger brother all the time. She then put him in a regular daycare centre and he was much happier.

On the other hand I have a friend who's mum ran family daycare from her home - but the difference was her own children were all at school so she could focus her attention on the children left in her care. She always had a waiting list as she was quite popular.

Like Emily said - go with your gut instinct when you first meet with any potential carers. Wait until you feel absolutely comfortable with one before leaving your baby with them. I'm sure there are plenty of good one's out there.

All the best
Jasmine