Childcare Organizations Pros and Cons for Children
Children are the future of society whose active development starts from the early years of their lives. Thus, accurate and productive childcare is essential to raise a decent generation. Parents often need to choose the organization to develop kids’ social skills and prepare them for the challenging school environment. Usually, there are two options for parents to choose from: home-based and center-based daycare. Parents are responsible for exploring the advantages and disadvantages of each type of organization to ensure that kids have the best conditions for shaping personality and social skills. According to professional experience and scientific research analysis, daycare and home day centers have advantages and disadvantages for the person choosing which type of organization to open and for the children. Providers planning to open one of such organizations should consider all the possible difficulties and choose the most suitable option for them individually, while for children, it is practically more relevant to combine attending both types of organizations.
In order to compare two types of organizations and decide which one is better suited for the particular person to open, a short description of center-based and home-based daycare will be provided first. Center-based daycare is usually a commercial organization or a chain of several subsidiary companies offering childcare and education services (McMullen, 2018). The center-based childcare, being certified structure, is oriented on the formal and structured day schedule, which can be compared with the school’s one. The groups are formed according to the age category, and professional teachers hold the classes and play activities during the day. Thus, it helps children prepare for school rules and gain valuable social skills necessary during their education.
Considering the home-based daycare settings, it is vital to mention that the daycare services are performed in the private home. The house owner is responsible for all the activities like teaching, food preparation, and a number of other tasks which the center-based daycares divide between various people. The different home-based childcare may offer not only regular care but also include educational programs helping children prepare for a school curriculum (McMullen, 2018). The number of children there is significantly smaller, which, along with the home-like environment, allows kids to feel more comfortable in similar family conditions (Almeida et al., 2020). Sometimes home-based daycares directors hire people to help them manage the diversity of the tasks during the day. Therefore, the home-based daycare services offer home-like conditions for children to feel comfortable communicating with peers and gain valuable, sometimes curriculum-oriented, knowledge and skills.
Each type of daycare organization has particular advantages and disadvantages. Regarding center-based daycare, scientists often consider the particular teachers’ professional qualifications in specific areas as the main advantage (Ayood et al., 2020). Moreover, the similar school educational environment and opportunity for building profound social skills communicating with different age-group peers are also often considered the positive aspects of the daycare centers (Weitzman, 2006). However, this type of daycare has significant drawbacks to mention. Since many children attend center-based daycares, they are at a higher risk of falling ill (Ayood et al., 2020). Another disadvantage is that children often do not get equal attention from the caregivers or teachers due to the considerably huge groups. One of the most dangerous disadvantages is that the strictly planned school-like curriculum is characterized by high pressure on children (Ang & Tabu, 2018). Thus, they are exposed to emotional and educational exhaustion, significantly harming the unstable children’s life perception. Therefore, the positive and negative aspects of the center-based daycare analysis allowed to state that this daycare type is suitable not for all children.
Home-based daycare also has advantages and disadvantages to elaborate on. The most significant positive aspect of this type of childcare is the opportunity of giving more attention to each kid because of the smaller number of children (Almeida et al., 2020). Another advantage is the family-like environment which contributes to the stable development of the personality in psychologically comfortable conditions. Regarding the negative features, such an organization is less structured than the center-based daycare and may have fewer school-preparation activities. However, this disadvantage can be treated as a positive aspect if parents’ primary aim is to ensure the child’s development in comfortable conditions. Thus, both organizations have positive and negative aspects, and the best choice for parents will be to combine both types of daycare to ensure the stable development of their children (Colaner et al., 2013). However, the final decision depends on the parent’s aims and children’s personality peculiarities.
Childcare Organizations Pros and Cons for the Providers
Choosing between opening the home daycare or the child care center, a services provider should analyze each type’s positive and negative aspects of the organization’s planning. One of the most crucial difficulties when opening the home-based daycare is that the providers should meet all the states’ Child Care and Early Years Act regulations themselves (McMullen, 2018). It can be challenging for providers to cope with all the requirements ensuring the children’s safety high level without special training. In contrast, the center-oriented daycare has a higher chance to hire professionals to regulate the food, environment safety, and teaching value. Therefore, in this case, the provider is only responsible for controlling the subordinates, which enhances the quality of the service. At the same time, home-based daycare providers should be the ones to manage each aspect of the services themselves.
On the other hand, home-based daycare providers can hire an assistant, which will help to lower the pressure. The most significant advantage here is that the provider serves as a teacher and has the greater chance to develop a specific approach to each child’s personality and contribute to their individual development in a pleasant family-like atmosphere (Colaner et al., 2013). While the center-oriented daycare mostly should have a general activities plan for the particular groups. Another disadvantage of the center-oriented daycare opening for the providers is the lower level of control of the process because of the significant number of children and workers. At the same time, the total revenue from the daycare center is higher than from the home day one because of the higher number of children. The government sometimes can meet the expenses of the daycare center, thereby opening it is more beneficial for providers.
Analyzing the home day center peculiarities, it is essential to mention that this type of childcare affects the provider. Thus, according to scientific research, the biological children of social providers can experience emotional difficulties when their home is modified for the daycare settings (Weitzman, 2006). Some children can become more aggressive and suffer from their parent’s attention deprivation caused by the other children’s presence. The home-centered daycare opening can also affect providers themselves because the border between work and family is erased.
Therefore, the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the home day and daycare centers for the providers and children shows that each decision should be made considering individual peculiarities and home conditions of kids and those who plan to open the organization. The home-based daycare helps to ensure a pleasant family-like atmosphere, while the center-based childcare provides more structured educational activities. The combination of two types of daycare organizations is the most rational decision for parents. Planning to open one of the organizations, the provider should consider possible threats and effects for their own family and mental state.
References
Almeida, C., Smith, B., & Valentini, N. (2020). Effectiveness of a home-based early cognitive-motor intervention provided in daycare, home care, and foster care settings: Changes in motor development and context affordances. Early Human Development, 151, 1–9. Web.
Ang, L., & Tabu, M. (2018). Conceptualising home-based child care: a study of home-based settings and practices in Japan and England. International Journal of Early Childhood, 50, 143–158. Web.
Ayood, P., Limtrakul, D., Ongprasert, K., Sapbamrer, R., & Siviroj, P. (2020). A comparison of child development, growth and illness in home-care and day-care center settings. Journal of Health Research, 34(6), 523–534. Web.
Colaner, A., Gordon, A., Melgar, L., & Usdansky, M. (2013). Beyond an “Either-Or” approach to home- and center-based child care: Comparing children and families who combine care types with those who use just one. Early childhood research quarterly, 28(4), 918–935. Web.
McMullen, Mary, (2018). The many benefits of continuity of care for infants, toddlers, families, and caregiving staff. Young Children, 73(3). Web.
Weitzman, J. (2006). The impact of home daycare on the biological children of providers: Case examples of unintended consequences. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 23(4), 379–389. Web.