All child care choices have pros and cons, even a private child minder.
While some parents think that a large crèche is a better environment for their child, many believe that a private child minder offers several advantages. Here are the pros and the cons of using a child minder.
The Pros
A smaller group of children means more one-on-one time and attention for your child. Most child minders will only watch a handful of children which allows them to provide individual attention.
Your child will be interacting with a diverse age group of children as opposed to a structured crèche where children are often placed in groups their own age. Such interactions help your child to be comfortable with younger and older children.
A child minder will many times be more flexible with the hours of operation, while a crèche has set times that must be followed. If you are running late, you have to make arrangements to have your child picked up from a crèche, while often a phone call to the child minder is all that is needed.
The Cons
What happens when the child minder gets sick? Many times, they will not have a backup plan where a crèche will always have the required amount of staff.
A child minder is not supervised by anyone unlike the staff of a crèche.
A child minder will often not have the educational experience of a crèche.
While some parents think that a large crèche is a better environment for their child, many believe that a private child minder offers several advantages. Here are the pros and the cons of using a child minder.
The Pros
A smaller group of children means more one-on-one time and attention for your child. Most child minders will only watch a handful of children which allows them to provide individual attention.
Your child will be interacting with a diverse age group of children as opposed to a structured crèche where children are often placed in groups their own age. Such interactions help your child to be comfortable with younger and older children.
A child minder will many times be more flexible with the hours of operation, while a crèche has set times that must be followed. If you are running late, you have to make arrangements to have your child picked up from a crèche, while often a phone call to the child minder is all that is needed.
The Cons
What happens when the child minder gets sick? Many times, they will not have a backup plan where a crèche will always have the required amount of staff.
A child minder is not supervised by anyone unlike the staff of a crèche.
A child minder will often not have the educational experience of a crèche.