Why do parents choose family child care?

 

Family child care providers open their own homes to care for children of mixed ages in a warm and caring environment. Working parents choose family child care for many reasons:

Flexibility | Affordability | Accessibility
Siblings | Ratios | Special needs | Trust

• Family child care is flexible
  “Not everyone has an 8-to-5 job. I go out of my way to help parents, whether that means taking a child at 2 a.m. for a single mom so she can go to work or keeping kids until 8pm or later until parents get off work.”
  —Michelle Lowell, family child care provider, Washington
  
  
• Family child care is affordable
  Home-based child care is a common choice for families receiving child care subsidies. Subsidies often do not fully cover the cost of child care, and family child care is an affordable option.
  
  
• Family child care is accessible
  Family child care is often available in neighborhoods where parents work and live. Parents trust providers who are part of their community, and being nearer to their children can help put families’ minds at ease. Family child care providers also serve many rural areas where other types of care are scarce.
  
  
• Sisters and brothers can stay together
  Family providers care for children of different ages all together, and parents with more than one child appreciate that their children can still spend time together and learn from each other while in child care.
  
  
• Children have a close relationship with providers
  Children who have more stable relationships with their caregivers have better thinking, language, and social skills, and show fewer behavior problems. Family child care tends to have small provider/child ratios, and allows children to stay with the same provider year after year.
  
  
• A good choice for children with special needs
  “It’s not unusual for family child care providers to care for children with special needs. Our programs do this well. Because we are so close to the children and families, we are willing to do even more for them.”
  —Nancy Gerber, family child care provider, Washington
  
  
• Providers are experienced and provide quality care that parents trust
  Many family care providers are mothers of young children themselves. Working parents choose family child care because they want their children to receive consistent, quality care and early education in a warm and caring home environment.