What are the advantages of home daycare?

Many home daycares can boast a small group of children, something most centers can't guarantee. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, home daycare providers shouldn't take more than two babies under 30 months, five kids under five, and two additional school-aged children (though they can add more children if they have an assistant). A smaller group means your child is more likely to get the one-on-one interaction he needs and deserves.

The opportunity to play and learn with other children is something both home daycares and centers offer that nanny care can't. But unlike centers, which tend to group kids by age, home daycares usually have mixed-age groups, which more closely mirrors most families and may help your child learn to feel comfortable around older kids. "I like the fact that there are other children my son can play with and learn from," says Cindy Goral, a BabyCenter user from Palo Alto, California. "Since he's an only child, he really enjoys this social interaction."

Though daycare centers, no matter how child-friendly and welcoming, can sometimes seem institutional, home daycare can be the next best thing to your own home. If you're lucky enough to find a good home care provider in your neighborhood, so much the better — your child will feel even more at home.

"My favorite thing about home childcare is that it's a homey environment, and my children get lots of attention and hugs," says Phyllis Hodson-Hutsell, a BabyCenter user from Rossville, Indiana. "Plus, our caregiver is located in the same small town where we live, so she's close by, and my daughters will get to know neighborhood kids whom she'll likely know all her life."

Plus, a home daycare is often the least expensive childcare option next to relative care. While some home daycare providers charge as much as centers, that's not the norm.

Finally, most home daycare providers are moms themselves, so you know you're leaving your child with someone familiar with the basics of baby and child care and who probably has a healthy dose of the mothering instinct. Of course, you and your provider may differ on some childrearing issues, but as long as you find someone with whom you share basic care philosophies, the "mom" factor can be a definite advantage.