Potential Advantages

• Staff has experience and education in early childhood/group care.
  
• A sufficient number of adults are available for supervision and individual attention.
  
• Child care centers are usually open year round, and the availability of care is not impacted by teacher vacations and illnesses.
  
• Your child will be with others the same age and will have activities selected that are appropriate for that age group.
  
• Centers are usually in spaces specifically adapted or designed for child care.
  
• Parents have access to a community of other parents and to professional advice.

• Centers usually cannot accommodate parents' needs for early, late, or flexible schedules.
  
• Most centers cannot accommodate sick children.
  
• Some children, especially if under three, are not ready to be with a larger group of children.
  
• Nursery schools usually do not operate for a full day, and they tend to follow the school year, closing for school vacations, holidays, and the summer months.
  
• Availability may be limited at certain times of the year, or for particular ages.
  
• Costs, especially for infants, are generally high.
  

Potential Advantages

• Family child care for infants and toddlers typically costs somewhat less than other types of care.
• Providers are often more flexible in scheduling the hours of care.
• Family child care openings are more often available in the middle of the year, and on shorter notice, than center openings.
• Licensed providers are easily located using listings from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.
• Providers are often more flexible in accommodating mildly ill children in their care.
• Family child care is easier to evaluate than in-home child care, where parents generally must rely on interviews and recommendations alone.
• The same caregiver cares for the children all day and can share complete information with the parent.
• The parent-provider relationship is often more like family, individualized and close.
• A licensed provider is required to have current certification in infant and child first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Potential Disadvantages

• Family child care providers generally have less formal training than child care center staff and thus may have less understanding of how to support learning and development.
• Although some do, family child care providers generally do not work with assistants, and may therefore be alone with children for some or all of the day. However, some do have full or part time assistants.
• The social network for parents is smaller in family child care, and there are generally few parent programs and events.
• Because the parent-provider relationship is often one to one and more like family, conflicts can sometimes feel harder to resolve.
• If the provider is ill, has an emergency, or suddenly goes out of business, parents may need to quickly find alternative child care unless the provider has an assistant or other backup.

Potential Advantages

• You can find caregivers to work extended or non-standard hours that might be difficult to cover using other forms of care.
• All of the children in your family can be cared for in the same place at the same time.
• There is no need to transport your child.
• It can minimize your child's exposure to colds, viruses, and other illnesses.
• Your childs surroundings will be familiar.
• If you have several children, in-home care may be a more economical choice.
• The parent, as the employer, has the opportunity to determine much of the routine.

• In-home providers are unlicensed. There is no single state agency to which you can appeal for confirmation of a caregiver's claims or reputation.
• A caregiver and child can feel isolated being home all day with only each other. You may need to help the caregiver make arrangements to be with other children and caregivers occasionally.
• Screening candidates can be challenging; the applicant pool is often extremely mixed, interview impressions may be misleading, and background data may be hard to verify.
• Once found, a provider may suddenly become ill or move away, forcing you to begin again the search for care.
• Live-in care may involve some restrictions on your space and privacy.
• It can be difficult to monitor the activities that go on in your home in your absence.
• In-home care can be the most costly, live-in or live-out, with the exception of au pair services that are designed as supplemental, not primary, child care programs.
• Being an employer generally involves additional responsibilities and costs, including the provision of some benefits and the effort involved in making your provider comfortable in your home.