Does anyone know how many day care providers there should be for eight children under six?

Question

my six month old attends a home day care where there are eight children under the age of six two of which are infants originally there were two day care providers but recently i have noticed that one of the women have not seemed to be there while the children are there leaving them in the care of one women my daughter has not returned since i found this out because i do not feel she will be geting the care she needs as an infant and my question is how many day care providers does there need to be for eight children under six?

Answer 1

For that mix of ages, that is way too many kids for one person. At my daughter's daycare, it was 4:1 for 0-1 years, 6:1 for 1-2 years and 8:1 for 2-3 years.

Answer 2

8 children under age 6 with two infants, there should be at LEAST 2 people present at all times.

It would take one person just to care for the two infants and the other person to mind the older children.

I'd prefer that there be 3 adults, though.  1 adult to care for the babies and 2 adults for the other 6 kids, 1 adult per three kids.

Answer 3

My son also goes to a home daycare provider, and she is allowed 7 children and only 2 can be under the age of 18 months. She only has 4 children though.

Answer 4

When you are watching infants and toddlers (under 2 yrs) there needs to be one teacher for 4 infants.  With a mixed age group it's hard to say unless I know the exact ages but heres the breakdown

birth to 2 = .250

2 yrs = can't remember exactly but somewhere around .150

3 yrs = .100

4 yrs = .077

5 yrs = .059

6 and up = .056

Each child is worth what their age says then add it up.  When it equals 1.00 that means you only need one teacher anything more than that and you need another teacher.

Answer 5

If this is a licensed day care home then you will want to check with your state's licensing board for the correct answer.  Every state sets their own rules and regulations for child care so each state is different.  I have been a licensed child care provider in my home in Michigan for almost 21 years.  I am considered a Family Child Care Home and my license allows me to care for up to 6 children at any one time of which only 2 may be under the age of 18 months.  You can also be a Group Child Care Home and be licensed to care for up to 12 children, but if more than 6 are present, you must have a second care giver present.  State licensing rules (at least Michigan's) can be found on line.  In Michigan I am required to give every family a copy of the state's rule book.  I suggest that you first obtain the rules of your state and if your care provider is in violation, then I would speak with her about your concern that she is 1) not following the state's guidelines and 2) you are not comfortable leaving your daughter when she is the only one present as you feel her care will be compromised.  If you feel she is not willing to work with you on this issue then I would contact your local licensing bureau (look under government headings in your phone book under your county for Department of Human Services) and file a complaint if she is not following the rules.  If your care provider is not licensed and your state doesn't require a license or registration than you may have no other recourse than to pull your child with or without an explanation and find a more suitable care enviornment.  In Michigan, anyone who regularly cares for any unrelated children in their home must be licensed.  There are, however, numerous unlicensed homes regardless of this rule.  Some don't know and some just don't care.  The licensing bureau is short of funding and short-staffed so it makes it hard for them to track down all homes and make sure they are compliant with the rules.  It seems like "snitching", but parents and other care providers should be helping keep all children safe by making sure every care providers follows the rules and regulations.  In most cases, if a Child Care home receives a viloation they simply are given a time frame to put a course of action plan in place.  Unless there are numerous infractions or they won't comply then it won't affect their license.  ADDED:  I noticed that several people were quoting adult to child ratios for child care "centers".  It is important to note that ratios in centers are formulated differently than the ratios for a home base child care.  In centers there are always several staff members present in the building as well as usually a director or co-director.  Additionally, most centers do not offer mixed age rooms (some do), but nearly all child care homes care for mixed ages.  Ratios for home child care are not the same as ratios for child care centers.

Answer 6

from watching daddy day care...i know that the usual rule of thumb is that you need one day acre provider for every four children.

hope that helps xD

Answer 7

DEPENDS ON YOUR STATE LAW, OHIO STATE LAW FOR DAY CARE CENTERS SAYS YOU CAN HAVE 8 CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 2-4 TO ONE PROVIDER. IN THE INFANT ROOM YOU CAN HAVE NO MORE THAN 6 INFANTS TO ONE PROVIDER AND THE PRE-KINDERGARTEN YOU CAN HAVE 12 CHILDREN TO 1 PROVIDER!

Answer 8

I have worked in a couple of day care centers. There should definitely be two people in charge for that amount of children that young.

Answer 9

it depends on the state/country you are in. In Ohio, one person can care for 5 children below school age + 3 above school age at a time. So there could be 8 kids at a time, but 3 of them would have to be school age.

I would approach your child care provider about it. You were right about pulling her out. Talk to the person and see what happened, and you may want to consider turning her in for the safety of the children.

Answer 10

No way. There is a child/staff ratio. In Australia is 1/5 under 3 and 1/15 aged 3+

There is no way that someone on their own could possibly care for 8 children under 2.

8 children under 6, has to be 2 staff

Answer 11

I live in Massachusetts.  I think the law varies from state to state.  I know here for a home day care one provider can have up to six children including her own under the age of twelve two of whom must be eighteen months and walking.  She can have other children whom are school age as well.  For a day care center the ratio is lower.  I am infant toddler teacher certified.  The ratio for the infant room is one teacher to three babies or two teachers to seven.  In the toddler room it is one teacher to four or two teachers to nine children.  Google your state laws to see what the laws are in your state.  

Answer 12

I used to be a lead teacher in one of our local day cares working with toddlers and infants. And our rule was one teacher for every 4 children....

however we tried to make it 1 teacher for every 3 in the infant rooms....

you'll notice at the better certified day cares they are always well staffed!

What your home daycare is doing might be against your states regulations. You can report them and the state will come in and do an evaluation to make sure everything is up to code!

Answer 13

Definitely at least two. More would be even better. Can you imagine caring for eight children at once? When they're under six they can be really difficult, and you're making a smart move by pulling your daughter out. Some mothers have many children, but they've probably put some in a day care or had someone help take care of them. One woman just isn't enough to fully provide care for eight young kids like that.

Answer 14

It varies depending on where you live. Here in Maryland it is 1 adult per 2 children under 2. My daughter goes to an in home daycare and her provider told me shes allowed to have a total of 2 infants under 2 yrs and 6 over the age of 2 at the same time which would equal a total of 8 kids to one provider.

Her provider never has that many though because she says its too much too handle. She does activities and field trips with the kids too. She usually has 1 infant or sometimes none and 5-6 over the age 2. She prefers not to have infants and doesn't take any unless someone who has kids already in her daycare has a baby.

Answer 15

It depends on age and state ratios.  I worked in a center and it was broken down like this:

Children 6 weeks to 12 months - 1:4

1-2 years - 1:7

2-3 years - 1:12

and I honestly don't know how many more, but the number did increase until it was somewhere around 1:20 for the 5-6 year olds.  There was a formula you used to see how many kids you could have of various ages.

Home daycares aren't required to follow these ratios unless they are state licensed (you can easily find this out).  Either way, if you're uncomfortable, maybe it's time to find a new place for your baby.  Good Luck

Answer 16

It depends where you are but in Canada, 1 day care provider can sit only 6 children under 5. There can't be more. For 2 providers, the number goes up to 9.