Types of Daycare: How to Choose Child Care

Parents searching for child care face a crowded landscape of options: nannies, family child care homes, dedicated centers, preschool programs, and pre-kindergarten classrooms. Each setting differs in cost, group size, daily structure, and how much early learning is built into the day. This guide breaks down the difference between daycare types so you can match the right arrangement to your child’s age, your work schedule, and your family’s priorities.

Key Takeaways

Child care options differ in cost, setting, group size, and learning style. Here is a quick comparison of the three main categories:

In-home care (nannies, au pairs, relatives): A caregiver comes to your home. Maximum flexibility and one-on-one attention, but the highest per-child cost and no built-in peer group.
Family child care homes: A provider cares for a small, mixed-age group in their own residence. Lower cost than centers, a cozy environment, and often more flexible hours.
Licensed center-based daycare: A dedicated facility with multiple classrooms, structured preschool programs, state-mandated staff-to-child ratios, and predictable routines designed around early childhood education.

“Day care” and “child care” are often used interchangeably, but the settings behind those labels vary widely in licensing, staffing, curriculum, and price. High-quality care in any setting supports healthy development; the adult-child relationship and daily experiences matter most.

Pick a daycare option based on your child’s age, work schedule, and your preference for structure or flexibility. Mary Margaret Daycare and Learning Center offers center-based child care and preschool programs for children 6 weeks through 12 years across nine St. Louis locations.

Understanding the Term “Day Care” vs. “Child Care”

“Day care” is the older term. For decades, it described any arrangement where someone else watched your kids during working hours. “Child care” carries a broader meaning: it includes supervision, safety, and early learning under one roof.

Many parents still say “day care” out of habit, picturing basic supervision. Modern child care programs combine nurturing, safety protocols, and structured early education into daily routines.
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), through its Office of Childhood, uses the terms “child care” and “early learning center” in licensing materials. Professional organizations across America have followed the same shift.
This article uses both terms. The focus is on helping families compare actual program types, not labels.

Major Types of Daycare: Quick Comparison

Before diving into each option, here is a top-level overview of the main categories:

In-home care (nanny, au pair, relative): The caregiver works in your home. Very personalized, flexible scheduling, usually unlicensed in Missouri for one-on-one arrangements.
Family child care home: A provider runs a small program in their own residence, typically serving mixed-age groups. Often licensed by the state, more affordable than centers.
Center-based child care / day cares: Dedicated buildings with multiple classrooms, credentialed teachers, and state-regulated ratios. Structured daily schedules with group activities.
School-linked pre kindergarten or preschool programs: Often half day, aligned to local school district standards, with a strong focus on early education and kindergarten readiness.

The sections below explain the pros, cons, and real-world tradeoffs of each option, with specific guidance for St. Louis families.

Daycare in the Child’s Home (Nannies, Au Pairs, and Relatives)

In-home daycare involves a caregiver coming directly to the family’s home to care for their children. This arrangement is most common for infants and for parents with nontraditional work hours who need flexible scheduling.

Typical caregivers include a professional nanny, a live-in au pair, a grandparent, or other family members. Arrangements are usually private contracts negotiated between the family and the caregiver. Babcoops and shared nanny arrangements, where two or more families share a nanny, are another variation that splits cost.
In-home care typically has no required licensing or background checks under Missouri law. The state does not regulate one-on-one caregivers working in a child’s own home. Parents must handle reference checks, safety screening, and any written agreements themselves.
Nannies and au pairs provide in-home, personalized care, offering maximum flexibility and individualized attention. Children stay in a familiar environment, siblings can be cared for together, and schedules can adapt to a parent’s shift changes. Nannies often provide care for sick children, unlike daycare centers, which generally exclude children with fevers or contagious illness.
Challenges: in-home care is the most expensive childcare option on a per-child basis. There is no built-in peer group for socialization, less external oversight, and possible gaps in structured early learning curriculum unless the caregiver follows a deliberate plan.
Many St. Louis families combine nanny care for infants with later enrollment in a preschool program at a center once the child reaches age 2 or 3. This gives young children one-on-one attention in the earliest months and peer interaction when they are developmentally ready.

In-home care can be more personalized than daycare services, but that personalization depends entirely on the caregiver’s effort and skills.

Family Child Care in the Provider’s Home

Family daycare is run out of the provider’s own private home. A single caregiver (sometimes with an assistant) watches a small group of children in a residential setting, creating a home-like atmosphere that many families find appealing.

In Missouri, a provider caring for more than four unrelated children must meet licensing or registration requirements. A license is required for seven or more children, or more than three children under age two. Family daycare is typically licensed and inspected by state or local agencies, with rules scaled for residential settings. You can review types of child care and their thresholds through Missouri Child Care Aware.
Family daycare typically offers a lower cost than large centers and a cozy, flexible environment. Hours sometimes extend into early mornings, evenings, or weekends, which helps working parents on rotating shifts.
Family child care providers often care for mixed-age groups. The educational experience is more informal than a center, but many providers incorporate circle time, early learning activities, stories, songs, and simple preschool activities into the day.
Potential drawbacks: fewer staff means no backup if the provider is sick, and quality varies widely from one home to another. Some homes have rich curricula; others offer little structured learning.
Parents evaluating a family child care home should ask about daily routines, outdoor activities, meal plans, and emergency procedures. Request to see the space where children learn, eat, and nap.

Center-Based Child Care and Day Care Centers

Center-based daycare is a commercial facility dedicated entirely to child care. These programs operate in dedicated buildings with multiple classrooms organized by age group, staffed by teams of teachers and assistants.

Childcare centers must follow state licensing requirements. In Missouri, that means inspections, background checks for all staff, health and safety standards, and published staff-to-child ratios. Daycare centers are heavily regulated and required to meet rigorous health and staff credential codes.
Staff-to-child ratios vary by state regulations. Under Missouri’s rules (5 CSR 25-500.112), the ratio for infants birth through 36 months is 1 adult per 4 children, with a maximum group size of 8. For ages 3 to 4, the ratio is 1:10 with a maximum group of 20. In the US, 1:4 is the standard ratio for infants in daycare. Childcare facilities must meet local licensing requirements in addition to state rules.
A typical daily schedule includes blocks for free play, group activities, outdoor time, meals, rest, and structured early learning. Daycare centers generally feature larger group sizes and structured daily schedules with group activities.
Staffing includes directors, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and support staff. Childcare facilities in the US are predominantly female (95%). Staff hold varying levels of early childhood education training, depending on state requirements and center standards.
Benefits for working parents: reliable, consistent hours (often 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays), socialization with other children, strong preschool program options, and predictable routines that support children’s sense of security.
Considerations: daycare centers usually have larger child-to-caregiver ratios than in-home care. Hours are fixed, closing times are firm, and families must plan around center holiday schedules.

Daycare centers provide a standardized and regulated system of care that many parents value for its accountability.

How Daycare Centers Support Early Learning

Modern child care centers function as early childhood education environments, not as passive supervision. The distinction between a center that teaches and one that merely watches children comes down to curriculum, teacher training, and daily practice.

Higher quality centers plan age-appropriate activities that build language, early math, motor skills, and problem-solving through play. Children learn through hands-on exploration: sorting buttons by color, building with blocks, acting out stories, painting, and singing.
Responsive adult-child interaction is the engine of early learning. Teachers who talk, sing, read, and play with children throughout the day stimulate brain development in ways that passive screen time or unstructured waiting cannot.
Quality childcare is linked to better cognitive development. Research published in JAMA Pediatrics found that children in rich early learning settings often show stronger vocabulary, social skills, and kindergarten readiness, with the effect most pronounced for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Quality matters more than label. A strong child care center has a clear curriculum, positive teacher-child relationships, safe and engaging classrooms, and visible lesson plans. A weak one may call itself a “learning center” while offering little beyond free play and television.

Mary Margaret’s Approach to Child Care and Early Learning

Mary Margaret Daycare and Learning Center has operated as a center-based child care provider in the St. Louis Metropolitan area since 1988. The mission statement is simple: fun balanced with education.

Nine locations serve children from 6 weeks through 12 years old. Programs include infant care, toddler care, a preschool program, before and after school care, and summer programs with field trips.
The approach centers on whole-child development: social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth supported through hands-on activities, movement, exploration, and play based learning.
Consistent routines and structured growth carry children from infancy through school age, helping them transition smoothly between stages. A child who starts in the infant room at 8 weeks can continue through preschool and into before and after school care without changing programs.
Mary Margaret holds Missouri Accredited Program status, which requires meeting standards above baseline licensing in areas such as environment quality, staff qualifications, and program outcomes.

Program Types by Age: From Infants to School-Age

Different ages need different kinds of care, even within the same center-based daycare setting. Here is what developmentally matters at each stage:

Infants (around 6 weeks to 12 months): Emphasis on secure attachment, responsive feeding, consistent sleep routines, and sensory exploration. Calm, safe classrooms with low ratios (1 adult per 4 infants in Missouri) allow caregivers to respond quickly.
Toddlers (1 to 2 years): Rapid language bursts, increased mobility, simple routines, and cooperative play. Toddlers need plenty of time for active exploration, and environments should support safe climbing, crawling, and walking distance activities.
Preschool (roughly ages 3 to 4): More structured circle times, learning centers, and early education activities that build pre-reading and pre-math skills. Most children at this age are ready for small group projects, storytelling, and creative art.
Pre-K (older 4s and young 5s): Increased emphasis on kindergarten readiness, including following multi-step directions, early literacy and numeracy, and group problem-solving. Pre kindergarten classrooms bridge the gap between play and formal school.
School-age before and after school care (5 to 12 years): Homework support, enrichment activities, outdoor activities, and social time in a safe environment during parents’ working hours. Summer programs keep kids engaged when school is out.

Daycare vs. Preschool Program vs. Pre-K

Many parents hear “day care,” “preschool,” and “pre-K” and assume they mean different things. Sometimes they do; sometimes they overlap.

“Day care” is a broad term for full-day supervision and care for children, often from infancy through preschool age. It describes the schedule (all day) more than the content.
A preschool program is a structured early learning environment for roughly ages 2½ to 4. Preschool typically serves children aged 2½ to 4 years old. Preschool focuses on play based exploration and social skills. Preschool often offers more flexible scheduling than Pre-K, including half day options.
Pre-K is designed for children aged 4 to 5 years old. Pre-K emphasizes early academics and school readiness: letter recognition, counting, writing their name, sitting for longer group instruction. Pre-K usually mirrors a school schedule to prepare for kindergarten.
Mary Margaret integrates preschool and pre-K style learning into a full-day child care schedule, so families do not have to choose between care and education. Many preschools across St. Louis offer similar integration, but the key question is whether the program delivers on its curriculum or treats the school label as decoration.

Comparing Daily Routines in Different Daycare Settings

A child’s daily rhythm looks and feels different depending on whether they are with a nanny, in a family child care home, or at a center.

In-home care day: Flexible meal and nap timing, one-on-one or sibling play, outings to neighborhood parks or local attractions like the City Museum. The caregiver adapts the day to the child’s pace.
Family child care home routine: Shared meals at a family table, mixed-age play where older kids help younger ones, naps in shared rooms, and more spontaneous transitions. The environment resembles a household, which helps many children feel comfortable.
Center-based child care routine: A clearly posted schedule with set times for drop-off, circle time, learning centers, outdoor play, lunch, quiet time, and pickup. The structure repeats daily, which helps young children thrive on predictability.

Regardless of which type of day care you choose, look for balance: predictable structure plus time for child-led play and discovery. A rigid schedule with no room for curiosity is just as limiting as an unstructured day with no learning goals.

Socialization, Behavior, and Child Development Outcomes

Parents often wonder how different kinds of care affect behavior, social development, and long-term outcomes. The research is nuanced.

Group settings like day cares and family child care homes give children daily practice in sharing, turn-taking, and conflict resolution with other children. These social skills develop through repeated real-world encounters, not worksheets.
Children in high-quality centers often develop strong communication skills with both peers and adults because they interact with multiple people throughout the day. They grow socially in ways that are harder to replicate in one-on-one settings.
Research from Bradley and Vandell (2007) found that attending care for 30 or more hours per week starting very early may increase risk of behavior challenges, particularly if the parent-child relationship at home is not strong. This finding reinforces the importance of program quality and the effort parents put into the relationship outside of care hours.
Supportive caregivers, small group sizes, and consistent routines are key protective factors in any setting. A warm, responsive teacher in a family child care home can produce outcomes as strong as a credentialed teacher in a center, if the daily experiences are rich and intentional.

Health, Safety, and Illness in Daycare Settings

Safety and illness are practical concerns when comparing home-based care with center-based programs. No arrangement eliminates all risk, but understanding the tradeoffs helps parents plan.

Group settings, especially larger centers, mean more exposure to common infections like colds, stomach bugs, and hand-foot-mouth disease. Research in JAMA Pediatrics found that larger groups correlated with more ear infections and communicable illness, though these effects do not typically lead to long-term harm.
Licensed centers follow handwashing schedules, toy sanitation procedures, illness exclusion policies, and staff training in first aid and CPR. Childcare regulations often mandate background checks for staff, and some jurisdictions require CPR and first aid training for caregivers. In Missouri, all staff must pass fingerprint-based background screening and register with the Family Care Safety Registry.
Smaller family child care homes or in-home caregivers may see fewer illnesses due to smaller groups, but they also vary more in written health policies. Nannies may provide care for sick children, unlike nurseries and centers, which typically send children home with fevers.
Ask any provider about medication policies, emergency plans, and how they communicate about illness outbreaks.

Cost, Schedules, and Flexibility for Working Families

Budget and work schedules drive child care decisions as often as philosophy or curriculum. Here is how costs and logistics break down.

In-home nannies are usually the most expensive per child. Center-based care varies by age: data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve puts Missouri’s average infant care cost at about $13,600 per year, toddler care at roughly $7,400, and preschool-age care around $6,600. The national average for center-based care was about $9,200 per year in 2023. Family child care homes tend to charge less than centers across all age groups.
Centers typically offer consistent full-day hours on weekdays, often 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Family homes and nannies may offer earlier, later, or weekend care by agreement, which benefits working parents on nonstandard shifts.
Some centers, including Mary Margaret, provide before and after school care and summer programs, reducing the need for separate arrangements as children grow. This continuity matters for families who do not want to cobble together three different providers across age groups.
Factor in hidden costs: transportation time to a distant center, backup care when a home provider is sick, and whether your employer’s schedule aligns with the program’s hours.

Choosing a Daycare in the St. Louis Area

St. Louis families have access to a wide range of child care settings, from small home providers in south city neighborhoods to large centers near major employment hubs.

Consider your commute. If you work near the downtown area, the Gateway Arch, Union Station, or Clayton, a center along your route saves time. Proximity to Forest Park, the Louis Cathedral area, or Cortex Innovation Community can also factor into the decision for families who want drop-off on the way to work.
Tour several types of programs. Visit both a family child care home and a center-based program. See which environment feels right for your child’s temperament and your family’s needs. The society of parenting advice will tell you there is one right answer; there is not.
Mary Margaret has nine accessible locations across the St. Louis Metropolitan area, making it easier to find a center near home or work. Multiple locations also help if parents change jobs or move within the metro.
Check state licensing records through Missouri’s DESE Office of Childhood, read reviews, and talk to other local families. The department that oversees licensing publishes inspection reports and compliance histories.

What to Look for on a Daycare Tour

Seeing a program in action is the best way to understand the differences between daycare options. Websites and brochures show the ideal; a tour shows the reality.

Environment cues: Clean, safe, and welcoming classrooms. Secure entrances that require a code or buzzer. Age-appropriate materials: books, art supplies, blocks, puzzles, and outdoor play equipment.
Teacher interactions: Watch how teachers greet children. Do they get down on the child’s level? Do they use positive guidance? Are they engaged in frequent conversation and play, or standing by the wall scrolling their phones?
Questions to ask: What is the curriculum? How do you handle behavior guidance? How much outdoor time do kids get daily? How do you support transitions like potty training or moving to a new classroom? What are teachers’ qualifications?
Mary Margaret invites families to schedule a tour through its website so they can see classrooms, playgrounds, and routines firsthand. Most parents find that a 30-minute visit reveals more than hours of online research.

How Mary Margaret Daycare Fits Into Your Child’s Learning Journey

Mary Margaret’s centers bridge the gap between home, daycare, preschool, and elementary school by offering continuous enrollment from 6 weeks through 12 years old.

Infants and toddlers start with nurturing care and simple routines that build trust and secure attachment. The infant rooms maintain Missouri’s 1:4 ratio, keeping groups small enough for caregivers to respond to each baby’s cues.
The preschool program layers in more structured early learning: stories, songs, art, and early math. Play remains central, and children learn through hands-on discovery rather than worksheets.
Before and after school care for children up to 12 years old provides stability, homework help, and enrichment long after kindergarten starts. Summer programs include field trips to places in and around St. Louis, keeping kids active and engaged.
Parents interested in seeing how the program fits their family can contact Mary Margaret or schedule a tour online. The programs complement any earlier home or family child care arrangement a child may have experienced.

Frequently Asked Questions About Daycare Options

These FAQs address common questions about timing, logistics, and quality that are not fully covered in the sections above.

At what age should my child start day care or a preschool program?

Many St. Louis families begin center-based child care between 3 and 6 months, when parental leave ends. Others wait until age 2½ or 3 to start a preschool program. Readiness depends on family needs, child temperament, and available support at home. There is no single perfect age. What matters is that the care setting you choose is high quality and responsive to your child.

Can my child switch from a nanny or family child care home into a center-based program later?

Many children begin in in-home care as infants and transition to a center-based preschool or pre-K around ages 3 or 4 with excellent outcomes. To ease the transition, visit the new classroom together before the start date, begin with shorter days, and maintain predictable routines at home. Most children adjust within a few weeks when the new environment is warm and consistent.

How do I know if a daycare is focusing enough on early learning and not just babysitting?

Look for lesson plans posted in classrooms, daily activities that include language, music, art, and early math, and teachers who can explain learning goals in plain language. Ask how the program supports social-emotional skills like sharing, empathy, and problem-solving. If the answer is vague or defaults to “we just let them play,” dig deeper. Play based learning is valuable, but it should be intentional, not accidental.

What if my work schedule does not match typical daycare hours?

Families with early, late, or rotating shifts may combine solutions: a center like Mary Margaret during core hours and a family member or home provider for early mornings or evenings. Ask about extended hours, before and after school programs, and summer options when touring centers. Some family child care homes offer evening or weekend care by arrangement, which no center in the community typically provides.

How can I visit Mary Margaret Daycare and Learning Center to see if it is right for my family?

Families can schedule a tour online through the Mary Margaret website or call the nearest St. Louis location to arrange a visit. Come with questions about classrooms for your child’s age, daily routines, meals, outdoor time, and how the center supports individual needs. Seeing the rooms, meeting the teachers, and watching kids in action is the best way to decide if the program fits.