Experiences with home daycare?

Hi everyone! My son is 5 months and I plan on going back to work when he’s 1.

As we all know, waitlists for daycare centres are ridiculous. All places I’ve called said the wait is 2-3 years. I’m open to home daycare but it’d have to be with someone who I really trust. Some of my concerns are screen time, other people having access to the house and emergency exits.

Many of the home daycares that I’ve seen on Facebook are in dark basements and they don’t seem to have proper fire exits. About screen time—I know how easy it is to just plop kids in front of the tv. And how am I supposed to know that the provider doesn’t do this even if they say they don’t during the interview? My main concern is that you really don’t know what goes on behind doors whereas at least there’s more transparency and accountability with daycare centres. However I’ve heard that home daycare is amazing if you find someone who you trust.

I would love to hear your experiences with home day care. Also, how often does/did your child get sick in home daycare?