Let’s talk daycare. My girls will be 3 years and 18 months old next month. They have both been in daycare since they were 12 weeks old. Before my girls daycare was a foreign concept to me, I was never in it and it wasn’t the choice for those closest to me with kids. Instead of trying to cram everything I’ve learned into one GIGANTIC post, I thought a series of posts about major moments I’ve gone through being a daycare mom would be easier to digest.
Once you make the decision to venture down the daycare route there are many things to consider. It’s not only a financial burden but an emotional one as well. Here’s a few things I wish I had known when I started looking…
- START LOOKING…NOW! – After I got pregnant and decided that I would continue working after my daughter was born, I thought about childcare but didn’t start looking until I was five months long. I had no idea how behind I was until I started calling different facilities and they started mentioning waiting lists. Waiting lists for daycare, is this real life? I found out quickly it was and some lists were as long as a year. While it’s not the most exciting part of being pregnant if you are considering a traditional daycare facility I recommend starting to look as soon as you find out you’re pregnant.
- TECHNOLOGY – I saw a variety of facilities, some equipped with cameras in each room that you could view on a large tv in the lobby, some with apps where you could see pictures of your child throughout the day and get real time updates, and some that had very little technology that relied on a handwritten take home sheet with the events of the day. While I liked the idea of the app, it concerned me for several reasons. First, getting constant updates throughout the day would mean someone was inputting those updates. Might that time be better served doing something else? Second, over five or so years this app would have accumulated a lot of data on my child, how would that be handled once we left? Just a few points to consider.
- COST – The cost of daycare is downright shocking. I remember getting pricing and feeling lightheaded. An important question when comparing pricing is to ask if the facility charges weekly or monthly. If it’s weekly keep in mind there are several months throughout the year that are five month weeks. It sounds simple but can be forgotten until you experience your first five week month!
- LOCATION – Some people will tell you to choose a daycare that is close to your work, some will say close to home. It really depends on your situation. The daycare I selected is five minutes from my home. My husband works a 24 hour shift and often does afternoon pick up. Since he’s coming from our house to pick them up it makes sense that the daycare is close to our home. That being said my commute is relatively short and from work I can be at the daycare within 25 minutes.
Choosing a daycare can be really challenging for many reasons. After a 20 minute tour it’s difficult to know if you are making the right choice. I do believe it is a gut feeling, there were a few places we looked at and I immediately knew before the tour was over it was not for us. Then there were a few I toured that were brand new facilities, had a robust curriculum, and an organic chef but they felt a bit cold and sterile. Ultimately the daycare we picked was an older facility, had no app or fancy menu, but gave me a feeling that our child would feel loved. It’s such a personal decision and it’s so important to do what feels best for your family. It can be hard leaving your little one but I really do believe in the benefits of daycare especially the social aspect of your child having the opportunity to interact with others from a young age. Plus the art work is so cute! See picture above. 🙂
Hope you found this first installment helpful! Happy Tuesday!
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