Good things about daycare -
*He will get to be around other kids his age.
*I think being around other kids will help greatly with his speech.
*It will probably help him with his eating too since he'll be able to watch others his age feed themselves, without cramming their mouths full and choking!
*It will make things much easier on him when he actually has to start going to school since he will already be use to it.
I'm sure there are "bad" things too, but I'm going to try not to focus on them!
So Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are all available. Right now I'm thinking of all day Tuesday and a half day Thursday. My mom could pick him up on Thursday and take him home with her and he could still spend the night and stay all day Friday with her like he does now. I'm also thinking of starting him out with just half days on Tuesdays too.
It's not like I need daycare. I have plenty of family that can watch him. It's a big step and I have to decide by Thursday -- yikes!! Any advice???
Have I mentioned how hard it is to get a good picture of Drew lately? He is always on the move. Here are the results from tonight's attempt at a photo session:
4 comments:
You are right about he positives and negatives about daycare. He will get sick more often, but this will also build his immune system. He will develop social skills being around other kids. There will be some hitting and biting, it is inevitable, but he will learn to deal with it. If you wait until it is time for school to send him, he will be at a disadvantage. It might be scary to think about him realizing you aren't there, but trust me, that may happen the first few times, but they get distracted and get into playing and don't even notice until you come pick them up! So that's my opinion on the situation. I am assuming he is on one nap now too? Half days might be good if he is a particular sleeper. I know Natey didn't sleep when I had him in big daycare. He goes to a home daycare now with 3 other kids.
Such a hard choice, my mom and MIL kept Amelia until she was 3 and then she went to Church preschool 2 half days a week. It taught her how to share, be around other kids and be away from one of us. She did fine, in fact she was probably ahead of the other kids b/c she had "school" with my mom.
Good luck:)
We had the same problem when I returned to work a few years ago in GA. The childcare places I wanted to send the kiddos had waiting lists out the whazoo and the other places were just down right scary. We ended getting into one place that I thought I would be happy with, just to be very dissatisfied within a few months. A lady in our Sunday school class ended up watching the kids until Broderick went to school and then she took Adalynn after she was born. It was great and everyone was much healthier and happier.
There will be plenty of time for socializing. When he is preschool age there will be tons of options for 1/2 day part time preschool. Needless to say, my vote (even after working in childcare for 8 years myself) is leave him at home or with family members.
Good luck with your decision though. I know from personal experience that it is a tough one.
Best advice I can think of: If something doesn't feel right about the day care address the problem right away. Ask questions if you think there's something up. Ask about cleaning (I cleaned the baby room where I worked in really well on Fridays, but sprayed it down with disinfectant every night), when kids get sent home sick (oh, the horror stories!), and talk to his teachers as much as you can. I always liked parents I could talk to and it made me feel more bonded with their children as well. Kids did have a lot of fun at "school" and there are lots of benefits as well.
I hope I didn't offend you with the vaccine things. That lady was just being ridiculous! I'll check that article out.
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