Pros and Cons of Daycare and Having a Nanny

A.,
There is many different kinds of childcare arrangements out there you just have to know what you want and what your looking for. For instance a Daycare center has 12 children in a classroom setting with 2 teachers and the germs spread quicker and linger longer the Center could be the cleanest around and still the spread of germs is higher because of more children in one area. Then there is a babysitter who comes to your home. Then there is a friend/family member who will agree to watch your children when you work. Then there is Daycare Family Home Care. This kind of care is limited up to 6 children at one time and for illnesses they are kept to a minimum do to smaller group of children. The children get to still play with friends and healthier at the same time. This type of care is hard to find because they do not advertise much in papers but they are out there.
Good luck,
Kim in Ridley

My son is 2 years old and has been going to part-time daycare (2 TO 3 days/week) since he was an infant. The first year or so was really tough with colds, ear infections, and even a bout with pneumonia. Just like you I missed a lot of work, my mother too pitched in and missed a lot of work, so did my husband. He constantly had a cold through the fall and winter months, it seemed like he never was without a runny nose and cough. I spoke to my pediatrician about it because I was concerned that it would never end and I was doing more harm than good. She said that by the time he turned 2 it would get better and by the time he was in school he would be one of the kids that never gets sick. So far she has been right. This past fall and winter were much better with the colds although we did have to deal with GI bugs twice.

My best advice is to try and stick it out. Colds are definately a pain but the socialization and learning situations are definately a PRO to daycare. I realized at one point that I often thought my son felt worse than he actually did. As long as he is fever free, he goes to daycare and I have never had to go get him because he was too sick. Our daycare will call if they feel that they are sick and should be home, and if they have a fever, diarrhea or are vomiting they don't want them to expose the other kids to it, and send them home and want them fever free or diarrhea/vomit free for 24 hours before returning. Does you center have such a policy? If it doesn't maybe switching to a center that does will help decrease their exposure since the center is being proactive about contagious kids. BTW I have a few other Mom friends who's kids are sick as often as my son and they are stay at home kids. Realistically, germs are everywhere and eventually they all get them. Good luck with whatever decision you make. I know how hard it is to have them sick and stress about missing work and just want them feeling well.

I send my son to Daycare and he gets sick a little more then when he wasnt in it. But I look at the good side of it. If he was just to stay at home with his pappy he wouldnt get to be around children his age and learn from them. I know with them getting sick its hard. But I feel if I let him stay home and not be around kid his age that Im taking away from him in away. Look at it this way you as mom need to get away from the kid world some time and be around someone who can relate to you on your level. That is the same with kids. Your children need to be around children their age to learn and most of all help them understand that mom and dad arent the only people in the world. Im not saying it to be mean but sometimes even your kids need a break from you. I look at it as his "freedom". Its time where he can do things with other kids.
I hope I helped a little.
-Brittany-

Hi A.,

I am so glad that I came across your post as I am in a similar situation. My daughter, 19 months, has been constantly falling sick since she started day care and both my husband and I have just started new jobs and have no family or support system. Her sickness has started to do havoc to our work life and we keep asking everyone how long before she stops falling sick and have been seriously considering alternate arrangements. Since I saw all the responses to your post I think I am gonna try to stick out a little bit longer and see if summer makes her situation better and by winter she gains immunity against these illnesses. Currently she is taking her 4th round of antibiotic for ear infections within a span of two months. Never thought having a career could be so hard!

Take Care and hope your situation improves a lot in the near future....
M.

Have you considered a family childcare situation? Having someone watch them in their home with less children around. I see your in Wexford, PA- Do you have a childcare referral agency in your area that you could call and get some referrals? Or perhaps, Craigslist- you might be able to find someone near you through them.

Best of luck!

We went through the same thing. My daughter started a daycare center at 18 months old and was sick from November through April- almost without a break. It was so hard that I felt like I might actually be going insane. I felt like I was paying for daycare- only to keep her home- we 'wasted' a ton of money last year. I took a million days off, my husband had just started a new job so he couldn't take any time off, my mom took a million days off -jeopardized her job- it was AWFUL. I was CONSTANTLY worried about my daughter and probably lousy at work because of it. I couldn't imagine that her being so sick was just regular daycare stuff. I felt guilty too because what kind of mom does that to her kid- isn't it my job to keep her healthy????

Once the weather got better and she got more and more adjusted to the 'bugs' at school, she got healthier and stayed that way. I'm a teacher so she was off with me over the summer and since she went back to school in September, SHE HASN'T BEEN SICK AT ALL- once she had strep throat- but that was over Christmas break and it was my mom's fault! That first set of illnesses at daycare is enough to make you want to chew through lead, but once it's over, these kids are HEALTHY! The advice that I got that helped me the most was 'don't you want her to miss school when she's this little and not when she's learning how to read or do math'. That's a no-brainer for me, I'd much rather have her miss the daycare time and not the academic time like she would if she didn't go through this until kindergarten.

Hope some of this helps. We stuck it out and it was a great decision for us.

Take care-
C.

Hi A.,
I can understand your delema in more ways then one! I am a single mom with 3 boys. I have been a private agency Nanny for years now and maybe I can help you on that end. I do understand that Nannies can be scary! Remember, after all, I am also a mother myself! When I had my first son 10 years ago I had a very hard time leaving him with anyone so In my case I ended up taking him to work with me. If you are curious about what having a Nanny might be like do some research. There are Nanny Placement Services all over. It is definatly a more expensive alternative to child care but many families love it. If you go through an agency they provide fully screened and drug tested Nannies. Now of course we all know that this is still not fool proof but in many ways neither is daycare. When I was straight out of high school I worked in a chain daycare center and I was far from impressed with this place. An agency provides you with Nannies to interview in your home and you can hire who you feel may fit in with your family the best. With most agencies there is a grace period for the Nanny and the family to decide if its a good match. If its not the agency will continue to work with you. Dont be afraid to use a Nanny cam!!! When I have interviewed with families to work for I have told them right from the start to feel free to put a cam up in any room! I tell them that I know they will not be disappointed! I take pride in my job and I adore the kids. I am treated like family which is important to me. I would be more than happy to answer any questions about Nannies if you would like! Good luck with whatever you choose!
K.