When Should I Put My Child in Daycare?

My daughter has never been to daycare, my son went for around a year. Maybe when baby is a toddler (at least a toddler) the lady watching for you can take to a park?

I am a full time working mom of 1 and have been working full time since my daughter was only 2 weeks old. If the early days she went to a babysitter and it worked out very well. I, like you, began to worry about her social skills, mainly because she's an extremely stubborn child by nature and she wasn't getting any real sharing skills or learning that she can't always have all of the attention. I put her in a daycare/learning facility right before she turned 1. It was hard at first... I had quite a few guilt ridden days as I left her screaming and reaching for me... one day one of the teachers urged me to leave and go into the office (there was a 2 way mirror) so that I could see what happens. Not 2 minutes after I was out of her sight she was smiling and playing and didn't have a care in the world. She's now 3 and loves to go to school. She has 2 "best friends" and learns so many new things that I firmly believe a private babysitter wouldn't have taught her. Daycare is a very individual decision... I for one, swear by it (if you find a good one) and recommend it to any parent that may be concerned about their toddlers social skills. A good daycare is more than just a big empty space where kids run wild...it's more like an early level pre-school... my daughter even comes home with daily progress reports. A lot of parents prefer to wait until their child is more vocal before sending him to a daycare so that if something questionable is going on the baby would be able to tell you.
The biggest thing you need to know is there are pro's and con's to all forms of child care, choose what's right for you and your baby. Good luck!!

I have three children. The older two are in school all day, and my son is being watched by my mother in law. I think one year is too young for daycare, if you have a good, in home sitter. I attempted to put my son (2 1/2) in daycare about a month ago and he hated it! He is now back with grandma! I did have my girls in head start at an early age (4). With them having the head start, pre K, then "real" school, they are both very advanced! There is some advantage to the structure of day care, but personally, I think 1 year old is too young...good luck!

It sounds like you have the perfect set-up, and as long as the caregiver is happy keeping him, then I wouldn't change that. You are blessed! Many mothers would give anything to have a similar situation and be able to avoid a daycare setting. What's the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" :-)

my daughter started daycare at 2 years old and was fine. It's all a very personal decision. Neither is bad, per-say. There are benefits to both. You just have to sit down and make a list of benefits to each side and see which you think works best for you, your child, and your family.

I would rather keep my child with her compared to a daycare situation. I find that in a daycare situation, the child gets sick more and you have to stay away from work more than if you had him/her in a place where it is one on one. You were blessed to find that situation. I will not rush it if I were you. On the other hand, when you are ready to give the provider up, can you please pass her along to me? I would like to have a situation like that when I start working again. My child is currently only one and I am still scared to leave him in a daycare. My daughter stayed in daycare for a short time when she was around one and it was really hard for me to leave her everyday. She would cry everyday. If your son is use to this provider and is comfortable with her, I would leave it alone for now. If you would find a pre-school facility, then and only then I will consider moving only to get him use to other children his age and for educational purposes. Thanks

Child care is something you should not just jump into. It takes research and I don't mean just other people's opinion. I personally could not wait till I could get my daughter some type of care during the day so I could go back to work. I would say that up till about 6-8 months, don't worry about their social interaction. I take my 2 yr old to a daycare and the infants are basically playing, sleeping, or eating. They don't really interact, but that is just how babies are. In the I would say though that by the time your son is 18 months old, you should seriously think about getting him into a daycare where there are kids his age. I had my daughter in an in-home daycare up until she was 18 months old and she transitioned smoothly. Even when I switched her to a regular daycare at the University I attended, she just melted in with the other kids. I would say be critical but don't be cynical. Daycare for the most part is there to serve you and your child. Studies show that kids who learn to interact with others at a younger age have fewer problems with socializing when they get older. I will say that, from a personal perspective, that is very true. Both my brother's went to daycare but I did not. Both of my brother's are very very social guys with lots of "friends" while I prefer to hand back with a few friends I know well. Personalities also play a huge part in where your child would be happier. I liked that I had a daycare at home while my dughter was very small but one thing to consider, when hes starts walking and getting into things, hes going to. If this retired mid-wife is older, she might not have the energy to chase after an active baby and keep picking up after him. I just thought I would put in a little bit more here, Pros and Cons of home-care and day-care.
Pros: Home based Day care offeres the individualized attendtion and care that infants like. These situations are also better because if your child has a chronic illness the caretaker can monitor your child with a more discriminating eye. Their prices may be lower, if there is a cost.
Cons: They don't get to be active with other kids. There is always the possibility of over-exposure to television when they are at a home. They can cancel on you if something important comes up (their health, a death in the fam, etc.)They can change their price without notice, but this is very rare.
DayCare Center
Pros: Daycare allows even an infant a variety of people who handle the babies to get them used to different people. They also have more people around to make sure baby is clean, fed, and played with. As toddlers, they get to learn all about sharing, playing together, and being good. Daycare can't just cancel unless they send out a prior notice, they are also not likely to change their prices without notice either.
Cons: Daycares really are a breeding ground for just about every type of illness out there, but if your child is healthy, colds really arn't that much to deal with. (My child has asthma and picks every thing up). If a daycare is worth getting into, there is usually a waiting list.

I just thought that you might appreciate a little bit of statistical arguement concerning childcare, I hope you don't stay away from regular daycare forever. Good Luck

My son was in in-home care from 10 weeks to about 6 months with a friend of min. It was just my baby and my friend's son, but then they moved to a different state and I had to find something else. I teach so I had the summer off, but in August when my son was about 9.5 months old I started him in day care. He is 15 months old now and he absolutly loves it. He loves being with the other kids. He loves the outside playground equiptment and I really think he thrives on the consistent structure the day care provides. He is still little, but they still do little art projects through the day and things like that. Something else to keep in mind when you are planning. I don't know anything at all about your son's personality, but my kiddo has energy for all the neighborhood kids and then some, and know that he is walking and running and clmbing he is tough to keep up with. You mention your sitter id retired. I don't know how old she is or anything about her, but taking care of a 15 month old is a whole different ballgame than keeping a 6 month old. Also, keep in mind that most good daycares will have a waiting list of several months. I am about 9 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child and I will definitly pay my registration fee and get baby 2 on the list at my son's day care before I am out of my first trimester in February and I won't even need day care until October. It's good that you are thinking about this now regardless of what you decide because you aren't yet in a time crunch.

I have my daughter in an in-home daycare- I think it's a good compromise- there are other children but not too many and it's a home setting so she is crawling around on the carpet and playing just like she would be at home and playing with the other kids. I still think I'll move her to a regular daycare with a stuctured learning environment when she's 2-3. But everyone is different- you have to decide what you think will be best for your little one.

Good luck.

I would not put him daycare. The love and attention he gets from a one on one is way more valuable than interacting with other kids at this age. My kids were all with a one on one sitter and it was very convinient for me. If I ever forgot to pack diapers or milk or extra clothes the sitter would run out to the store and buy it (of course I would pay her back)and when kids get sick they are not allowed to go to day care and so you would have to miss work if you baby had any kind of illness. I teach school and I will tell you that kids who stay home are way better behaved then kids who go to daycare. As far as learning...the school will teach him everything he needs to know at his appropriat time. It is a blessing to find a good home sitter. Like the saying goes, don't fix it, if it ain't broken. Good luck!

Thats awesome, congrats on the new baby and on finding good child care. We did the same thing and it worked wonderfully. Eventually at 18 mos. we put our chidren in to daycare at a Lutheran School that is focused on getting kids ready for school, (and not just warehousing) they push education, disipline and social skills. Kids need social outlets just like we do and it is important that the interact with outhers their own age. Just put them in for 2 or 3 days a week if you can to help them adjust at first.

Also on the babyweight I have used mychoicefitfoods.com. Its pre-prepared lunches and dinners sized proprtionaly. Its great if you dont have time (or the inclination) to cook after a busy day but still want to eat healthy.

Good luck and best whishes

I would recommend a modified approach of a Mother's Day Out type program twice a week for playtime with other kids and religious focus if you are into that, then have your sitter watch him the other 3 days. I have a friend whose nephew just died in a daycare last month and it was heartwrenching for all involved. Personally I would not trust my child this young with strangers. If he is doing great with the current sitter and they already have a relationship, it might be hard for him to be thrown into a full-time daycare environment. I'm sure there are some great daycares out there but I'm not willing to gamble to find one. We have an in-home nanny and it works out awesome for us. The nanny takes my daughter to playgroups and I take her to playgroups as well, plus there are a ton of kids on our street that she plays with during the day, so she gets plenty of socialization. My friends who have kids in daycare tell me their kids are constantly sick, and my daughter has only been sick a few times her whole life. I really feel that is because she is not in a daycare setting. You can provide arts and crafts ideas and curriculum to your son's sitter if you want a more structured environment, and see about playgroups in the area that she could take him to! Good luck.

This is always sucha delima. I think that it depends on your child, but that age one is a good time to begin with a daycare. Even though toddlers parallel play it is still good for them, to start to socialize. We just put my son in a daycare he enjoys the other kids. Remeber that at that age they experience sep. anxiety so don't be upset or surprised if he cries as you leave the first few days - he will stop in 2-3 min. after you leave.