pinkcat
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Post by pinkcat on Mar 14, 2019 12:50:12 GMT -6
Hi All!
We haven't had many new threads lately so I thought I would start a new thread for this question vs. keeping it in the randoms.
Right now, DH and I each work 1 day a week from home with DS, so we only need care for him 3 days a week. Since I went back to work when he was 3 months, we have had a babysitter who comes to our house. We planned on only doing that until he was 6 months and then switching him to daycare. But, it was nice to be able to have her come to the house and us not have to wake him up, get him dressed, etc. all before work that we keep pushing the date out of when we will switch him. She also does some light housework for us and we are gone for about 12 hours a day so not having to drop off/pick up has been a really big help. Another thing I worry about is that she has also gotten really really close to DS and I feel guilty thinking about switching- I know I have to do what is best for us but I feel terrible thinking about it.
It is definitely not something we want to do forever though because it's just too expensive. I also think daycare would be good for him since he's not getting a lot of interaction with other kids right now. (No siblings, no other family members or friends have young kids)
So, this is a long way of getting to the question- is there a certain age that you feel like your kids started to need interaction with other kids? Is it better to switch over the summer vs. in the fall/winter when flu season will be starting again? Anything I should consider that I maybe haven't thought of?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2019 17:10:50 GMT -6
We are in a sort of similar situation, DH works retail and has 1-2 varying weekdays off every week so we only need 3-4 days of care. We use a very small in home daycare. Most daycare centers around here will not accommodate part-time schedules, and I would bet you may be surprised at how similar paying a babysitter 3 days a week might be in cost to full time care in a center.
That being said, no, there was never really an age I felt my kids needed more interaction with other kids. I will be transitioning to SAH next month so their interaction with others will actually be dwindling. My kids typically start preschool at age 3, and I just haven't felt that much interaction is lacking up to that age (the in home daycare has only 2 other kids besides mine).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2019 6:52:52 GMT -6
Both my kids have been in in home daycares since they were around 4 months old. DS1’s was much smaller than the one we go to now. I love seeing Ds2’s Interaction with the other kids but I don’t think it’s something he necessarily needs at this age. I’d say closer to 3 is when I really started noticing a shift in how DS1 interacted with other kids.
I think you will have a hard time finding a center that will do 12 hour days and only 3 days a week. If they do offer that option you will most likely still end up paying for full time care. Do you know if any centers around you have openings? Here most rooms that take children under 2 have huge wait lists (the one by my work is almost 2 years waiting).
As far as season goes, it might be easier to transisiton outside of cold/flu season so he gets acclimated without possibly being out a lot due to illness.
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pinkcat
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Post by pinkcat on Mar 15, 2019 7:19:30 GMT -6
Thank you kbw and peachesncream! That is really helpful. In terms of daycares around us, we are lucky in that paying by the day is pretty common here- most of the daycares here allow it as long as you do either 2 or 3 day minimum and have a set schedule each week. We do have a deposit at one already and again we are lucky that there aren't a lot of long wait lists in our area...it is fairly easy to get a spot. In terms of the price difference it will save us about $750 a month going to daycare, so the cost is really appealing to switch! It's just so nice getting updates and pictures from her all day, coming home to a clean house, not having to wake him up in the morning, etc. It's really helpful to hear that it was closer to 3 that you noticed how your kids were interacting with others more. I have never been around babies/little kids a lot so I just was very unsure of myself. Thanks for the info! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2019 11:03:49 GMT -6
You don't have to answer this, but a definite consideration for me would be if you are thinking about TTC another anytime soon. That $750 a month may be worth it to keep her on for a year so that you can save the money when/if you have a second! And I am jealous of your daycare center situation 😂 I wish centers here were that flexible!
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bassa
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Post by bassa on Mar 16, 2019 9:47:33 GMT -6
Just to be the voice of dissent, I do think 3 would be too long for a kid to go without ANY regular peer interaction (as you said, no siblings, neighbor kids, nothing.) I think that would be doing a disservice to your child.
DD1 was probably 2.25 when she started actually playing with her peers (instead of just playing next to them), but I still think she benefitted from being in a daycare setting starting at 1. They’re learning from being around each other even when they’re little. I don’t have DD2 in daycare yet, and might not till the fall, but she gets to play with other babies 2-3 times a week (and of course has her older sister.)
So I guess my only point is that if you did decide to wait awhile before putting him in daycare, I’d maybe see if your babysitter could take him to a playgroup once a week, or regular library storytime. Just a thought. 🙂
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 18:26:13 GMT -6
bassa I agree it’s too long without any interaction. I guess I just assumed a one on one provider would do things like story time. I more so meant that I saw a shift in how they interacted around 3.
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pinkcat
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Post by pinkcat on Mar 18, 2019 6:29:19 GMT -6
You don't have to answer this, but a definite consideration for me would be if you are thinking about TTC another anytime soon. That $750 a month may be worth it to keep her on for a year so that you can save the money when/if you have a second! And I am jealous of your daycare center situation 😂 I wish centers here were that flexible! That is a great point! I just got my first PP period a few weeks ago so we are starting to TTC now, but we had IF and had to do IVF to get DS so I am anticipating a long road again. But if it happens sooner rather than later it could definitely be worth it to keep her until then! bassa Thank you! Our babysitter does take him to play with her cousins who are 3 and 6 months fairly regularly, but right now that is the only "baby" interaction he gets. If we decide to have her stay much longer I will try to find some play groups or other activities she can take him too- it worries me too that he isn't getting much interaction with other babies. |
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Post by jessijean on Mar 18, 2019 7:57:51 GMT -6
I can definitely understand both sides on the coin on this. I primarily WFH but I send the boys to daycare half days MWF and whole days T/TH. I really see a difference in them interacting with other kids and they get bored with me. Our daycares in town have a ridiculous wait list for under 2 so we would have to decide well in advance. Basically all daycares here charge full time rates for part time care. My daycare is a stay at home taking in extra kids so she is SUPER flexible and I can leave them in the afternoon MWF when I'm in heavy workload times or have appointments etc.
I guess if I were you I'd move to daycare but that's a really hard decision to make. The kid interaction and $$ would be my deciding factors.
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pinkcat
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Post by pinkcat on Mar 19, 2019 18:44:38 GMT -6
I can definitely understand both sides on the coin on this. I primarily WFH but I send the boys to daycare half days MWF and whole days T/TH. I really see a difference in them interacting with other kids and they get bored with me. Our daycares in town have a ridiculous wait list for under 2 so we would have to decide well in advance. Basically all daycares here charge full time rates for part time care. My daycare is a stay at home taking in extra kids so she is SUPER flexible and I can leave them in the afternoon MWF when I'm in heavy workload times or have appointments etc. I guess if I were you I'd move to daycare but that's a really hard decision to make. The kid interaction and $$ would be my deciding factors. Thank you!! I agree- I have been back and forth on a decision every time I think about it. I think the interaction with other kids will end up being what decides it for me (as well as $$ of course!) |
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Post by sunfrogger on Mar 27, 2019 7:47:18 GMT -6
Hi!
I felt like sending DD to preschool at 2 was a good age. I would not be able to work in my new role with the girls at home so we have full time care.
The $ is a huge pill to swallow but..
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