Does your child attend a daycare close to home or work? Why did you choose this?
Right now my baby attends one close to work. I am planning on switching him to a close to home one. It is about 20-25 from work. His dad works driving a school bus. So he comes home in between runs. So I figured if something happened he can get to the daycare before me. Just asking.
Public Comments
- we use a childminder who lives down the road-thats not why we chose her though,
- Near work just because that's where I am when he's there! The times he would be at daycare and me at home are rare. He's only 5mins walk away so I can pop in to check he's OK throughout the day.
- I chose to bring my first daughter to my employer's on-site child care center, which is a 30-45 minute drive from our house. Fortunately, my daughter has always been fine with riding in cars, though I've heard some babies can't stand it and cry even on 10 minute drives.
The pros:
- I was able to visit at lunch to nurse her
- I could sing/talk to her during the drive so it was like we had a little more time together
- I got to use the carpool lane to go to work
The cons:
- When I was sick but she wasn't, I had to keep her at home with me anyway because her daycare center was too far away to drop her off.
- One time, we were stuck in major traffic on a freeway and a narrow bridge without anywhere to pull off or turn around (it took 1.5 hours to get home!). I was so nervous she would get hungry/cranky and I'd be unable to do anything. Fortunately she slept, but I've thought about that possibility every day since that accident!
- I do all drop-offs and pick-ups (including the "emergency" ones when she's feverish/vomiting) because my husband works near our home.
With my second daughter (expected in 1 month!), I would've liked to keep her closer to home to avoid those cons, but I can't find a a NAEYC-certified daycare center that takes children under 2 years old that is near my home. I'm not comfortable sending her to an in-home provider or hiring a nanny, as I like having multiple caregivers so there's more accountability, so she'll be going to the on-site center, too. However, I'm now moving our older daughter to a local pre-school so my husband can help w/pick-up and drop-off.
- Closer to home.. actually at home to be specific.. I run a day care in my home. As a provider I would encourage you to get a day care that fits your child well and is easy for both parents to get to in an emergancy. You never know when one of you will not be able to get there right away.. having both parents close makes it allot easier in an emergancy.
- i think you should put your baby to a daycare near your workplace since you are in the work most of the time. being closer to the baby during work hours is an advantage- you can get to the baby fast if anything happens,but it is still uo to you.
for more daycare stories and suggestions go to this website
- Working at a daycare I can tell you that the worse thing that could happen is a parent that has a sick/hurt child that they cant get to quickly. Just think about it....if you get a phone call saying your child has fallen off the jungle gym or running a fever of 103...how far away would you like to be.
In my opinion its smarter to enroll your child somewhere that would take VERy little time to get to in most situations. Its fine to enroll your child somewhere that is closer to home, but MAKE SURE you have an alternative plan if that child gets sick/hurt (i.e. a closer relative)
&& make sure you let the daycare know how long it will take you to get there from work in order for them to make sure they call you in time.
For instance...i had a child last week running a 100.4 degree fever around 10am. I knew the mother worked almost 35 minutes away so I called to give her a heads up b/c I knew if the temperature rose anymore she'd have to be ready to leave ASAP! ((the child actually ran a 104 degree fever by the time mom got there....she was diagnosed an hour later with meningitis))
Hope this helps : )
