Should you consider putting your kids in day care? The answer is yes unless you feel too guilty to do it.
Guilt is definitely a problem for some parents when they are first considering daycare simply because they were raised by a mother who stayed at home.  The truth is that your child might be better adjusted if you are at home but sometimes financial necessities make it crucial to enroll your child or children in a place where they will be cared for by someone else all day. The problem can be getting your kids into the right daycare – meaning that it is one that you can afford and one that you like. Another consideration is of course the location of the daycare. It needs to be a quality daycare that is also close to you. Of course not all of these requirements can always be found in one daycare.Â
Sometimes you have to sacrifice one perk for the lack of another and that is where the guilt can really kick in. It is not nice to think about your kids being put through a long commute home every day or less than delicious food because of budget or location considerations but sometimes you can't help these things.Â
The best daycare for your child might also depend on what stage of potty training and the like that they are like. Some daycares may offer things like potty training and others may not. This is the kind of thing you want to check into because you don't want your child to be developmentally delayed because of a lack of attention from daycare staff. If you are feeling guilty one thing to think about is how well socialized your children will be as the result of being put in daycare. Whether the daycare is great or crummy your child will be exposed to other types of children and different situations. This could teach them tolerance and coping skills that they might otherwise not develop if their mother at home raised them only. You are teaching them how to get along with others which is really going to benefit them once they hit grade skill.Â
In essence what you are experiencing, as guilt may not be guilt at all but rather a reluctance to let your child grow and beco0me a person on his own terms. It can make you feel like time really is flying by fast. One thing about most daycares, especially the really good ones are that they do not let you pay monthly or week-by-week sometimes. Y
ou might need to book a spot in a quality daycare by putting down a deposit for the whole year. This of course can be expensive so make sure that putting your kids in the daycare is what you really want to do because you may not be able to get your money back.