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Our 18 month will soon be going from full time home care to drop in day care because of a change in my husbands work schedule. I work 8-4pm and OH USED to work 11pm to 7am (giving him the opportunity to look after our daughter during the day).
But now his schedule has changed completely. So we will have to resort to day care.
I am looking towards taking her to the day care right next door to her docs (very convenient and 2 mins from our house). They charge $99 per week. She will be in care for at least 2 hours Mon to Fri 2pm to 4pm.
My issue(s) I am thinking of:
*GERMS* how bad could my daughters immune system be, to be opened to catching germs from other kids? I don't want her to get that terribly sick BUT at the same time I want her immune system to become more stronger and build itself from any future attacks....
Do you remember when you put your child into day care? how old was he/she? and did he/she get sick immediately after taking him/her to day care?
*TEMPER TANTRUM* yep, she's starting to act like a mini diva now, she'll cry to get what she wants, she easily EASILY gets frustrated over NOTHING!
Other than that I do feel like our daughter should be introduced to playing with other kids, cause right now it's just me, hubby and princess, no pets no other kids or adults around.
it's just me, hubby and princess, no pets no other kids or adults around.
I'm thinking this is the source of the tantrums.
Other than that, she will get sick at day care. It wouldn't matter what kind of day care or preschool or mother's day out you sent her to. Being around other new people will expose her to germs; then she will build up an immunity to it. Every time my kids would start school of any kind, a virus would go around. 4 times out of 5 we did not get it, but sometimes you do. Unfortunately, some people send their kids to school regardless of how sick they are. Last week at church a kid walked into the Sunday school class I was teaching and announced, "I threw up this morning!"
The best thing you can do is teach her proper hygiene habits, like hand-washing and keeping her hands away from her face; don't chew on stuff like pencils, toys etc. Feed her healthy foods and make sure she gets PLENTY of sleep. Sleep is underrated as a way to keep kids healthy.
You also should strictly evaluate the cleaning practices of the day care. Are they accredited? What kinds of cleanliness standards do they practice?
If it's only 2 hours a day, I would not worry about it. My only problem is that block of time sounds like naptime to me.
Other than that, she will get sick at day care. It wouldn't matter what kind of day care or preschool or mother's day out you sent her to. Being around other new people will expose her to germs; then she will build up an immunity to it. Every time my kids would start school of any kind, a virus would go around. 4 times out of 5 we did not get it, but sometimes you do. Unfortunately, some people send their kids to school regardless of how sick they are. Last week at church a kid walked into the Sunday school class I was teaching and announced, "I threw up this morning!"
The best thing you can do is teach her proper hygiene habits, like hand-washing and keeping her hands away from her face; don't chew on stuff like pencils, toys etc. Feed her healthy foods and make sure she gets PLENTY of sleep. Sleep is underrated as a way to keep kids healthy.
You also should strictly evaluate the cleaning practices of the day care. Are they accredited? What kinds of cleanliness standards do they practice?
If it's only 2 hours a day, I would not worry about it. My only problem is that block of time sounds like naptime to me.
Calling our daughter "princess" is NOT the source of her tantrums, excuse YOU! I'm pretty sure some children have their tantrums one way or another, one may be spoiled or one may just have it in their gene's god knows, but just because we call our daughter "princess" which I'm pretty sure we are NOT the only parents that do! doesn't give any reason as to why she has tantrums!
Anyway, I didn't created the post just to get scrutinized by parents on here (yes I don't care how many kids you popped out!), on why we call our daughter "princess" and the fact that calling her "princess" could be the route of her temper tantrums! blah blah blah.....I was just seeking some plain advice on switching from home care to day care for at least 2 hrs a day. Your kid may be napping at that time but our DD does not. She is up and running around by that time.
The problem is not that my kid is napping then, its your kid is running around. They need them all to be napping then. My kid is not going to get a nap if yours is running around.
So if the daycare schedule has them napping from 2-4pm then you need to find a daycare that is active during that time frame, Your princess is not going to nap just arriving. So you need to work with the schedule. The schedule does not work with you.
The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one..
At her age, she should have already been exposed to a lot of other children and their germs. Since you are worried, we can only assume that you have treated her as if she were a "princess" whether you realize it or not.
If she gets sick, so be it! This happens to all children. It will happen even into high school. When she gets to college, it will be caused by lack of immunity to germs outside of your community.
Is the fee the same, no matter how long she stays? It might be better to leave her longer so that she can get used to being with others.
Our children started going to a daycare center at the same age. Who got sick was their dad. Somehow he got everything that was going around the center -- he got pink eye several times that first year!
To those who think the source of a toddler's tantrum is because they are referred to as "princess", I can assure you I never once called my sons princess, yet I still witnessed a few meltdowns at that age. Really people!
OP, do you have the time to do a couple of trial runs? It would help if your daughter had the benefit of an adjustment period. She will get sick, so find out what the center's policy is. Usually a fever has to be present, or at least outward signs of communicable illness (such as the pink-eye). I don't know that kids develop much immunity until the grade school years are over and done. Mine seemed to catch every strep throat that went around.
As was suggested already, check on the day care's schedule. You might have to adjust your daughter's so it isn't so out of sync.
I was just seeking some plain advice on switching from home care to day care for at least 2 hrs a day. Your kid may be napping at that time but our DD does not. She is up and running around by that time.
Have you talked to the day care yet? Our day care has pretty specific rules about this. Rest time is between 12:30 and 2:30, and I imagine most full time day cares have a rest time that overlaps the 2 p.m. hour. So even if your daughter isn't sleeping, she might have to come and immediately settle down for some sort of quiet time. And she'll have to be careful about disrupting her sleeping classmates.
That will be one of the differences - centers tend to be more structured and maybe less flexible than you would like about things. I would definitely ask.
Also, I think your daughter will get sick a lot at first. Even with centers with great cleaning records, kids are always touching each other or chewing on toys faster than the workers can clean them. And kids can be sick and pass things on before they actually present as being sick.
ETA: I also agree that if the fee is the same, it might be beneficial to have her at the center longer.
Last edited by carolinacool; 12-10-2012 at 01:14 PM..
Our daughter started daycare at not quite two. She's there all day, however. Yes, she does sometimes get sick. You do need to be concerned about interrupting nap/quiet time.
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