Does anyone know good frugal options for daycare for an infant 6 weeks old?

Question

I have an infant six weeks old and we're both going to work full time in the middle of the day. Anyone know what my options are? (We're new at this!)

I feel really uncomfortable putting my child in a stranger's care, but we need to both work right now. Any options here?

Answer 1

Home daycare is probably the best option and you may be able to find a woman who has a child just a little older than yours so that they can grow up together. Call social services in your town to ask if they regulate home day care workers so you know that the carers have passed certain conditions for health and safety.

Even better is to look for ads in the local paper where the carer has an ECE diploma. ECE stands for Early Childhood Educator. You can then call their community college and confirm that they graduated when they say they did. Home daycare costs about $100 to 150 a week.

You and your partner though, should try to stagger your shifts so that one goes in later than the other and one comes home earlier. That way, you can reduce the amount of time the baby is away from parents. I also suggest that the baby sleep, if not in your bed, then in a cot beside your bed so that the family is together for most of the night after being seperated all day.

I also suggest that the mother continue to breast feed and pump milk while at work. It is a lot of work, but worthwhile for protecting the baby's health and thebond between mother and child. By law, employers must give lactating employees three 15 minute breaks + a meal break every day to pump milk or have the baby brought to her to nurse.

Answer 2

That's a tough decision, and I feel badly for you because I've been there...twice, with both of my boys! Although they were a bit older when we enrolled them.

Check out your state's website for daycare providers. When my boys were in daycare, I lived in Michigan, and you can go to the website and narrow it down to daycare centers or private daycare homes. They'll tell you how long they've been licensed, how many children they accept, if they provide meals, any infractions the center might have received, etc.

It's really difficult to say which is better...a home or an actual center (Kinder Care, for example). My main concern was what if one of the care centers employed a person (or people) who were criminals and were touching children inappropriately. The state does a criminal background check on private daycare centers, and I believe most public centers do their own type of background checks. Some people don't get caught though, so even though they might have a "clean" record, doesn't mean anything.

I would suggest asking your neighbors who have kids where they send their children, and if they don't, maybe they have a friend or family member who is very happy with their daycare center.

Make sure when you find a couple centers you like, that you check out EVERYTHING there. You can go to www.babycenter.com to get a list of commonly asked questions when interviewing a daycare provider. Check to see if the centers you've chosen have strict handwashing policies, that each child has his or her own crib, look at the general condition of the kids that are there...do they all look dirty? Do they have green, runny noses? Are they sneezing? Check to see if they have a very strict sick policy. One of the major complaints of mine was that most places do have a sick policy, but some idiot parents dose their kids up with Tylenol or Advil and send them in anyway. Also make sure that the center has a separate room for newborns/young infants. Ask if they sanitize the swings/walkers after one child has used it, before they'll put your baby in it. This happened with my younger son. He started daycare when he was 3 months old when I went back to work. We took our boys to a private center that a lady ran out of her home, but it was separate from the house part...We were SO happy there. She had another infant, slightly older than my son, who had a cold. Not to scare you, but my son got viral meningitis from this little girl. (She didn't have meningitis...just a cold, but the same viruses that can cause colds can also cause meningitis in some people.) He was there a week, and we unenrolled him and my husband changed his schedule at work so he could stay home with our kids. Even though this place had a very strict sick policy, that's why it's important to keep things immaculately clean. Not that you can sanitize the air if someone sneezes, but a person should know that if a baby/kid is sick with a cold, they should be kept sort of isolated from other kids. Most centers will let children come in if they're sick, as long as their fever isn't above a certain temperature.

Do you have any family members or friends who don't work who you would trust to watch your baby from your home (or theirs)?

Answer 3

I had the same problem. I never found daycare and my daughter is now 9 months old. I decided to temporarily leave my career and work in the food industry at nights and on weekends when my husband can be home with her. Money is tight but, honestly, I love being home with her. We attend a playgroup each week so she can be around other babies and have the social interaction as she would have in daycare. There are a lot of options as far as bringing in 2 incomes. Remember this is not forever, your child will be going to Kindergarden before you know it. Good luck!

Answer 4

Do you or your husband have any family they are usually the best, because you already know them but if you don't you could do daycare in a center which is pricey but usually reliable. You could get a personal babysitter where you can do interviews and then before you go back to work have them come over for a few days before hand so you can watch how they handle your baby. Let's face it childcare is expensive no matter which way you go. Make sure your comfortable with the person and so is your baby.

Answer 5

Do you have family close?

My sister and I are planning on trading day care services. My mom also has agreed to watch our kids while we work/finish our college degrees.

Otherwise, you will have no option but strangers.

I would also suggest home care.

Most will give you refrences of other children/families they work for. Also, some college students will au pair for you. You will have to do the investigating. Do criminal background checks. If it were me I'd hire a PI to investigate anyone I was leaving my child with. Simply because they know the places to check for information - and even check out of state stuff that will be hard for you to find out.

Make sure you get an authorization with personal information like ss# to check government agencies.

Also, better if they are bonded and insured.

Answer 6

I propose talking to three individual who's contained in the baby serviceswelfare sort of interest. per chance they could aspect you in some course that the authorities can grant you with some money for being a unmarried mom. you want to do slightly analyze. in the experience that your a unmarried mom there might want to be a fashion for the authorities.to pay you slightly, and in the experience that your no longer, there might want to be a fashion per chance your husband might want to take materinty go away so that you dont ought to placed the toddler in an afternoon care. i'm no longer certain, yet you do might want to be careful about your courting including your baby now. Alot of folk finally end up ignroing thier youngsters even as they get domicile because they're too tierd from operating. Now that your baby is going to be spending distinct thier time outdoors of the domicile, you would possibly want to be sure that your courting with them continues to be very good. You dont favor them to pass up and purely imagine back on thier existence and be conscious the daycare. they favor to manage to look back and keep in recommendations how a lot you inspired thier existence.

Answer 7

Apparently dik doesn't have children. I suggest a home based day-care. You can your local health dept for a list or possibily try asking your neighbors or co-workers for names. Home based daycares are not "terrible" places for your children to go.

Answer 8

why would you have a child just to let someone else raise it?


ATTENTION LITTLE FAIRY.....I do have children, my wife and I planned our family and she stays home and raises our children.

I am sorry that you feel guilty about sending your kids to daycare. I am glad you can justify it by saying that it is not "terrible" i guess it is just bad, i sure am glad to hear it is only bad and not "terrible"