Need opinion of moms who work please!?

Question

I am writing a paper for my comp class about the benefits and detriments of daycare. I have already gotten the opinions of quite a few mothers with young children regarding their positions on daycare, but I'd like some more. So here are my questions:

First off, have you placed your child or children in daycare before?

If so, did you see any benefits/set-backs from it?

If you worked and found other means of child-sitting available, why did you choose these other means rather than a daycare?


Thank you in advance. Any good answers will be a huge help to me! :)

Thank you so much for all of your opinions so far! They are so very helpful! :)

Answer 1

I am a mother of 4! My husband is a preacher! No we have never used day care! I am their Mother! I will take care of my kids! I can't understand why have kids and pay others to raise them?

Answer 2

I am a single mother and I work full time. I placed my daughter in a daycare setting when she was about 11 months old. I have not seen any major set backs from it except some lashing out and learned behavior of taking toys away from smaller children. She did pick up some improved social skills, and she is used to the routine of getting up and leaving every day so she will be prepared for school when she is old enough. Now, before I put her in daycare she was at home with my mom full time..I felt safer that way because Courtney was too young to tell me if something was wrong, but also because I wanted her to have all the attention to herself. Eventually the burden was too much on my mom though and I had to find an alternative. Hope this helps

Answer 3

I learned the hard way that daycare just isn't a good idea. One of my daughters may have developed borderline personality disorder from going into daycare at 3 weeks. (my mom had this, there no doubt is a genetic vulnerability, the idea is that borderline p.d. starts young) My other kids were a bit more resilient. But putting a baby in daycare does cut down on the mother-infant bonding that lasts a long time. A big big problem that no one thinks about. I did have several children close together. The youngest from this set of kids wound up stealing at age 9 due to feelings of not being attached to me. My ex got her around horses, and that saved her. Today at 20 she is the greatest kid, but she could so easily have become messed up without this intervention at just the right time.
Make your next paper on the benefits of grooming horses and being around horses daily for hours for a deeply to-the-core upset 9 year old girl. It's a life-changing experience. Anyone who knows a young girl who is miserable should tell the parents to run, don't walk, to the nearest stables and enroll the child in riding lessons, and then request that the child help out at the stables for hours a weekend and all day in the summer. It takes a long time for a problem to take root in a young kid's psyche, and it takes AGES for that problem to be corrected so that the child can return to being happy.

Answer 4

I worked while my first child was young and she attended daycare. I was very thorough about checking them out because I didn't want her life or safety in jeapordy. I still ended up going from one daycare to the next because of the physical conditions of the center, abuse, neglect, language, etc. My daughter was sad and shy all the time, never outgoing, scared of strangers beyond comprehesion and cried incessantly every time I dropped her off. I ended up taking her to an "in-home" child care center with a wonderful woman. She did much better there for awhile but the woman eventually moved. From that point on I refused to put her in daycare anymore and made sure that my work hours conincided with her school hours and since she was 8 I have been a SAHM to her and her siblings. She remembers the abuse she experienced and it has traumatized her. She is VERY against daycare now. When I was thinking about going back to work recently she begged me to not do it and put my little ones in daycare. She's 14 now and I didn't go back to work!

Answer 5

My daughter is six months old, and she has been in daycare for the past three months. The most obvious advantage of daycare is that I know my baby is safe and in good hands while I am at work. Before I sent her to daycare, I had several baby-sitters, but I soon realized that baby-sitters can be unreliable. After the third one bailed on me, I had to find something permanent. Also, I've realized that many people know absolutely nothing about babies. They say they can handle it, sure, they've watched lots of babies before, but then they call you at work over and over, with questions about every little thing. The ladies at the daycare haven't had a problem yet, and have even offered me several tips on keeping my baby healthy and happy. The one draw-back I've noticed so far is that babies tend to catch more colds and viruses when they're in daycare, from contact with the other children. But I guess germs are unavoidable, and my baby hasn't caught anything serious, just a cold.

Answer 6

My kids are 1.5 and 3.5, and they've both been at an in-home daycare since they were 8 weeks old.

They have great social skills; they know how to "help" with littler kids, and they look up to and emulate the bigger kids.

They have a routine similar to--maybe even richer than, in some ways--the one I or my husband would provide were one of us able to stay home. They garden, cook, play outside, do music, art, help with chores and laundry, go to the gym, take field trips, run errands, and work through a basic preschool curriculum.

We've never had any episodes of hysterical crying--or really any crying at all--at drop off. In fact, when I turn into the alley for daycare, my kids start chanting, "Debby! Debby!" They're always happy to see us at pickup, but they're also eager to tell us about all they did during the day. They're happy to go, and they're obviously thriving.

When my 3.5 year old started a few hours of preschool this year, I was pleasantly surprised at how well prepared she was. She understands about listening and following the rules. She knows that different grownups have different rules that have to be respected in different places.

The girls are friends with the other kids. Older ones have babysat for us, and younger ones come to playdates and birthday parties.

I haven't found any negatives at all, really. Our daycare provider is a treasure.

We have to work. And this set-up is the next-best thing to staying home ourselves.

Answer 7

My children 4 and 2 are both in preschool. I stayed home with both for a while and then had a nanny while I worked part time. We started them in school full time at around age one. Neither were very happy with a nanny. Both have loved school. They are both very social, which is why a private nanny did not work for us. I'm amazed at how much they have learned and how much more I enjoy motherhood. I think parents seek validation for their own choices and some can be quite judgemental in an effort to do just that. Validate their decision. I would have never imagined I would use daycare, but I could not be happier with my choice. You have to do the research, and weigh all the options with your family in mind.

Answer 8

I am a working mother of two beautiful children and find it a juggle with work and home. I have had my babies in childcare before and i am very please that they attended. I feel that the structure of Day Care Centres helped with their socialisation skills and respecting teachers and rules. They are now in school and were not worried about having to learn how to fit in. These skills can help them through the rest of their life. So for me personally a Day Care Centre can provide so much more than just a babysitter

Answer 9

both my children was put in daycare and my son not even a year at the time would come home with bruises scratches bumps and no one could ever tell me why. well i make good money on my own so we pulled them out and my husband stays home with them they are much happier plus i have the piece of mind knowing they are OK during the day while I'm at work

Answer 10

My 9-month-old is in day care, and here's one major advantage you may not have considered:

She gets along great with other babies, and has already learned how to be gentle with her newborn cousin. Her cousin who is NOT in day care can't handle being around her or the newborn. He freaks out, and can't play or share his toys.

She's in a great day care that she loves, and she's learning social skills that her stay-at-home cousins have not mastered.