Another Reason Why I Love Daycare
One of the hardest choices families make is childcare. For some lucky families, someone is able to stay home or work from home and keep the tyke there. But for a lot of families, it’s off to work they BOTH go, and so that leaves daycare or something similar as the only option. And I know how hard it is to make that decision. The first time I left Bean at a daycare center he was three months old and the tiniest little dude in the nursery. I cried out in the parking lot for half an hour. It was awful. But each day it got easier and easier, and by a few weeks into our new routine we were all adjusting nicely.
Truthfully, daycare works really nicely in our family. I like it because it gives Bean a place to interact with others on a daily basis. He learns things there that I wouldn’t be able to teach him at home, like how to sit in circle time and how to share his blocks. He likes it because he gets to do activities there that I wouldn’t have ever thought about being brave enough to do with him at home, like finger painting. And just last week a fire truck came up to his school and he got to climb up in the cab and sit with a real fireman! Now, he claps and squeals every time he hears a fire truck siren. I just love that he is getting those experiences and learning to be part of groups of people independent from me and Chris.
Sometimes we’ll be driving down the road and I’ll hear him point to something new and tell me what it’s called. Like, the other day he randomly pointed at the moon and said, “Moon.” Real simple. Like he’d been saying it for years. I didn’t teach him that, but he was learning about the sun, moon, and stars at daycare. He also started holding his hands up in the air and opening and closing his fingers as he sang, “Tink…tink…tink…” When I asked his teacher if she knew what he was doing, she said that was their hand motion for when they sang, “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” It made me smile to think that his little brain was growing even when I’m not there to teach him.
Something else I love about daycare is that there are another set of eyes who watch him and know him so well. Of course, his teachers will never know him as well as I do, but they spend so much time with him that even they can tell when he’s not feeling well or having a bad day. And they also learn different techniques with dealing with his moods and little personality that I can learn from, too.
The other day I was talking to his teacher when I picked him up about this little stomach bug he had last week. I forget exactly what we were saying and why, but she mentioned to me that she had, “mushed all his food together into his mashed potatoes…you know, how he likes it to be?”
Uh…yeah…sure…
I had never mushed all his food together in my life. Isn’t that crazy? I’m sure they teach that in Parenting 101, but I must have been absent that day because Bean’s food is always compartmentalizing into his little sectioned off plates at home. Lately though, we’ve been having trouble getting him to eat a lot and so when I got home that night I thought I’d give the mushing it all together a try and see how it went.
It was awesome!
I mixed mashed potatoes, green peas, and chunked up chicken into one big mess, threw it in a bowl, and gave the kid a spoon. In about 10 minutes, it was gone and he was asking for more. WHO KNEW?!?!
So the night after that I tried again to see if maybe it was just a fluke. I mashed up sweet potatoes, broccoli, and the last of the chunked up chicken and he ate that in record time, too, and again asked for more!
Then last night, we were having vegetable soup, so I heated up the leftover mashed up sweet potatoes, threw in some turkey, and lots of the veggies straight from the soup pot, and Bean went to town AGAIN!
It’s not pretty and it’s so darn messy, but Bean is eating like he’s never eaten before. And it was all because of one little helpful tip I got from his teacher at daycare. Someone else who spends a lot of time with him and happened to find a trick that worked.
If you’re getting ready to go down the daycare road and are anxious and upset, let me tell you something – you are in for a treat! Once the sadness and the fear die down (and they will after a while…), you’ll hopefully learn that there are some perks that come with daycare. Sure, there are trade offs – Bean gets a cold when it goes around the nursery and I do miss him a LOT even still during the day – but it’s really and truly not all bad. So, embrace it! Learn from it! Build a good, open, communicative relationship with your child’s caretaker and always remember that they aren’t just working FOR YOU, but they are spending time getting to know your wee one. Value their input and be thankful for what they bring to your child’s life.
I’m sure Bean was thankful that I FINALLY caught on to how he likes to eat. And it only took 18 months!
19 Comments
Ashley
I love that you can admit that the daycare teachers taught you something about Bean. I think some parents are afraid to say that someone else figured out something about their child, because they feel they need to be the expert. It sounds like you have an awesome daycare, and that it’s really helping Bean! 🙂 He’ll be all ready to share when his sister comes (okay, maybe not…)!
Melissa
Love it! I think daycare is wonderful (provided it’s a good educational one). If it weren’t for our daycare, my son wouldn’t have learned to eat solid food or get toilet trained (peer pressure helps a lot!). They are always doing things that I didn’t realize he was ready for. My son had just turned three and they were already teaching him how to write his name. Amazing! Gl;ad you have a great daycare, too. God bless daycare teachers – I know I couldn’t do it.
Nate's Mom
I love our daycare family. They also help teach Nate to trust others (that Mom and Dad trust). Nate’s report card on Tuesday said that he held Miss Carrie’s pants all day as he toddled behind her (he’s walking with assistance now) and he gave her lots of hugs. I don’t even get lots of hugs!!! Nate also learns that it’s not ok to bop Sophia in the head even though she sampled his grapes or borrowed his pal, Hippo. And I get some sanity to work at home knowing that he’s safe and happy and has a full tumtum. Yay for a happy day care for Bean! 🙂
Jennifer
Our little one just started at Daycare about a month ago, also at 3 months old. And this year for thanksgiving, I am copying a friend, and giving thanksgiving cards to her teachers to let them know how thankful I am for them!
Jesse
You know, I really needed to read this. My hubs and I have been trying to conceive for a long time now, but I’ve always had anxiety about when we actually do have a kid because I feel like I’m not giving him/her the best start since I know I won’t be able to stay at home once he/she is here. I hope we have a daycare experience similar to yours when the time comes. Thanks Katie!
Ashley
I am not a mom but use to work as a nanny for a family, taking care of a child from 3 months to 16 month old. I have to say from my experience being in home and having this be my job, I think daycare would be so much better for this child (and maybe is it just for this personality). The family tends to be a bit paranoid about sickness so we are not allowed to go anywhere and I think this kid missed out on so many socialization aspects. She never did parallel play or learned how to share or interact with her age group and also lack the self-soothing ability. Plus, like you said there are many things that you don’t think of or aren’t willing to try when being in home all the time. We have all learned in life, a lot of different heads thinking and trying new things can come up with a lot of new ideas. Teachers are learning from moms and moms are learning from teachers. Also, in just taking Micro, it is sometimes important to be exposed to illness to help develop antibodies as your grew. You really never get the same sickness twice and when you do your antibodies from the first time fight it much faster and better. So there is a plus too! As long as you are with a daycare that has teachers that are stimulating, caring, and trained along with other good families, daycare can be a great resource!
Jen C.
I’m totally with you on the whole daycare thing. I was feeling so guilty when I first put Ellie into daycare but nowadays, I’m glad that I did because she learned how to interact with people her size. Plus her teachers are so incredibly nice. She’s learned a lot from her daycare, things that I probably wouldn’t have a clue on how to handle on my own. I’m no longer feeling guilty for starting her and am really glad that she is doing so well there. It also makes the time we have at home so much more special too. At this point in time, I’m sure she will give me hell if I pulled her out of daycare to spend all her waking moments with me again. She’s happy, I’m happy, we’re just one big happy family.
Lori @ I Can Grow People
We were also lucky and found an awesome daycare here in PA just around the block. In-home daycare was good for us at first, but now that P is older I love the interaction and education he is getting at a daycare center.
We are also having issues getting P to eat–must be just a phase our little dudes are in…
Katy @ MonsterProof
Thank you so much for frequently posting how wonderful your daycare experience has been. My first is due in May, and it’s already killing me that I know daycare is in our future. It shouldn’t! I even WORKED at a daycare for years, loved it, and thought it was a wonderful environment. Still tough.
Abby @ They Lend Me Their Hearts
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this post! I am a home daycare provider and there isn’t enough positive media out there about daycare!
Also, having another adult that loves your little one and who your child can trust with their problems is a GREAT thing!
Abby @ They Lend Me Their Hearts
Maybe you’ve already written it and I forgot about it, but could you write a post about how you went about chosing a daycare? What you were looking for and how you knew it was “the one”? The searching process can be hard on parents and they worry about how to know if they’ve found the right one.
Kat @ Living Like the Kings
As a matter of fact, my husband and I recently picked a daycare for our little unborn Peanut. I hope we can embrace it as well as you did.
Casper
I am lucky in that I will get to stay home with our little one but I also understand that positive things daycare can brings. The interaction with the other little ones is wonderful all on its own. I am glad Bean is eating well again. I am WAY older than bean and sometimes I still mash all my food together!
Alaina
You know, that actually kind of sounds good…I’ll have what Bean’s having!
Christy Peters
I always enjoy reading positive working mom/daycare posts. My little 9 week old girl started day care 3 weeks ago…yeah…only 6 weeks off work-ugg. But it is going really well and I have found out its not all that bad. So thanks for writing about the positives you find too!:)
molly
Hmmm, maybe I’ll have to try the mashed up food idea. Because my toddler won’t eat at all sometimes. And it is sooooo frustrating!
We just started daycare with both of my kiddos last month. For my 6-month-old it has been easy peasy. For my 27-month-old? Not so much. HUGE crying fits and tantrums. And his behavior at home has changed too. Every time I drop him off I want to run crying to work and quit. But the teachers tell me he does fine after I leave. And it’s getting a little better each day.
They say my baby is super happy playing with the other babies. So I’m happy about that. I don’t mind it so much since it’s only 2 days a week.
Renee
I used to work at a daycare (actually a couple) before I started teaching at the elementary level. I look forward to the day my future kids go to daycare for these reasons. It is so sweet to see a connection between child and caregiver. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.
courtney
I used to feel guilty that I had to take my now three year old to “school” for 9 months out of the year. But his teachers have taught both him and me so much that I’m thankful that he goes. He has learned to socialize, share with others, make friends, and he LOVES to go to school each day. Last summer when we were off (I teach school) he kept asking when he was going to go to school. So this summer I have decided that he will go on Tues. and Thurs. each week. Used to I would’ve felt guilty, but now that I know how much he loves it, I’m looking forward to some alone time.
HollyR
I worked at a daycare for over 3 years, and while it can be a challenge and I don’t have any children yet, it will be my choice to send my children to daycare because I want ot work after going to college for 10 years. Who knows, that could change, but it is SO nice to hear someone talk about the benefits of daycare, because there are SO many! P.S. Parents like you are awesome, and I’m sure Bean’s daycare teachers appreciate you just as much as you appreciate them!