Being a day care mom comes with its own challenges, laughter and chaos. I’ve only been doing this for 8 months now, but here are some things I’ve learned:
1. Choosing a daycare is one of the toughest decisions you will have to make.
It’s like choosing a school for a person you’ve never met. Structured environment or unstructured? How am I supposed to know? I haven’t even met this person! I must have visited at least 10 day cares and still had no clue what to do. There will be tears involved, but you will figure it out. I promise.
2. You have to trust your instincts.
There are day cares I know others love, but just didn’t feel right for us. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right. So many women I know have had a bad feeling, only to find out it was warranted. When you become a mom, you gain a sixth Mom Sense – use it!
3. You have to LOVE it.
If you don’t absolutely love it, you will hate going to work. Not that there aren’t days you won’t hate it anyways, but leaving your child is difficult enough! A daycare you love and trust will make it easier on you. Paying a few more dollars or driving an extra 20 minutes each day is worth it for the peace of mind.
4. It’s harder on us than on the kids.
I’m a firm believer in this one. My son is just as happy at day care as he is at home, and I think that’s a great thing! It will make the transition to pre-school and kindergarten that much easier someday. As much as I would like to tell you my son desperately misses me each day, he has a girlfriend at day care and she is way cooler.
My first day back at work. There were tears.
5. Having a sick child means you will miss one week of work.
Day cares have crazy sick policies. Once your child runs a fever you have to wait a full 24 hours sans fever and fever reducers before they can go back. This means you will miss at least 2 days of work – and that’s only if your child gets better the moment you pick them up. Cue the sick days!
6. Your daycare will be the first person to know when you’re pregnant again.
Oh the day care Wait List. It’s incredible. Many places have a list that is nearly TWELVE months long. Wait, I was supposed to put my future child on the list before I even conceived? Got it. With the second one, I will be on it. The day I have a positive test, my son’s day care will know. Because who has time for TWO drop off locations every morning?
7. It’s co-parenting, not day care.
Most days, the day care providers spend more time with your little one than you will. They have to be authority figures and help you develop your child. And guess what, I LOVE this. Day care keeps me on my toes and honestly teaches me how to be a parent. I’m a newbie and sometimes feel very unqualified. I’m glad someone kind of tells me what to do.
8. You will have days off work when day care is open, and you will still take your kid to day care.
Oops, I’m embarrassed to admit this one, but it happens. Moms get so little time to ourselves and when the opportunity presents itself, you had better believe we are all over it. After all, we are paying for it, right?
9. Your child will learn things you would have never taught him/her.
My son loves going each day. His face lights up when we walk into the room. He gets interaction with other children. He learns sign language, does the cutest art projects and learns songs. I’d like to say I would do all of that on my own, but I’d be 100% lying.
I really cannot get enough of the cute day care projects.
10. You will receive a zillion incident reports.
I sign so many incident reports, you would think my son has destroyed the place and everything in it. I’m just happy when the incident didn’t involve other kids. I’m not ready for hitting, pushing, or biting yet, but I know it’s coming.
11. Pick-up time is NOT a “suggestion”.
You will have your child picked up by a certain time OR ELSE. They will charge you by the minute, take your second born and maybe call child services. You will drive 90 mph to be sure you don’t miss your pick-up window.
12. The financial burden is no laughing matter.
Woof. I have an amazing job and the daycare debit each week is still painful. It’s like paying for private school once your child reaches a few weeks old. My husband and I joke that we will be well adjusted to private school tuition or get a huge raise once our son starts kindergarten.
