Positive thoughts on daycare?

Question

I have to start leaving my daughter at daycare when she's 6 months old and I honestly feel devastated about it. I hate the idea of other people caring for my baby and shaping her personality. 
Does anyone have any positive stories to share about daycare? I wish I could be a SAHM for her but I can't.

Answer

I felt these feelings too before sending my son to daycare. I could only take 12 weeks off (FMLA). Daycare didn’t shape his personality at all. He’s all me in that department 😊 Daycare did teach him things I would’ve never thought to start teaching at such a young age. He’s two now and he can count to 10, knows his colors, has been speaking in full sentences since he was a year and a half, has manners, socializes well with other kids. I thought daycare would be awful, but now I wonder how he would’ve turned out if he had just stayed home full time with me. Don’t get me wrong - I’d love to work part time and only have to send him to daycare 2-3 days a week but that’s not in the cards. I know he’s in good hands, and after a few weeks, you’ll feel the same about your little one. If not, find a different daycare because you want to be comfortable with your provider and for your child to enjoy it.

Answer

My son LOVES daycare. He goes 3x a week and it contributes an element of social learning and growth that I cannot. We are also still obsessed with each other.

Answer

I was so scared of daycare until we started and now I absolutely love daycare. He learns sooooooo much. Socially he learns how to play and interact and share and be patient. He loves seeing his friends every day. He learned how to use utensils and sippy cups there by watching the other kids. He gets to play with different toys so he’s not as bored by the ones at home. He has music and yoga classes once per month. He’s 2 and comes home with neat art projects and recently started counting to 20. It hasn’t changed his personality at all, he’s the same kid I’ve known since birth and every kid at daycare is so different. He gets exposed to different things, though, like my daycare lady’s son was in baseball and my son loved to watch him practice so he got super into baseball for a while, and one of the girls at daycare takes dance lessons and shows off so my son was briefly really into dancing at every free moment. I think it’s great how much he gets to experience. And he always comes home super excited to see us and spend every minute with us.

Answer

I work at a daycare and my daughter attends the same one (different classroom than me). She has been adored since the day she started at 4 months old. Her teachers love her to death and have been so instrumental in shaping her! I cannot thank them enough for all the work, love, compassion, and kindness they show her on a daily basis. On the other side of it, I absolutely love being a daycare teacher, it’s not what I intend for my career (getting my Masters in School Counseling currently) but I take my job seriously! I watch these kids grow into mini humans and I get to help them learn about themselves and the world around them. I would just ask a ton of questions about the people watching your kiddo and keep communication open. Daycare can be scary, especially with what we see on the news all the time. It is also a great place for your kiddo to be loved by other adults and learn/grow from the other kids in the center! My daughter loves her teachers and loves all of her little daycare friends ❤️ be confident in your choice!! :)

Answer

Thank you so much ladies!! I feel a lot better about it. I see so many articles saying that daycare isn't good for babies because they need their mommies and they don't get that 1:1 attention...also that they are still so impressionable and the daycare workers will end up shaping the babies' personalities. 😭 I'm so glad you all have not had that experience. I agree that the social aspect will be great and that's something I wouldn't be able to provide for her at home. I still dread the first day I have to leave her there but I know it will get easier with time.

Positive thoughts on daycare?

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