Which is better—daycare close to home or work?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are expecting our first child mid-September and will be looking for infant care (maybe a home daycare) starting around December 1. We live in Brightwood/Takoma DC, he works in Crystal City and I work in Tyson's Corner. From experience, is it better to search for a daycare near one's home or work?

Thanks!

Tracy

[Anonymous]

Definitely close to home. This way you can share the responsibility of drop offs. You don't have to go to your work on days you are not working but need to drop off the baby. If you need to work late, the other parent doesn't need to come to your work. Also, depending on how you commute, the baby doesn't have to ride for 45 minutes in car or metro - especially if there's traffic or if trains delayed or overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Close to home bc if you change jobs, you may have to find another daycare.

[Anonymous]

Definitely close to home. It's hard enough for adults to commute, no need to put a baby thru a commute also. It is also very stressful to commute with a baby. If you have childcare close to work, then one of you will ALWAYS be stuck with pick up/drop off duty. Not a good idea if you need some flexibility even once in a while due to an early meeting etc. If the childcare center calls you to pick up baby b/c he/she is sick, then you are going to probably take the rest of hte day off anyway, and having the place close to work doesn't really help that much.

[Anonymous]

Also, if you are ever sick or need to work from home, getting the baby to daycare won't be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Just something for you to consider -- make sure you find a daycare with hours in the evening that work for you if you're going to go with a center close to home. I imagine the commute home from Tysons to Takoma might take awhile (longer on some days then others) and there is nothing worse then the anxiety of trying to race to daycare before it closes. I actually use a center that is closer to work because I always have more time in the morning but am racing against the clock in the evening so it's easier for me to drive 10 min. to pick up my son then having to drive 30 min home to get him. Just another perspective for you to think about...

[Anonymous]

Another vote for closer to work - easier to get there during an emergency; greater possibilities of checking on your child during the day; easier to deal with the end-of-the-day race when you don't have to worry about traffic jams etc; and more time with your child, even if it's during the commute. We were lucky enough to have the option of either near the house or near work, and opted for the latter (mainly because we preferred the center.) After 3 years I'm very happy with the way it's worked out, even though there were some period where my active little boy was difficult in the car (used to have to listen to a lot of beach boys music to keep him happy.) Our commute was less than 1/2 hour, maybe my calculation would have differnt if it was longer. Also, even a daycare near home would have involved some local traffic, so you have to factor that in as well.

[Anonymous]

I love having DS close to work -- we commute in together (HOV!!) and talk and sing (well, he is only 19 mo so I do most of the talking and singing!!). When he has had to be picked up quick, nice to be close, when storms were coming earlier this week, nice to know he would be with me sooner rather than later.

[Anonymous]

I chose close to home because of the reasons stated before:

1) easier for both of you to do the drop off or pick up
2) if you ever have to go there when you aren't working
3) if you ever change jobs
4) less time for child stuck in the car (this was particularly difficult for my son from between 1-2 years old).

The end of the day is tight because there is a stress that I will get stuck in traffic, but I make sure to leave at a certain time each day, check traffic reports, and call my spouse if I'm running late (and vice versa) if there's ever a threat I won't make it there by 6pm (rare.)

[Anonymous]

For me, work. I can run over quickly if I need to, like when my kids get sick or if I have a parent/teacher conference and I for one like the commute with my kids. We have fun in the car singing, talking and so on. In all fairness though our commute isn't too bad. Also, for me, my job tends to get busy toward the end of the day, so there is pressure to stay as late as I can. I'd have to leave a lot earlier if the daycare was farther away. If your job is super busy in the a.m., maybe that would be a reason to go the other way.

[Anonymous]

I prefer close to home.

*Easier to share pick up/drop off. More options if they need to be picked early.
*I prefer having the pediatrician near home..more likely we will be home on sick days when going in. Its nice for the ped to be close to daycare and home.
*Don't have to worry about having them stuck in traffic.
*I'm not a huge fan or driving and simply prefer to limit how much I take them on highways.
*Avoid driving long distances in bad weather.
*More flexibility if you change jobs.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your work schedule and work flexibility. In the beginning, we had our daughter close to work and to be honest when it was only her - it wasn't too bad. I did have the drop off and pickup but I found it was fairly easy to get her ready in the morning and my DH would give her a bottle before he left at 6am and that ensured she wouldn't wake up at 6:05am. I was also very fortunate she didn't get sick very often because I would always get the call for the sick days. In a pinch my DH was only 10 minutes away (not including parking etc. which would make it more like 20 minutes). Once we had two kids and a job change (for me) and my husband's travel schedule for work - I danced the happy dance when they both moved closer to home. We think now - we could take a day off, drop them off local, and play hooky or if we want to take a mini vacation - we could have family here that would have the option to drop the kids off at daycare one or two of the days. Having them local works because we don't have to be at work at the same time - so he can go in very early and pick up and I can get in at 9am and the daycare hours are flexible enough that one of us could do both the drop off and pickup if we had to.

[Anonymous]

I prefer close to work. I feel like it there was a natural or some other type of disaster I would not want to be too far from my daughter. When she was little I would go over to daycare to breastfeed her once a day and as she gets older I ocassionally have lunch with her there. It is also less nerve racking when they call and say she fell or she is sick, I can be there in five minutes to see how she is, not have to sit in the car wondering.

[Anonymous]

" I prefer close to work. I feel like it there was a natural or some other type of disaster I would not want to be too far from my daughter. "

Good point but I chose the opposite. After 9/11, I really prefered keeping my kids out in the burbs. Any type of DC disaster creates terrible road patterns, traffic and closed streets. DH works in VA and I work in DC. Chances are he could get to them.