Reply to How to not feel bad about putting an infant in daycare?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not ideal. You gut is spot on. I agree that if you can find in home daycare or a nanny, that's much better than a typical daycare center. But lot of people have no choice and it generally works out.[/quote]

I do not understand this line of thinking at all (about in home being better than a center). With our first we used a center after touring quite a number of licensed in home daycares (with good word of mouth reviews). And I was just so underwhelmed as a whole. Many were down in people’s basements with limited light and limited egresses, the homes had strong food smells, and it just felt very causal (college age kids coming home over breaks for instance, being advised you had to pay for the owner to take 2 week vacations each year, etc.). One even had a loud barking dog crated on another level of the home. I think people like these in homes because they are generally cheaper than a nice center, but they tell themselves it’s because it’s more “homey.” But I don’t want my kid in someone else’s home, I want them at a safely operated business that is dedicated to watching children.

OTOH, we loved our center. It was surrounding a courtyard so each room had lots of natural light and easy egress. There were cameras in each room so we could check in whenever we wanted. There were fire sprinklers and rollable cribs in case of emergencies. There were weekly emails with updates from the director and it was nice to have a designated director who speaks clear English to go to with any logistical questions.

For our second we hired a nanny (during COVID) and in some ways it was very nice. But I disliked having to be someone’s manager, reporting payroll each week, dealing with unexpected leave on a few occasions, etc. And overall we really liked our nanny. However there were definitely headaches that come with it vs. a center.

FWIW OP, my daycare kid is now a happy, social, bright first grader with absolutely no memory of his daycare. I had a ton of anxiety about sending him in the beginning, but it ended up being such a nice experience for our family (minus all the winter illnesses). And remember that choosing a childcare is not a life sentence. If you’re not happy with daycare you can leave it and explore something like a nanny share instead (if budget is an issue). [/quote]

It's fine to have a different opinion, but to answer your comment about not understanding the line of thinking, I'll tell you that my kid is in an in home and I think it's the best of both worlds between nanny and a center. There are fewer kids than a center and less illness, more individualized attention while still having socialization, and no turnover of staff so my baby has a nice bond with the providers - and none of the headaches you mentioned about a nanny. We did see a few dim basement type ones when we were looking, but the one we chose has lots of windows and natural light, is large, great fenced yard with play area, and an extremely clean space that feels homey and really comfortable and nice. I get daily updates, and although English is not their first language, that's not an issue for me at all. 
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