Reply to Your <6 Month Old Infant in Daycare

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[quote=Anonymous]Don't worry too much about it.  I think the honest answer is that daycare is not the ideal place for babies who are too young to be social or to move around independently.  Depending on the time of year and their immune system, they may get sick A LOT (I think I made it to work about 60% of the time during my first child's first few months of daycare-- it was hell; the second child was more robust and I missed lest work).  But by about 6 months, your child will be sitting up on his/her own and a couple months after that, mobile.  At that point, daycare can become great.  They no longer lie in their cribs crying because there are toys to play with and people to interact with.  They are in a completely childproof room where practically anything is fair game to play with-- baby heaven! So think of the long term (which is actually rather short!).    Also, if you can find a center near your work, you will find you can actually spend a decent percentage of your child's waking hours with him/her.  The average infant probably sleeps about 3 hours of every day, right?  Then take into account the two hours or so the baby is getting one on one attention being fed or changed, there are really only a few hours left and if you are able to be there for 30 mins or so, that can make a big difference.  I often found I enjoyed my time with my kids in the daycare room more than time at home because there was nothing in the daycare room (eg, housework) to distract me, and we had tons of toys at our disposal!  Hang in there.  Just accept daycare isn't going to be the perfect place at the beginning, but if your child is safe and you feel like the teachers care about the children, it's good enough for the first few months until your baby is more independent.  I now have a 5-year-old who still tells me his best friends are the ones he has known since he was a baby.  The day care kids still get together every once in a while and the bond they have is almost like siblings.  It is really wonderful to see.[/quote]

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