Work--wasn't as stressed trying to get to baby. When she was sick, I could be there in 5 minutes. Also, i could nurse right there when I picked her up. It meant that sometimes I didn"t have to pump that late afternoon session.

We prefer near work because we both work longish hours, and would not be able to make it home in time to get our DD from daycare on time consistently. Also, for us the type of commute matters: the 40 minutes I spend walking & on the metro with my DD is great time together. We'll have to start driving after our twins arrive in December because there's just no way we can get all 3 little ones to daycare on the metro. I hate driving in DC, and I might feel differently about it then!

We do near work, but I think the pros and cons are a wash, honestly.

Pros: We can get to baby sooner in an emergency or when he's sick; he's in care for fewer hours (though I agree with PPs that I hate that he spends an hour a day commuting---but it does mean five hours a week less that we pay for care, and it means we can reliably pick him up on time, which would not be the case at the other end of the commute); if you forget milk or things like that, you can get it there.

Cons: Have to commute when you're sick (not a huge issue for us since DH and I work close to each other and far from home, but an issue to consider if that's not the case); baby stuck in the car if you aren't transit-accessible; have to schlep everything with you.

We plan to go with a preschool close to home since then it will be a fixed cost anyway and our son will be older. So I guess we can compare then and see...

I prefer work but think I'm in the minority. I liked being able to pick him up immediately if he was sick. And I also didn't stress if I got stuck in a meeting. As he got a bit older, car rides were fun. We'd play I Spy a lot, and learn colors and other things along the way.

Home. Kids don't have to go through the commute. Occasionally, it's not bad to commute with the kids, but daily, it would be miserable. If I work from home or have a meeting, I don't have to run to my office to do drop off. When they were babies, I felt like we were less likely to get distracted and do something stupid like forget them in the car if we were only driving five minutes and the only reason we were going that direction was daycare drop off. You get to know the families who will be part of your long term future. All of my kids still hang out with their daycare buddies, including my middle schooler, and I am still good friends with the families I met years ago, which I don't think would be the case if we did t all live in the same neighborhood and continue in the same schools and activities as the kids got older.

Near home. When you are sick, it is a godsend. You can still take your child in without driving all the way to work. Much easier to get better if you don't have to do childcare while recuperating.

my two cents: i would pick one near your home because as previous posters have said it would cut down on the commute time for your child. remember-d.c. has the worst drivers in the country!

Pick a middle/midpoint location. That way if you need to go to the daycare on your day off, say you have jury duty or a funeral to attend, you aren't driving from Bethesda to Fairfax for instance or Fairfax to D.C.

I chose a daycare next to work when my son was 6 months to 2 1/2. The commute was around 35 minutes one way (when there was an accident or some other problem, the commute grew to 50 minutes). I had another child and thought there was no way I was commuting with two so I put them both in a daycare 5 minutes from home. I will never commute with the kids again unless the daycare by work is far, far superior for the following reasons.
1) I hated that my kid was trapped in a car for over 70 minutes a day (and for a year he was facing backwards). It is better to spend an hour exploring toys or being active. It is more dangerous for a kid to be in a car than at a daycare center. Sometimes when he was an infant he would fall asleep and then wake up and start crying because he couldn't see me, although he could hear me. I had to pull over some days to calm him down.
2) No downtime for a parent. It is nice to have a break between work and family. I love listening to audiobooks. I am in a great mood when I pick up my kids instead of feeling rushed.
3) I was not willing to do playdates / birthday parties where the distant center was located. I was not willing to drive 35 minutes on the weekend back to the area where I work. Once he started daycare near the house we met a couple of families nearby and occasionally do playdates. One child from the center and my son ended up at the same elementary school.
4) If I had the day off or was only working half days I could drop off my kids at the daycare and do errands. This was really helpful when I had my second child. During my three month I continued to send my older child to the daycare (to save his spot in the daycare) three days a week in the mornings so I could bond with the baby. He was happy seeing his friends and teachers.

If you plan on moving and not sure of the area, then I think it makes since to have the daycare near your job.

Anonymous wrote:home because if I have a half day at work or something it is easy for me to drop off my child at day care near my house instead of having to schlep all the way to work to drop them off when I am not going to work that day (my child is older though- 3 years old)

I forgot to mention that I don't do pickup which is an additional factor in my answer.

There are certainly pluses and minuses to each one. We have chosen to have DD in a daycare right next to my work. I like knowing she is close by for convenience sake. It is also about 30 minutes' commute/bonding time that has added up over time, so DD and I are a lot closer than she and DH are, partly due to this. On the down side, however, I NEVER got any down time b/w "home life" (which ends at daycare drop off) and "office life" (which starts about 2 seconds after daycare drop off). My mind practically gets whiplash from the quick-change. And, of course, in the evenings, it's the same, but in reverse: office-life! 2 seconds later: family life! I really miss having the commute time to decompress before I have to be "on" again back home.

Work. If I have to work a little bit late, I don't stress about getting to the daycare on time, before they close. It's five minutes away. I like having the kids ride to work with me, too. We listen to music and talk.

home because if I have a half day at work or something it is easy for me to drop off my child at day care near my house instead of having to schlep all the way to work to drop them off when I am not going to work that day (my child is older though- 3 years old)

Processing which I should do. Expecting in Dec. with a 3-month leave of absense. Leaning towards the former because I will likely move in the coming months and am considering several different areas, but I know there are some downsides. Curious as to your thoughts and experiences and choices.