Conclusion: Daycare sucks (son sick after only 2-1/2 days)

[Queasy]

My wife is starting a new job on Monday. She has been out of work since we had our son (almost two years) so we find one of the top 3 or so daycare chains in Atlanta and start my son there this week. Well, after only two and a half days he's already gotten sick (bacterial infection in the lungs per the pediatrician).

On top of that, we caught the daycare in a mild lie - they marked on his daily report sheet that he napped for an hour and a half. Well, that was on Wednesday when my wife picked him up DURING the alloted one and a half hour naptime because he was sick. Before that, she called in and they said he was still awake and crying...that was at about the start of naptime. So at most, our son got maybe a half hour nap.

I may be jumping the gun on saying daycare sucks but geez I hope this isn't an omen of things to come.

 

[iwearnosox]

Daycare is always a germ infested rat hole, all kids get sick that way.

 

[fs5]

good, build up his immune system

 

[HappyPuppy]

Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

 

[Siddhartha]

How do you know he got the infection from the day care center?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

Bite me. I'm not thrilled about it either but my wife is going to work so we can pay off some bills so that we can afford to send him to a good private school instead of the craphole Georgia public schools. You know, the ones that want to ban the word 'evolution'.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

we almost enrolled the girl in daycare at the age of 6 months. for some parents, that is the only option.

luckily my wife visited a few days before the scheduled start date and she found their service very, VERY disappointing(babies crying with no one attending to them, stopping babies' feedings right in the middle to answer a phone call, all while my wife - a visitor - was there) so we bailed and she stays home with the girl and i am the only one working.

supposedly, you're supposed to keep your kids away from the daycare when they are sick so as not to spread any contagion but parents constantly drop their kids off there sick anyway.

to the OP, good luck finding a good daycare solution, there are some out there.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

we almost enrolled the girl in daycare at the age of 6 months. for some parents, that is the only option.

luckily my wife visited a few days before the scheduled start date and she found their service very, VERY disappointing(babies crying with no one attending to them, stopping babies' feedings right in the middle to answer a phone call, all while my wife - a visitor - was there) so we bailed and she stays home with the girl and i am the only one working.

Yep, we had that debate over whether to stay at home or go back to work. We decided my wife would stay at home for at least the first year...especially since my son was born premature. That stretched out to two years. Unfortunately, I was laid off and took another job with a slight paycut. We've been getting by OK but we want to competely eliminate all of the debt we have in the next year so that we can send him to the private school we have picked out. The only way to do that is for me to start man-whoring or the wife to go back to work. Since, my wife doesn't want me man-whoring, she's going back to work. Fortunately, our son will only have to go three days a week max.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Queasy, sounds like your making the right choice for the right time, although I would reccomend spending as much time as possible with the child which you probably do either way apart from when it's at daycare.

 

[rufruf44]

Got several friends who enroll their 3-4 months old babies in daycare. When both parents are working and can't take time off from work, your hand is really tied.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

we almost enrolled the girl in daycare at the age of 6 months. for some parents, that is the only option.

luckily my wife visited a few days before the scheduled start date and she found their service very, VERY disappointing(babies crying with no one attending to them, stopping babies' feedings right in the middle to answer a phone call, all while my wife - a visitor - was there) so we bailed and she stays home with the girl and i am the only one working.

supposedly, you're supposed to keep your kids away from the daycare when they are sick so as not to spread any contagion but parents constantly drop their kids off there sick anyway.

to the OP, good luck finding a good daycare solution, there are some out there.

Not to be particularly negative, but the only good daycare you're going to find is going to cost as much as a full salery would be anyhow(i.e. it takes the pay of 1 person to pay 1 person to spend quality time with your young kid all day). Daycares for young kids like that are compromises; you're deciding that it's worth the savings to put them in a situation where they won't always get the 1:1 care they would like. They work, but you're never going to forget it's a compromise. This isn't to say that some aren't better than others however; it's just that you'll never be satisfied.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Queasy, sounds like your making the right choice for the right time, although I would reccomend spending as much time as possible with the child which you probably do either way apart from when it's at daycare.

One of the few honest, sincere, worhtwihile opinions you'll get here, and I echo it.

I don't like daycare, luckily we've been able to avoid it due to an incredible amount of luck. Good luck, spend as MUCH TIME with that baby as possible. A good and involved father makes smarter kids.

 

[fredtam]

Daycare is an ok option. Yes your kid will get sick more and so will you. It helps the immune system. Your child will also learn to interact with others at an earlier age which helps build learning and social skills. This is especially beneficial if he is an only child. One thing you will learn is just because a child is crying does not mean they need to be rocked and kissed and told everything is ok. Kids cry. I hope you don't do that in your own home. I am also right outside Atlanta and my daughter is in a very well structured daycare/preschool. It is expensive at around $100/ week but it allows the wife to work. I hope you find a place you trust but your expectations may be a little high. This may be due to him being premature, only child, and/ or your first child. Daycare is really a place where kids can play with each other and maybe learn a little something every once in a while.

 

[jjones]

Originally posted by: Sifl
Daycare is always a germ infested rat hole, all kids get sick that way.

Yep, we tried with our daughter to go to daycare when she was two, just a few hours a day so she could be with other children. After three months we took her out; she was getting sick constantly.

 

[Saulbadguy]

I worked at a daycare for 3 years. Let me tell you, the first 2 weeks I was there, I was sicker than a dog. Since then (6 years later) I have not been sick at all. It takes some time, especially since he is older.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Wow! Your kid isn't even 2 years old and you're already dumping him off on someone else?

Sarcasm?

 

[slycat]

your son teh weak..

 

[Pliablemoose]

It really is good for their immune system. I've seen a study or 2.

 

[BunLengthHotDog]

Our daughter was at daycare at the earliest age they would accept infants. We initially thought that my wife needed to get back to work to afford things (you know..that drastic change that occurs when a baby is brought into the mix??). Our daughter was in daycare for 3 months, and was ALWAYS sick...in fact, she got so sick with respiratory crud that we eventually had to get a nebulizer to get all the crap out of her chest. The other thing about daycare is that it costs a shite ton of money. Ours was 185 a week (If your in GA, you should know Primrose and Sunbrook in the Atlanta area).

Needless to say, my wife has been a SAHM for the last 6 months, our daughter hasn't had so much as a cough since she has been staying at home. If you can afford it at all, have someone stay home....at least thats my opinion

 

[cthulhu]

Queasy, do the best you can. I have two girls 7 and 5. My wife stayed home with both. She eventually got a job about 3 yrs ago to pay for private schooling. The first job my wife took was at a day care teaching kindergarten. My wife has told me stories that just made me sick. She is now teaching at the private school my kids attend. My suggestion would be to try to find a family member, neighbor, friend, or someone from your church if you attend one that could watch your child.

Oh, people send sick kids to daycare and school no matter what. Most parents would rather send thier sick kid in than stay home with them.

 

[wyvrn]

Luckily my baby hasn't had to go the daycare route yet. For the first 3 months, my wife stayed home. The next 6 weeks I took care of the baby while on winter break from school. Now we pay my wife's sister to watch her while she looks for a job (she just graduated college). As soon as she finds a job, my wife's aunt will watch her. We pay the family the same rates as we would a childcare place. I figure they do a much better job anyway and we want to keep them happy.

 

[Geekbabe]

There is another answer here but it will involve sacrifice from both you and your wife.Work opposing shifts,whichever parent isn't at work will care for baby,no daycare needed.

The upside to this is that since there is no expensive daycare bill you can both work less hours per week than you would if he was in daycare.

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
It really is good for their immune system. I've seen a study or 2.

this is true.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
There is another answer here but it will involve sacrifice from both you and your wife.Work opposing shifts,whichever parent isn't at work will care for baby,no daycare needed.

The upside to this is that since there is no expensive daycare bill you can both work less hours per week than you would if he was in daycare.

My wife just got off of working night shift. It was good so we could watch the baby, but my wife and I ended up losing a TON of sleep. In the end it just wasn't worth it.

 

[djheater]

what's really funny is that my wife breastfed until our daughter was 3. Daycare was not an option. Breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your child but our culture looks down on it as wierd and sexual. Whatever. My kids rawk.