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

[mpitts]

You can blame the jackass parents who drop their sick kids off at daycare.

My wife and I have to put our son in daycare. It totally sucks. I wish one of us could stay at home with him, but it isn't possible right now. If he gets sick, we keep him out of daycare. Most parents don't give a sh!t and drop their kids off anyways.

 

[JulesMaximus]

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

Who are you? Dr Laura Holierthanthousinger?

Kids in daycare do tend to get sick quite a bit during the winter. It is normal. I have a son in daycare and it was really tough on me at first and I still have some days when I wish one of us could be home with him full time but it's just not possible.

I would just spend some time there when you drop off and pick up (I was going there every day during my lunch hour for the first year-now he's usually napping during that time so I stopped going).

Try to stick it out. I think organised daycare facilities have some advantages over nannies in that they are more accountable and there are more people around. They tend to also be a safer environment overall.

Yes, you may find that the daily report is somewhat incomplete, I would mention this to the supervisor. They seem to document everything so I would also do things like complain in writing. I would also try to get to know the people who care for your child during the day. I met a great young woman there (she no longer works there) who now babysits for my son when we need her to.

It's not all bad. At the very least your son will learn valuable social skills at a young age.

 

[JulesMaximus]

BTW-Our daycare has one rule regarding illness (as far as I can tell). Temperature over 101 and the child must be fever free for 24 hours before he/she can return.

We pay $192/week for daycare. That's over $800/month (averaged out) which is much less than my income or my wife's income.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: 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.

I don't find it weird or sexual. I breastfed both of my kids, one until nearly 2, the other until nearly 3. They almost never got sick, unlike my sister and brother's formula fed children.

 

[StageLeft]

We have looked into this as an idea and have come to the conclusion that we're going to do our best to send our child to either somebody in the neighborhood (like our neighbor) who does some babysitting, or just have a sitter come in. We - well, not me - will be breastfeeding for at least 6 months. We also have no intention of sending our kids to all but a scant few of the public schools in Alabama. In the right school system they're actually pretty good. In most they're crap. I'll be driving an old sh*ty car (hey I do now!) before I pass them off to some of the schools here

 

[Ornery]

Is that what it usually boils down to, Skoorb? Stay home with the kid, or pay for new SUVs?

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Is that what it usually boils down to, Skoorb? Stay home with the kid, or pay for new SUVs?

Around me, it does. People have brand-new SUV's and massive homes, yet whine that they have to stuff junior in a baby warehouse for most of his waking hours because "they can't afford to stay at home."

Whatever. My spouse and I decided we'd go ahead and actually raise our kids ourselves, but we're just old-fashioned radicals or something.

 

[DrPizza]

That sucks, but I thought the incubation period of most sicknesses is > 2 days. Thus, your son was exposed before attending the day care center. Regardless, he's going to pick up plenty of sicknesses there. But, as bad as that may sound, it's really better than being in a perfectly sterile environment.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
We have looked into this as an idea and have come to the conclusion that we're going to do our best to send our child to either somebody in the neighborhood (like our neighbor) who does some babysitting, or just have a sitter come in. We - well, not me - will be breastfeeding for at least 6 months. We also have no intention of sending our kids to all but a scant few of the public schools in Alabama. In the right school system they're actually pretty good. In most they're crap. I'll be driving an old sh*ty car (hey I do now!) before I pass them off to some of the schools here

I ALWAYS used neighborhood women when I needed a sitter,back then they were way cheaper than a daycare center and more flexible with their hours.It was also nice because they were invariably women in my social circle anyway.Seeing somebody's children first hand is a far better reference for their child care skills than a resume any day

 

[Wingznut]

Yes, daycare sucks. People can spin it however they want, but you'll never convince this parent of two that daycare is better for the child than his own parents taking care of him.

My first son, we had in daycare (off and on) for a few years. If I had it all to do over again, I would've never subjected him to it. But then again, we were so strapped for cash, I'm not sure we had the choice.

Nine years later I am truly blessed. I work half the week, and my wife works the opposite half. I am thrilled to be able to stay home with my boys (and play Mr. Mom) for those three days a week.

There is just nothing better in the world than spending time with my kids!

On the occasional day when I have to go into work (on my day off), we have a neighbor watch my youngest son for a couple of hours. If you can find someone you know to watch your kids, you are better off than some "learning center".

 

[Nebor]

Oh man, if I had kids, they would definitely be at daycare. Until they were old enough to not move away from the TV while I was gone.

In fact, it's probably a good thing I don't have a dog.

My favorite way of looking at it is, Junior has to stay home and watch TV all day so that Dad can go to work and buy a nice plasma TV to raise Junior.

Meh, I hate kids.

 

[KK]

We have 2 young ones, 1 and 3, the wife stayed home for about 2 1/2 years and then went back to work. Luckily I work midnights, so we don't have to do the daycare thing. It does get to be a long day working 11-7 and then going home to watch the kids till 4 or 5 PM, but I'd rather do that then send them off to daycare. I don't have a problem with older kids, 3+, going to day care, but the younger ones need to stay home, imho.

KK

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
We have looked into this as an idea and have come to the conclusion that we're going to do our best to send our child to either somebody in the neighborhood (like our neighbor) who does some babysitting, or just have a sitter come in. We - well, not me - will be breastfeeding for at least 6 months. We also have no intention of sending our kids to all but a scant few of the public schools in Alabama. In the right school system they're actually pretty good. In most they're crap. I'll be driving an old sh*ty car (hey I do now!) before I pass them off to some of the schools here

The breastfeeding will continue for as long as the baby wants it...I said 6 months Skoorbie, EXCLUSIVELY....then adding other foods and breastmilk.

 

[Papagayo]

Luckily, My Dad is watching our 7 month old son while my Wife and I work.

It's amazing because my Dad has never took care of any babies before (He worked all his life while my Mom raised us).
He's 63 year old Korean and I have never seen him so excited to take care of our baby. He reads books about raising the baby when ever he has chance to do so. He' is very gentle with the baby, plays with him all the time, and makes lunch for us when we visit him during lunch break.

I consider myself very lucky.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Is that what it usually boils down to, Skoorb? Stay home with the kid, or pay for new SUVs?

I don't know, you're the dad - you tell me

 

[Ornery]

Pffftttt. We waited 7 years to have our first child, in order to be financially stable enough to allow my wife to quit working. We kept the overhead low for that same reason. Never purchased new vehicles... not even close! We had our second child five years after the first. My wife was out of the workforce for a total of 11 years. We made do on one blue collar income the whole time, but were comfortable due to frugal spending.

It was far more important to me, to have her be able to breast feed them, and raise them, than to have new cars and other toys. I also did NOT want to impose on family members to look after our kids. My parents and hers, raised their own kids, they didn't need to do it all over again.

 

[MoobyTheGoldenCalf]

Daycare does not suck. Maybe YOUR daycare sucks, but that's the choice you made. We have a 1 year old in daycare now and he loves it. We shopped around and decided to pass on the dirty, crappy, diseased infested daycares that have high school dropouts as teachers and sent our son to a clean, well managed (read: Expensive) daycare. They have more stringent rules on vaccination there than our state does and many rules on illness. (fever = goes home, 2 diarrheas in a day = goes home, etc.) They also have more teachers per child than the state requires and I know he gets special attention. We stop in unannounced frequently and he is ALWAYS laughing, playing and having a good time interacting with the other kids and the teachers.

BTW - My wife and I both work and we both have good jobs and new cars. Does that make us bad parents? Uhhhh, no. My wife is off on Fridays and I get off work at 3:00. At home, we spend every minute our son is awake playing, reading and interacting with him. He doesn't even know what a TV is because he's never watched it.

I'm sure some people have had bad experiences at daycare. But to generalize and say ALL daycares are bad is just an ignorant dumb-assed comment.

 

[woowoo]

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.

This is my arrangement.
No day care for my four year old.....

 

[CChaos]

Daycare around me is $290 a week but my wife works there so with a discount it will be around $165. Having a family is absolutely going to ruin me.

 

[Ornery]

• It's just a matter of priorities... <shrug>

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: CChaos
Daycare around me is $290 a week but my wife works there so with a discount it will be around $165. Having a family is absolutely going to ruin me.

I know! I knew it would be expensive, but I hadn't really done the math on it until recently and realized how glad I am that we haven't overspent in the past few years and have only one car payment!

 

[MoobyTheGoldenCalf]

Cost of daycare must varry greatly depending on where you live. Around here (in NW Indiana), you can get cheap daycare for $100-130/week. Ours is around $180, but my wife gets a 10% discount through her work.

Everything is cheaper in Indiana though

 

[no0b]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
BTW-Our daycare has one rule regarding illness (as far as I can tell). Temperature over 101 and the child must be fever free for 24 hours before he/she can return.

We pay $192/week for daycare. That's over $800/month (averaged out) which is much less than my income or my wife's income.

reading comprehension is not strong with me at 9:30

 

[Homerboy]

I hate to even chime in on this topic...

Daycare is just horrendous IMHO. I understand that some people may have to do it to survive, and I understand that. But I personally (and my wife) could NEVER EVER bring myself to drop my kid(s) off at day care. I refuse to let somebody else be take care of my kids on a daily basis and basically raise then and see them more than I (or my wife) would. I just find it totally wrong.

I'll never forget when my son was 3 weeks old I was walking buy a daycare and looked inside and saw a row of 6+ little babies all in those motorized swings. My heart just sunk. It was like an assembly line. I vowed I'd sacrifice anything and everything to allow my wife to stay home and raise our kids with love and deidcation.

I do beleive this is (one) part of the problem with kids today and the way they were raised.

To the original point that Queasy was making is yes... Daycares are a germ infested hole. Pile 10+ kids together anywhere, sharing the same toys, pillows, blankets, etc etc and that junk is goign to spread like wildfire.

AGAIN PLEASE NOTE: I'm not passing judgment on Queasy or anyone that places their kids in daycare... this is MY OPINION for MY KIDS. So I know you will... but dont flame.

 

[Commish]

I pay $378/wk, I have 4 year old twins. My wife stayed home with them until last September, we got by with one income for over four years since she was on bed rest the last eight weeks of her pregnancy. Daycare is the biggest scam going.