Nanny to Mommy

Parenting is undeniably a roller coaster ride of emotions and a whirlwind of decisions to make. It's a no-brainer that parents will always want the best for their children, but what does ‘best’ really mean?

One of the most conflicting decisions that parents will ever have to deal with is whether or not to send them their children to daycare. Not everyone has the luxury of time to take care of their kids, even if they want to. Some have jobs to do, be it in an office or from home. Apart from that, there are chores and other responsibilities to attend to on a daily basis.

It'd be nice to have a few hours off while giving your kids a chance to socialize with others and to learn through play. But the question remains: is it a good idea to send your children to daycare right away? And if so, how old should they be before you sign them up? Are they now too old or too young?

To ease your worries, here are some of the pros and cons of sending your kids to daycare that you should take into consideration.

Daycares exist and will continue to exist for years to come because of the demand for them. There are many parents who believe in the power of daycare. Some of the advantages of sending your kids to one such as loloschildcare.com are the following:

One of the most common reasons people send their children to daycare is this: it allows both parents to be employed. With this option, one of them—usually the mother—doesn’t have to stay behind to care for the children.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong if you’re a parent and you feel the need to go back to work right away after having a child. The happier you are as a person, the more you can contribute to the well-being of your family. Otherwise, if you’re forced to stay home when what you really want to do is earn a living, then you may end up feeling resentful toward your children.

In addition, not every household can afford to have just one parent working. Especially when there are already multiple kids to raise, perhaps the family’s financial situation would be better if both parents were employed. If this applies to your household, then don’t feel guilty about the need to work. Since keeping your job is for the future of your children in the long run, then it’s a good idea to turn to a daycare to help you have enough time for work.

This has to do with sending your kids to daycare vis-à-vis having a nanny or a babysitter at home during the hours that you’re at work.

Daycare centers have strict regulations to adhere to. They can’t just be established at random. There are safety checks they have to pass to ensure that the place is safe for kids, and they also need licenses to operate. The individuals running the daycare center also have to pass background checks by the authorities. In most cases, a professional license is also necessary for them.

The same doesn’t hold true for nannies and babysitters as they’re less regulated. So if you need peace of mind for those hours you aren’t at home, then the safer option is to send your little ones to daycare.

Just like any other choice you make in life, there’s a downside to turning to daycare, but this doesn’t mean that doing so is bad. It just means that it’s up to you to determine if you can look past or deal with the cons.

Here are a couple of the common disadvantages of sending your kids to daycare:

Inconvenience may be experienced by families who live in a place where the nearest reputable daycare is quite far. This distance should be calculated in relation to your home and your and your partner’s places of work. There are some who feel it’s too much of a hassle to have to travel a long distance just to drop their kids off at daycare and pick them up after.

Plus, as of writing, many daycare centers have become even more rigid with their health policies. If your child isn’t in good health, even if they just have a bit of a flu or cold, they won’t be admitted. Hence, you’ll still have to look for an alternative way to get a few hours without the kids so you can report to work.

The cost depends on your current location. In some places, you may be lucky enough to find daycare centers that are of good quality but come with reasonable rates. However, there are also those that charge hefty fees.

It’s up to you and your family to sit down and weigh the costs of sending the kids to daycare versus having someone stay at home and try to find remote work. To have a few hours off, you may have to hire someone to clean your house and take on similar tasks.

It may take several serious discussions for you to be able to do the math. Especially if you’ve got two or more kids, sending them to daycare early on when they could’ve stayed at home might be too expensive for your family.

It’s important to emphasize that the disadvantages mentioned aren’t meant to scare you from sending your kids to daycare. It's entirely up to you, the parents of your own children, to make the final decision. Not all of these pros and cons may apply to your circumstances and family life, so you’ve got to weigh them based on your situation.

There's no correct or incorrect answer here. The right thing to do is to figure out what you feel would be the best for you and your children. It won’t make you a good or a bad parent if you do or don’t send your child to daycare. If you decide to go for it, then it’s important that you don’t settle for less. Take the time to research thoroughly so you know you’re sending your kids to the best daycare center you can afford.