Berkeley Parents Network: Starting Daycare

Berkeley Parents Network

Starting Daycare

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Childcare > Starting Daycare

Planning for New Childcare
Trouble Adapting to Daycare
When to start Daycare
Starting daycare at 3 months

Planning for New Childcare

I'm going to send my little girl to a family day care next month. My girl (Megan) will be 2 on May 21st. In order to decrease the difficulties for her change, what should I do to help? My friend said that at beginning, her child could not sleep in the day care. Things were extremely difficult for the first month. I guess I didn't pick the right time to send Megan to a day care because I will be super busy too in May. I will try to do my best to help this transfer. Any suggestion is very welcomed. Zhang

Why don't you start bringing her this week? Talk to your child-care provider--if you're staying there with her she shouldn't charge you and it shouldn't matter if she doesn't have a space this week. Then maybe the last couple days before you have to start for real you could bring your daughter and leave her for a few hours. Also, don't assume napping will be a problem--both my kids always napped at child-care, right from the start, even though they were never so cooperative with me!

Even though you'll be busy when you start, try to get there 15 min early and give your daughter the choice of doing ONE activity with you (puzzle, book, etc). Then when you're done, say good-bye (don't sneak out) and LEAVE (don't stay for endless hugs, crying, etc). Likewise, when you pick up, try to allow a few minutes for your daughter to show you what she's been doing or whatever--don't rush out. Deborah

When to start Daycare

I waited until my daughter was able to crawl until I placed her at daycare. I was told by many parents that children just don't get enough attention at daycare and so, I figured that my daughter would at least be able to crawl to the toys and amuse herself without needing constant attention. I also observed some of the younger babies get poked at or stepped on by older babies, and I sighed in relief that Rebecca was old enough to defend herself. (I'm sure that babies get prodded by other children no matter which daycare center they're in). Teachers are not always able to watch everyone closely, specially when there are many children around, someone's bound to get poked. Grace

Starting daycare at 3 months

I will be going back to work part time in July, when my daughter is three
months old, and I will need to find at least half day care for her. Has
anybody had some experience with starting day care this early? Mary Carol

I've just started my daughter in day care at St. John's infant Center. Cara is four months old, but St. John's takes babies as young as 3 months. Cara loves it there. She likes watching the "older" babies (e.g. the 6 and 7 month olds who can roll over and crawl) and gets lots of extra hugging from the staff. She usually comes home tired but happy, full of smiles. Her older sister went through the same baby room, onwards to the "big kids" area (for one and two year olds) and now, at almost 3, is about to graduate to preschool. I didn't want the girls in a big preschool with a few babies thrown in, because I was afraid they'd get kind of lost in the shuffle and demands of a herd of excited four-year-olds.

There are not many infant-only programs in CA because it is very expensive. (St. Johns is largely subsidized by the church in which the program is housed, which helps a lot.) The emphasis in CA for the past 20 years or so has been "family-day-care" ... small programs in homes with a mix of ages, including a couple babies. Many babies like that kind of setting too. The quality of family daycare depends a great deal upon the individual running that particular place. But in a good setting, I think babies enjoy being social and being around other children and adults. After all, in many times and cultures, they would have been around mom, grandma, auntie and a herd of siblings and cousins all day long.

Our son, Aaron, who is now almost 2, started at a family daycare at a little less than 3 months. He loves it. Our childcare provider, Robin Fetisoff, seems to generally prefer taking new kids when they are very little. One advantage to starting so young is that it seems that separation anxiety, at least associated with going to childcare, is reduced or absent entirely, as they are so familiar with the provider before those stages hit. Elizabeth

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