Daycare Verse Staying with Family Members

It really depends on how you feel. Some daycares are good and some are not. I think it is good for a child to be around other children, and have the space to run and play. If you can get that with a family member you trust I would say that is the better option. If not I would look for a daycare that is geared toward education,not always watching tv. ect.

If your husband is the father of your 11 month old, I say he should be able to stay at home with his father. Does he not work??

If you can afford Day Care, it's great. Yes he will get sick in the beginning but being exposed to other kids will help him build up immunities BEFORE he starts school. It will also help him learn to interact with others and learn to get along and share.

My son is an only child, he HATED day care at first. He cried ALL day for the first several weeks. That makes it really hard to leave him there, but before he started school he loved it, it meant he had people to play with whereas at home he did not.

He's in an afterschool program now and there are some days that I can pick him up and he doesn't want me to because he wants to stay and play with his friends. :)

Good luck!

M.,
We started our little girl part-time in a preschool when she was 2 1/2 years old. We did it because we had to as my husbands hours changed. The only thing that lightened my sinking heart was that we found a really good school. You get what you pay for that is for sure. The child to teacher ration was low, they had a schedule & taught lessons, but my favorite was she was able to play outside a couple times a day & she made friends. But being surrounded by other children opens up all sorts of things that I didn't think about like what words other children were allowed to say, the behavior of the other children, etc...
I feel 100% that staying at home with a family member is the best. Daycare/Preschool is an extra expense & more often than not the kids pay for it far more than from our financial burden. I would never send my children more than a few days a week & on the occasion where she had to go for more than 3 days she was not the same child. (not pleasant at all - she wanted her time with her mom & dad)
Also, I feel that because she went at an older age she was far less susceptible to all the germs that kids spread. Overall, kids REALLY want to be with their family. So if your husband has the ability to stay home with your child & you child can get his needed amount of sleep (another thing we took for granted) than I would keep him at home as long as possible. Hope that helps!

I say give daycare a try. Like the previous responder said, Mother's Day Out programs can be a great way to give yourself and you child a chance to see what a daycare may be like. I put my son in school (pre- K but structured like a typical school)this past august. He was a little over 2 and only went 3 days a week initially from 8-2:45. He loved it so much that I decided to enroll him full time. If you are fortunate enough to have family members that can keep him sometimes, then Mother's Day out a couple days a week would be a great option for you. Good Luck to you!!

Here is my thought.....it can't hurt anything to let him go to daycare! I have a almost 3 yr old, Kaden, who has Grandmas that just short of fight over who keeps him during the week! However, at 2 yrs old, we felt he was lacking verbally because he really didn't have to speak for anything at their houses. A the Grandma's I know he is well taken care of and loved (and spoiled), but it is not their place to "teach" him. They work with him on numbers, letters, etc, but, he is their grandchild, and, frankly, he really didn't pay much attention! He was not at their home to learn-that is where a daycare comes in! We ended up putting him in a Mothers Day Out program 2 days a week, from 8:30 to 11:30, and it is perfect! The Grandma's still get their time with him, but he is also getting that structure of a classroom setting he will one day need for Kindergarten. And, now, we have a little one running around who will not stop talking, and knows his alphabet, numbers to 15, colors, and shapes. Point of this being that perhaps you should look into something part-time to begin with, and go from there!! Good Luck!

My daughter has been in daycare since she was a few months old (she is now 2 years old). She loves her daycare! She has learned to make friends & how to interact with other kids. I think this interaction is very important for kids. She is learning a lot from daycare, from songs to letters and even to empty her plate in the trash after she eats!

I'm not sure what kind of daycares you have in your area, but our daycare is on an Army post. It is accredited and they follow a lot of rules & regulations. I have no idea how this compares to "off-post" daycares though! Visit the daycares in your area & talk with them about what they teach & what rules & regulations their caregivers follow.

As for the "he will get sick, he won't like it"... kids will get sick from school at any age! All it takes is one kid to bring germs to school & share it with everyone! Plus, if kids don't get used to being around other kids in some sort of school setting, how well is he going to like getting put into a Kindergarten class where he has to sit & listen to a teacher?

Just my thoughts :)

If your soon to be DH isn't thrilled about getting up with your son, he may be better off in daycare. I have had horrible and wonderful daycare experiences. My older four kids went to daycare, my younger two have never gone.

I would suggest trying a Mother's Day Out program that he can attend a couple of days a week. This would help socialize him, but wouldn't be like full daycare.

B.