Returning to Work - Bronx,NY

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Hello Ms/Mrs. U. B.
Have you considered working from home? your own Home Based Business, without having to sell, deliver, collect money, take orders or stock inventory. Totally ligitimate, not MLM or Pyramid. Not Internet scam.
Wikepidia.....Melaleuca. Interested? msg. ____@____.com. Consider spending more time with your baby, keeping your home and family safe and creating revenue stream.
V. C.

Look into daycare centers close to where you will work, that way you can go check on your lunch break, and if anything happens you are close by. I prefer daycares to private caregivers, only because the interaction with the other kids and the structure and curriculum helps the kids adjust to kindergarten when the time comes. Daycare centers are also more "corporate" and have rules and regulations to follow. Good luck in finding one you like and good luck in returning to work!

I returned to work after taking a year off to raise my son, he was about that age. I first returned to work as a part time employee, is that an option? I had decided to branch off from my family as well and went with a daycare called tutor time which I found to be great! I was very concerned with my sons safety(as in someone coming in and taking him) They had alot of cautionary measures which made me feel better. I would write out a list of all that you want your day care to be or things you don't want, and shop around. Just be aware if your going to be going with a day care your son might get sick alot more often (kiddie germs..urg! lol)

I was the same way, and watching the news and shows like Nancy Grace does not help when you need to put your trust in someone to care for your child. I waited until my daughter was three, I was scared to leave her with anyone else...I waited too long. I am in NJ, in the Denville- Parsippany area...Just do your research with daycares, there are a lot of great ones here! I found one that is a chain, but a family owned chain, owned by the mother of a girl I went to high school with....My daughter loves it there. It was harder on me than it was on her. Make sure they are credited, and ask if backround checks on all employees have been done. I went as far as to ask to see the backround checks. :) D. in NJ

I went back to work when my daughter was 4 months old, and originally a friend of mine who is also a foster parent provided care. She was good at juggling the work load, not far from home and had a foster son my daughter's age - she would refer to the two of them as "her twins". Then, she got an emergency foster placement and I had to find a new solution. I ended up with a daycare center across the street from where I work, it was also a Montessori preschool and kindergarten. My daughter started there when she was 15 months. The advantages of a daycare center over someone providing care in their home are you never have to worry about the care provider being sick and not able to watch your child and they are restricted to a specific child:teacher ratio based on the age of the kids. They should have more oversight than someone at home. I agree with the mom's that said pick a place close to where you work. At holidays they would have little events (halloween parade, holiday performance with the kids singing songs) that I could easily dart over to see and just adjust my lunch hour accordingly - granted, so long as you work 8 hours, my office is fairly flexible about how you do it.

I did look into Monday Morning Moms, where they screen in-home daycare providers, and they claim to have a "back up" person incase your primary provider is sick. I was not impressed by any of the people in my area. One had far too many kids (because some of them were older and after-school only), another would only have had my daughter.

Whoever you pick will do things differently than you do. The montessori school didn't allow bottles or sippy cups once the kids were in the toddler room. I was convinced my daughter would never nap again. Kids are far more adaptable than we are. Pick a place that looks clean, that has a good assortment of toys, puzzles, art supplies, etc., nothing should look too tatty or used. Make sure the staff seems to be friendly toward both the kids and the parents. And make sure you have access. You can usually observe a class (you may want to observe a different one than your child is in so your baby doesn't see you and want to go home). Also see what security the place has, for example, mine had a key pad where you entered a security code to enter the building, otherwise you had to be escorted in, see what their rules are for who may pick up a child, etc.

Having someone else watch your child will always be a stressful experience. They will do things their own way, the kids will pick up bad habits from other children there (they will also get to socialize with other kids - which in my mind was a plus). It is giving up control of your baby's life and it is hard. Best wishes!

When my son was an infant (5 months) I went back to work and found a daycare a few blocks away. So, like the other mothers said, I was able to visit him at lunch and that made a huge difference. I also found a daycare that specialized in babies (in Rutherford, NJ, called The Children's Place). They don't have older children there and so I felt good about leaving him. Perhaps you can find a place like that near where you work.

Good luck! It's a difficult decision to leave your child with anyone, but, as you said, you do what you have to do.

I would look into daycare's close to work as Leslie has mentioned. I have my daughter down the road from my work and it's awesome to enjoy the commute to work and back with her in the back seat. I also like daycare's versus the private caregivers, because.....if your daycare provider is out for the day, they (the daycare facility) has to replace that teacher with another one. And if your private caregiver is sick or has things to do, well she can't take care of your baby and you will need to look for another option or take off work. I would suggest that you look around at daycare's, ask lots of questions. And when you do place him a daycare that you like, make sure you stop by without letting anyone know. I like to do this, just to give me piece of mind. Congrats and good luck!