My 21 month old daughter has been in a daycare that she absolutely loves and is doing amazing at, since she was 4 months old. The teachers are amazing and warm and engaging, she loves the kids she's with, it's a stimulating nurturing environment and I truly feel good about her spending her days there. The problem is we moved and it now takes an hour to bring her to the daycare before driving an additional hour to work. It's disrupted her sleep schedule, her eating schedule, and I hate having her in the car for 2 hours a day on a busy interstate during rush hour.
So.. we're about to switch to a closer daycare and decided on what seems the best of the available options. After spending several days there with her to visit preparing for the transition, I leave in tears each time. It doesn't feel like it has the richness, warmth, or stimulation of her old daycare. I feel like the teachers are there to keep the kids safe and get through the day, but not much more. And seriously, this seems like the best of the options that we looked at!
I'm so torn about what to do and would love some advice!
Keep looking, and if you're just looking at centers consider looking at licensed home daycares. You need to find a place that you feel 100% good about or you'll end up unhappy (as will she) and you'll have to make another transition. Better to take more time now and fine the right one.
I do home daycare and I hear your story a lot. There are good ones out there!
Good luck!!
i would keep looking. there are SO many out there.
i still don't know if it is coincidence or not, but when my son was young we were very tight budget-wise, so we first looked at the most affordable options. purely by coincidence, we ended up going with the cheapest places we found (first for in home daycare, then for preschool/daycare as he got older).
something in my gut always made me think, the cheapest places are the places that aren't in it to get rich (not that any of them are - if they are, they're in the wrong business). but you know what i mean? i mean, they keep their prices lower, because they don't have to hike up the prices to compensate for the fact that they don't really enjoy it much. or something. i know that's idealistic of me - more likely it was just dumb luck. but both our daycare and our preschool, were not shiny, corporate run places with brand new equipment. they were more mom-n-pop, a little run down, with secondhand toys. clean, but not shiny and fancy. but run by the absolute sweetest, most christian, loving people, that i never had a moment's doubt, leaving our child with them. truly wonderful people.
i wish that for you! good luck!
W., please keep looking. You need to feel something more than this or you are going to be miserable.
I promise you that you'll end up finding another situation. Why put her through the transition twice? Regroup and find another place.
Dawn
Keep looking. You have to feel comfortable about where you are taking your child. If you are not comfortable just keep looking. Look near your home and work. I know finding a good daycare can be tough so just keep trying until you find the "one". Good luck.
How about looking into an in-home daycare. You can find one on care.com. My daughter stayed with a woman in her home that she just loved. It made me feel so much better leaving her in a home vs. a center. Her sitter ended up becoming a dear friend of mine. Do you have the funds to have someone come into your home? Blessings!
