Why I love Kennedy's daycare!

 

 

Today we had our first day of "Mommy and Me" swimming lessons, which Kennedy absolutely loved. I will post more details later this week!

 

One of the moms in the class was also a teacher so we were talking about how great it was to get to be SAHMs in the summer. Then she asked me "who keeps her during the school year?" I told her the name of the daycare Kennedy goes to and she made an awful face and said "I could NEVER put my child in daycare. I am so fortunate that my mother keeps her for me." I just smiled and told her "to each his own, but we have had a great experience with daycare."  Then I gritted my teeth, bit my tongue and tried not to judge later on when her child hit another child in the class and wouldn't share the pool toys. The mom's excuse? "She's not used to being around other kids." BINGO.

 

Now I am not at all saying that just because your kid doesn't go to daycare means that they are not going to be able to get along with other kids. I just think it's important that if are a SAHM or a relative keeps your child for you, that you have them involved in other activities where they are around other kids such as MOPS, MMO, kindermusic, gymnastics, whatever. I also obviously know that kids in daycare hit too. Kennedy has been hit and bit at school. No bueno!

 

My mom lives in Oregon and Nick's mom works full time as a nurse so we don't have the option of a family member watching Kennedy but even if we did, we would still choose daycare. I think it's important to mention that you have to find the RIGHT daycare. I worked in 3 different daycares throughout high school and college. One of them was awful and two of them were great, so I knew what to look for. When we walked into Kennedy's daycare to take a tour for the first time, I knew this was where I wanted her to go. I just had an incredibly warm and cozy feeling. It smelled like cookies and fresh diapers out of the box, not like bleach, which was what the previous daycare we had toured smelled like. Everyone was so friendly and when we walked into the nursery, each of the workers was doing something "hands on." One of the workers was even in the playpen playing with some of the babies. Kennedy has learned so much from being in daycare. She started walking and talking at a pretty early age by watching other kids and she gets along with other kids very well. She is also starting to learn colors and numbers. Her daycare is housed at a Presbyterian church so they read bible stories and sing Christian songs with the kids. When she is in 3K, she will start going to chapel on Wednesdays for worship time.

 

Another great thing about daycare? There are no sick days! Some friends of ours had their child in an "in home" daycare. They had to take several days off work this year because their babysitter was sick. It's hard enough to take off days when you are sick or your child is sick. I can't imagine having to take off days because your babysitter is sick too. We also love the fact that Kennedy is kept on a routine at daycare. They have snack, lunch and nap at the same time everyday and we try out best to keep to that routine at home. They also do a lot of structured acivities with them, even in the toddler room. They have arts and crafts and a lady from the public library comes once a week to do a storytime with puppets for them. They get a sticker from her if they are a good listener and Kennedy is always excited to show us her sticker at the end of the day.

 

During the summer, we pay 1/3 of Kennedy's tuition to hold her spot at daycare. With this, we are able to bring her one day a week, which is great. It keeps her in the routine and used to her teachers and classmates. It also gives us a day to get things done around the house, run errands and have time to ourselves. I feel safe when Kennedy is at daycare and I can tell her teachers love her and she loves them too. All of her teachers have been wonderful Christian women.  Of course, I miss her while I am at work but it's so nice knowing she is in good hands. As I said at the beginning of this post "to each his own." I am sure that mom had her reasons for not liking daycare and that's okay too! We have just had such a great experience with our daycare and I wouldn't change it for the world!