Yes, another child care topic.

[Kayangel]

Just wanting to hear from these of you who have children in daycare 1 to 2 days a week for ur own personal reasons not working or studying reasons.

I have a few questions-
* Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how?
* do u belive they learn new things?
* do u belive they become more social?
* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child?

[SassyMummy]

I started DD at daycare 2 days a week when she was a bit past 3. Anywhere before age 2, I wouldn't think would be particularly beneficial for her... maybe for me, which would be okay if I needed time to myself... but not especially beneficial to her.

Anyway, she's almost 4 now, and she still goes 2 days a week. She doesn't get to start school next year, she has to wait an extra year... and I think it's giving her what she needs for now. It gives me time too. I'm not a single person, I have a bf, but I am a single mother (DD is not DP's daughter). I needed a break... I needed some time out, and I think DD needed it too.

She's learnt a bit at daycare - though most notably, her social skills are a lot better, as is her imagination. I didn't know many children so DD had spent most of her life with adults before she started daycare... it made her not-too-great when it came to interacting with other children. She wasn't very good at imaginative play either - she sucked at make-believe... everything was very literal.

She's still a very literal, realistic child... but she can pretend a little better and is better when it comes to playing with other kids now too. She's not as rough, is able to share, etc etc. She's just better with other kids than she used to be.

She even just learnt things that I couldn't teach her - just new songs and whatnot that I didn't know/forgot existed/etc. Her vocabulary is greater because she doesn't just hear the words I use for things... she hears words others use too.

It's not some big great thing that has improved her 10x over... but it's made a little difference. She was fairly intelligent anyway, but it's made her more of a kid really... being with adults all the time meant she was more of a mini adult than a silly carefree child... and I didn't really think that was fair.

She doesn't have siblings either, so it's not like she can play with anyone when she's home with me (apart from me, and I'm pretty boring).

It's also preparing her for school too really.

[cookie087]

Hi,

My son is nearly 6 months and he is booked in 3 days a week. I only take him for about 5 hours 1 or 2 of the days, depending when i need a break.

I think he benifits as he doesnt mind sharing (yes i know he is young, but ive seen other babys his age who kick up a fuss at giving something back). He also watches the older children and gets to copy them. He loves sitting or lying watching them play and they love interacting with him. He also is extremely chatty as they are constantly talking to him.

He is in Family daycare which i think makes a massive difference. There is no way id have him in a daycare centre.

I love it when i go pick him up and see him happy playing, or has done some hand/foot paintings. I think carers provide a whoile new aspect that we as parents cannot provide.

[Sheer Bliss]

:yes: DD has been in 2 days pw since I started maternity leave with now 2yo DS, so I could have one-on-one time with him and catch up on sleep. DS has been going 2 days pw for about 8months now (since horrid MS with the twins)

Do I think they benefit from it - yes, especially DD as she is getting used to solid structure with other kids around in preparation for school next year. DS is getting much better at sharing and not being so rough with other kids (he was a bit of a bully)

DS loves to sing and is now singing songs that we have learnt together, along with songs that I don't know, so he obviously learnt them from there. DD has learnt lots of letters and numbers all of a sudden. We had been sitting with her learning them, but not for a while (hospy trips and new twins leave very little time :o) and she can do sooo much more than when we last tried to write her name.

DD needs it for the social side - she gets very shy with strangers to start with, so I think it's good for her. DS has always been a boisterous boy, and still is - very friendly.

DD didn't want to go for a few months and would cry when i left her, but it was when DS was a few months old, and i think she thought she was missing out on time with me, she got over it. DS...he actually started months before I planned...i was pregnant and really needed the rest and it got too hard dropping DD off. He wanted to stay and I had to drag him out kicking and screaming as he wanted to play with the kids. :D

[Shananaaah]

DS (2yo) goes 2 days a week (he was in full time while I was at work, now I am on Mat Leave until January with DD). We kept him in for a few reasons.
1. He loves it. Goes on about "school" all the time and chatters about his friends and teachers. I love that he has something of his own and feels confident going, as I can be a nervous parent....
2. It gives me one on one time with DD which she deserves also.
3. It keeps our foot in the door with the centre for when I have to go back to work and they both have to go to FDC.

As for your questions..
*Do u honestly believe ur children benefit from going and how?
I don't think it's "necessary" for socialisation as there are other ways for kids to interact if a parent is at home with them during the week - playgroup, mums groups, friends, family etc. But I do like that DS has a sense of independence from DC, as I am a bit of a "helicopter" parents (am trying to rememdy this!!!)

* do u belive they learn new things?
DS is learning in leaps and bounds at the moment. Alot of it is from being at home and with me being able to spend quality one on one time with him, but about a month ago, he came home and proceeded to count to 10, recognise the written numbers and tell me all about a clock face. Stuff I hadn't ever done with him. He now counts and recognises up to 28. He teaches me new songs and dances, he plays games I don't know etc. To me, he is definitely benefitting from going - even though he would have learnt a lot of these things at home, he is still obviously getting something out of it.

* do u belive they become more social?
See first response - there are many ways to socialise a child so for me that isn't the number 1 reason for DS to be going. But I certainly think it can help.

* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child?
DS has definitely come home with some interesting behaviours which may be a natural growing up thing, or may be from other kids - biting, pinching, telling us to "sssh" when we say something he doesn't like. However given that the majority of his week is with me, these don't last for too long and I work hard at rectifying any negative behaviours. Our carers are awesome also, and we started an action plan so we were all doing the same thing when DS displayed these behaviours.

Ultimately, I think the key is in you having a good relationship with your child's carers, so you all know how you are dealing with things, what your child is doing, their interests, any issues they may have, and keeping the consistency between home and DC as much as possible.

[Purplebird]

I kept my DD in childcare one day a week when I went on maternity leave with my DS. I wanted to spend some time with him 1:1. However, DD loves going to creche. She has been at the same place since she was 13 months and it is very small and friendly. We don't have family in this country, so I thought it was important for DD to have another place she goes to weekly with different people where she feels safe.

DD is a sociable confident child. I can't say if childcare has done that, but I'm pretty sure it has helped. I also love the fact that she gets experiences and learns things that I wouldn't necessarily think of doing with her/teaching her. The only negative impact I have seen is that she gets very tired and grumpy at the end of the day, but that is not as bad now she is nearly 2.5.

[Bunnyhugs]

My son is in preschool one day a week. He absolutely loves it.

* Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how? Yes he has totally benefited from going one day a week. He's made friends independent of me in that he has formed a friendship because he wanted to, not because their parents were friends of ours. He's learned the alphabet which is something I've tried to teach him but he had no interest in learning. He comes home singing songs that I've tried to sing with him before he started but again, he showed no interest at all.

* do u belive they learn new things? Of course. Like I said above, he's learned many things in the 2 terms since he started.

* do u belive they become more social? That wasn't really a problem with my son LOL he's never had any issues interacting with our friends' children.

* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child? Not at all.

My son only started going to pre-school this year. He's 3. Primarily, I sent him because he's a very smart kid and I felt I was 'dumbing him down' by making him stay home with me. He needed something else to do, independent of me.

Another reason was because I didn't want him to go from spending all day every day with me to suddenly going to kindy 5 days a week. I wanted it to be a slow transition. Next year I'm planning on sending him for 2 days a week for this reason.

[Fuchsia!]

* Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how?

yes totally. I noticed a huge change in my DS when he started. His confidence went up so much it was unbelievable. He became a lot less scared of people other then me. He has learnt how to share and he interacts with other children.
* do u belive they learn new things?
Yes, DS always comes home with new hand actions while he attempts to sing. He is counting as well.
* do u belive they become more social?

My oldest DS (is in school now) really thrived in DC. He was more sociable. My other DS who is currently in DC, before he started he woudn't go to anyone but me, not even my parents. I had a friend come over the other week and she couldn't believe the change in him
* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child?

It has never ever impacted in any negative way with either of my children. I can't think of one negative thing. Only positives.

[delirium]

Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how?

We sent DD at about 2.5 and she really blossumed socially. Most of our friends kids are older so she didn't have a lot of interaction in her own age group. Now she is in pre school and is confident and doing really well.

do u belive they learn new things?

Yes and no. It really depends on what you expose your kids to at home. Day care is more of a fun atmosphere where there is lot of painting, singing and learning basic skills. By pre school they are starting to hone in on certain skills like writing their name and using sissors.

do u belive they become more social?

Yes DD has. But I also think that kids (especially boys) sometimes aren't ready and lots of daycare can actually impede their social skills where they pick up bitting, hitting ect.

* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child?

I admit that there have been a couple of times DD has come home upset bc someone has hit her or been mean. But that's an opportunity for us to teach her about manners and nice behaviour vs rude behaviour and how she should deal with it next time.

[2girls&1boy]

My DD2 goes to daycare 2 days per week & I am a SAHM. I also have DD1 who goes to Kindy 5 days/fortnight & and 11mth old son.

* Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how? Definately. Just watching her interaction with other children now compared with when she started is amazing. Part of that is getting older but she gets to interact with littlies of her own age & gets to do things that we don't necessarily do all the time at home. They do so many diverse things (I could never think of all the great things to do)

* do u belive they learn new things? Definately - daycare was instrumental in her TT.
* do u belive they become more social? My DD is pretty social anyway but she is a very outgoing little girl & has made loads of friends

* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child? No

[mum2bubba]

* Do u honestly belive ur children benefit from going and how?
Yes I do because she gets away from grumpy old mum for a few hours and has a chance to be around other children and carers, she loves playing with the toys and being in a different environment

* do u belive they learn new things?
Yes, she has has come home singing different songs, saying new words etc

* do u belive they become more social?
I don't really know tbh, we already go to the library, playdates, playgroup etc so those things it itself is enough really. I put her in more so for myself so I could get a break

* has it eva had a bad impact on ur child?

Not really, the only 'bad' thing is she sometimes comes home grumpy and tired but thats about it.

Disclaimer: I am talking about Skye who is 2 years old, she goes every Thursday morning for 3 hours.

[SassyMummy]

It can depend on the centre, too.

DD has been to 2 different centres, and I must say I'm way more happy with the 2nd. The first was okay, but they were so disorganised and seemed to do very little in the way of planned activities. It was more like "fun babysitting" than anything else.

The 2nd is more like a school - their day is structured pretty heavily, and they're learning to write their names and do artwork every single day... which is displayed all over the room.

So far they've had an AFL player come and teach the kids football, and they've also had a tennis player come and do the same. The centre actually has a mini tennis court as a part of it.

They do lots of activities too - that are cheap or free. They've learnt how to properly look after their teeth, having a visit from the dentist and focussing on teeth all week... they've got a few upcoming things too - a trip by a specially-trained dog to show the kids how to treat dogs (it's to prevent dog bites), they're having ocean creatures brought in that they can look at and touch and will have a speaker teach them about ocean creatures, and they're having a bunch of fertilised chicken eggs that will be hatching in the centre, and then they'll get to take care of the chicks. They'll be learning about that whole life-cycle thing.

They're learning to recognise the written versions of their names and basically, they're doing a fair bit more with the kids than they were at her previous school.

It's a pretty good centre.

[Boobycino]

This is just my totally hypothetical point of veiw, I dont think I'd ever have the financial freedom to have bubba in care unless I was working, though I think if I had the money I would.

I would love to have a weekly or maybe even just a fortnightly "mental health day"

I have no family nearby, very few close friends and absolutely nobody who I trust (nor anyone particularly who've offered) to take care of my son from time to time. Its ALL on me. My DP takes him for a few hours here and there, but its barely enough time to do the washing or vaccuming.

I've worked in childcare, so I know the benefits - social, educations, emotional etc. There are lots of benefits in my mind to having a young child in care, maybe not so much for under 2 years, then it wouldn't be so much for HIM as it would be for ME. The benefits would be a sane and happy mummy to come home to!

I also see no shame in admitting to the fact that I'm not coping and would LOVE a regular break from my son. I'd love to miss him and look forward to seeing him one day a week, so I'd appreciate him more and have maybe have some more emotional energy to give to him.