how old when your child started daycare?

**sugar n spice** · 15-08-2006 14:44

i was interested to know when your child went into daycare so i thought id do a poll. My first child went into family day care at 18mnths and i was very hesitant about doing that at the time but it was great my second child is now 19mnths and not in daycare i often think about it but i cant stand the thought of it my 1st child day carer hadnt changed jobs then i would easily have kept going and taken my 2nd child aswell but because she quit i havent taken him to daycare. She was fantastic and so trustworthy its hard to build that trust and to have to search for a good one is hard i mean how do i know if he will be ok and if the centre is good. I know word of mouth is a good way to go.

**annsam** · 15-08-2006 14:56

My son started two days a week at 16 months and it was the best thing I could have done for him. Hes still going 2 days at 23 months. He LOVES daycare.

**sugar n spice** · 15-08-2006 15:02

Im glad your son loves daycare i know my oldest loved it and hated it when it finished but know one would take him on later as he wasnt fully toilet trained at three

**~EmsMum~** · 15-08-2006 16:28

dd will be around 5-6 months when she starts

**OceBel** · 15-08-2006 16:30

my dd was 2 when she started and has progressed heaps and loves it!

**Lunar** · 15-08-2006 16:32

Emy didn't start Daycare till she was nearly 3.
There was no need to put her in care as I only work nights and weekends.
I only out her in 1 day a week for the interaction with other kids.
She now goes to a specialised pre-school program 2 days a week.

**MissLou** · 15-08-2006 16:56

DS started Day care one day a week when he was six weeks old - my sister was the Qualified in the Nursery, so it didn't really feel like he was in day care.
He loved it completely and when he was 10 months old went full time so I could go back to work (single mum). He is now at school.

Now that I'm preg with #2 and there is no family around (especially my sister!) and for other reasons - bub won't be going to day care for some months if at all in the first year or two - I work from home so thankfully I have that luxury unlike other families I know.

**pookiesossige** · 15-08-2006 17:49

I went back to work with DS when he was 14 months- he went to daycare for one day a week and at his grandparents on another so I could work 2 days a week. He adapted very, very fast to the daycare thing and I kept him going until DD was three months old (a few weeks ago) so that I had a day home with her alone. I think that with a new bub at home, he liked having a routine and activities away from the house when so much change was taking place here.

DD is now just over three months old and I am looking for work- but I assume that it will take some time before I get a job- and longer before I actually start once I do. My s-i-l runs the local Occassional Care and that's where the two of them would go, depending on work hours. I will only work a couple of days a week.

**Karizma** · 15-08-2006 17:57

My DS was 2 and a bit, he used to go once a day every second week, he now goes once a week and he loves it and is learning heaps

**Femme-Fetale** · 15-08-2006 17:59

I voted 8-10 mths. (one day a week) I wanted to wait untill he was fully mobile. I felt a bit bad about putting him in any earlier as im a solo stay at home mummy, but the i soon came to realise, i needed the break as well, and my DS needed more stimulation. Day care was a great plus for him and he learnt things alot faster.