6 Unexpected Benefits of Daycare
September 1, 2017
Raising a Parent,Toys, Books, Activities
Making the decision to send our 13 month old baby to a daycare or child care center was really hard. Especially since I only work part-time and live in a joint family, most people are surprised when I tell them that Baby N goes to daycare 3 hours a day.
Of course we have our own reasons for doing so. The primary reason was that we were not able to find reliable, trustworthy childcare at home. We tried it out with a few nannies but we just did not find one we were comfortable enough with, in time for when I had to get back to the office.
Secondly there are no kids around where we stay and Baby N had practically zero interaction with anyone his age. Kids at that age emulate what they see others around them doing. Being around adults all the time meant that Baby N had no interest in toys, but was only interested in things he saw us using…utensils, electronics, switches. I knew he needed to be around children his own age.
So these were the two main reasons for opting for daycare. But to my surprise, there were many other unexpected benefits of daycare that we started realizing only after we started sending Baby N there.
6 Unexpected Benefits of Daycare – Baby & Beyond
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He sleeps better during the day
Baby N had always had an erratic nap routine. His naps would last anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours and they could be at any odd time of the day. I could never plan anything either for him or for myself. Even putting his down to sleep was a task that could take up to an hour or more. Now when he comes back from daycare, he is tired and nods off fairly quickly and sleeps soundly for at least 2-2.5 hours at a stretch.
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He has a fixed routine and stability
Since starting daycare, his entire day (at least weekdays)- wake time, bedtime, mealtime, playtime – has fallen into a fixed routine. The good thing is that there is stability in the routine. With child care centers, you are not relying on any one person for childcare. If a teacher at daycare is unavailable on any day, another teacher will take her place. Structured routine and stability helps toddlers feel secure, understand the concept of time and establish important habits (brush teeth in the morning, etc.) It also makes my life much easier.
Outdoor play
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His social skills are thriving
Interacting and playing with other kids, making new friends (I can see the recognition on his face when I say their names) has had such a positive impact on his social skills. His teacher tells me that though he is the youngest child there, he is attentive to the new children joining and if they cry he goes and pats them on the back. I was so moved when I heard this…what more could I ask for from my 16month old! #heartmelt
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His attention span has improved
Earlier he used to take out all his toys at the same time, scatter them all around, play with one for a few minutes, then toss it aside and move on the next. He didn’t have the patience to sit through a whole book, he would push it aside after 3-4 pages. I noticed that at daycare he would sit down with one toy at a time and soon this behaviour was reflected at home too. Now he chooses which 2-3 toys he wants from his cupboard and he can sit and play with them for a while. He pays more attention when we show him books too. I feel like he is able to focus his energies on a single task much better ever since he started daycare.
Book-time
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He has access to so many more resources than I could provide for him
He has access to a selection of best-in-class toys, books, games, outdoor play equipment, art supplies and other learning aids. I definitely could not have provided for so much at home.
Learning music
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He participates in a range of activities that I could not have organised at home
I am always amazed when I get his daily report, when I look at at all the fun activities he participates in – right from all sorts of arts and crafts to puppet shows, yoga, dress-up, celebrating birthdays and festivals, even participating in social causes such as the #jumpforhealth campaign…I don’t think I could provide so many enriching experiences to him at home.
Made a card for Fathers’ Day
Art and craft activities
Did you send your kids to daycare? Did you have child care at home? What has your experience been? I would love to hear your story. Do share in the comments below.
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My daughters did not go to Daycare, although they did start Playschool at the age of 2.2 years. As I work from home, I did not need to put them in a full day daycare.
Although I did hire a domestic help for a month at the time my kids were around 18 months, but my personal experience was so horrible that I realized that hiring one help for twins was a torture on them as well thus she was always frustrated and yelling on the kids. Thus now we manage on our own & sending them to playschool has been a blessing.
Every parent chooses the best alternative for their children based on their own unique situations. We did not have a good experience with domestic help as well but with me starting office, daycare worked very well for us.
I am a stay at home mom so didn’t send my daughter to day care but my friends have good experiences to share too.
Baby N is so cute. And believe me you know what’s best for your child. If you think he is ready for daycare, then go for it.
Daycare comes with it’s plus and minus.i am happy that you found a reliable place to send your child and you area seeing positive results of it.
Thank you so much Alpana. Its good to read such a positive comment when I know many people judge me for this decision too.
Such a great benefits about getting into daycare. But i missed this for my son as I had my mom to take care of him. Happy to join with you for #MyFriendAlexa !!!!
That’s great for you Vasantha. Good luck on #MyFriendAlexa
Kids tend to learn a lot of things faster at day care but i have my own apprehensions because i have seen kids suffer when kept in day care. That’s one of the reason why i didnt send my kid in a day care and chose to work from home,
Of course you need to be cautious and do your due diligence while choosing a daycare, as you would do with preschool and school as well. One of the selection criteria should be the security measures followed by the daycare.
Good to read about benefits of a daycare from a mom. I rarely read good points about daycare from many moms. All the points make sense and it is good for kids as it gives them good exposure.
Thank you Deepa. We are lucky to have found a really good daycare close to our place and we have had a positive experience so far.
My champ did not got to daycare but we did join mother toddler program for same reasons..
Those are also great for mother-child bonding and to give the child exposure to a learning environment before playschool starts.
My decision to send Kenisha to a day care was kind of similar. The nannies were useless plus they could not aid her development anyhow. We have parks here and enough kids but I love that she has a structured activity time and a perfect routine 5 days a week 🙂
Yes toddlers really respond well to structured routine and activities.
This is quite a motivating post for me as I am currently in two minds whether to start part-time day care for my kids. I agree on the social skills part and totally agree that kids become more independent as they begin with school and other such activity centers.
I’m happy to read that this helped you Charu.
I completely agree with you. Day cares are baby safe and baby friendly. If the teachers/carers are properly qualified and empathetic, this is the best care for a child. Frankly, even better than old parents because most day care workers are young and enthusiastic women who actually follow a regular program meant to nurture a child
Thanks forbsharing this post. Useful information you have shared I this post that would be helpful ?
I have been contemplating on this thought since long, reading your post helped me clear my mind and new perspective towards daycare. I can so understand your point of “No playing with toys”. Thank you for sharing this.
my daughter goes to daycare. that was the place that gave her a routine. I could not so I am grateful to them!
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