When I first sent my daughter to full time daycare (Kiddie Academy) at 3 months old, I cried. I was so sad to "send her away" at that tender age. I literally sobbed myself to work during that first week.
Aria is now almost 1, and she LOVES her daycare. She is happy when we drop her off and happy when we pick her up. She is even making friends and playing hide'n seek with some of the kids there. She has even started signing! Despite all these positives signs my husband and I have made the tough decision to move her from this daycare center to an at-home daycare.
Logically speaking, the reasons to change are great!
1. The new daycare is literally an 8 minute walk from my house.
2. The daycare has a better ratio of caregiver to kids with two adults for 5 kids.
3. The cost of the new daycare is 1/3 less than the current daycare.
4. The new daycare will provide food so I don't have to worry about packing her breakfast and lunch and premix her formula everyday.
5. Because it's in a residential area, I feel like the air is better.
6. She does some structured activities such as nature walks and simple arts and crafts.
Conclusion: The savings in time, energy, gas, and money is very significant. We can finally start that college fund for her!
Despite all the positives of the new daycare, there are some negatives.
1. She has the TV on all the time as background noise. Or to play music for the older kids to dance and wiggle to. Sometimes she puts it to news (cause I guess she gets bored)
2. She has a pet dog and cat, and that may possibly irritate underlying allergic tendencies.
3. She allows people to wear shoes in the house... so her floors are not as clean as I would like. And since Aria is still crawling, I worry about germs!
This decision is causing us stress. We have tried out the new daycare for 3 days... and Aria does not seem to be adjusting very well. It's possible that the difficult transition is exacerbated by teething and a cold. But as a mother, I can't help but worry when I hear that my daughter has refused to eat all day and is barely drinking her milk.
Tomorrow will be Aria's last official day at Kiddie Academy. She will go there for her last day, take pictures with her teachers there. And that will be it. Tomorrow will be the point of no return. There is currently a wait list at Kiddie Academy, so once we leave... we can't immediately go back. And even if we do go back, we will lose our current tuition rate and have to pay at the higher rate.
It's stressful... it really is! Will she get better care? Will she get worse care? Will she have ADD because the TV is on? Will she be able to reach her full potential in a less structured environment such as this? Will we end up going back to Kiddie Academy and end up paying more money in the long run?
I guess this is a situation where we have to go with logic. One or two years of early childhood care will not make or break Aria's future. I did not go to a daycare center until I was 3, and I am JUST FINE
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