Author Topic: How to start child in daycare?  (Read 1219 times)

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Offline GabrielleD

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How to start child in daycare?
« on: November 06, 2006, 14:21:56 pm »
If this is posted in the wrong section, please feel free to move it.

I am planning on going back to work full time after the new year (and after we move to our new house (see previous post in the Lounge)), so I will place DS is full time daycare. I have no clue how to do this, what the logistics of it are.

1. Do I find a job first or daycare? My thought was that until I find a job and find out what the hours are then I can't really arrange for daycare, BUT how do you go on interviews when you have a child who is not in daycare (DH works full time). And no family in the area.

2. I am planning to find a licensed day care provider (not a center, since those are really expensive, although they would be my first choice). I've read some posts from some of you moms that you let your child become acclimated to daycare gradually - how did you do this? (fewer hours but going every day, or going a couple of days a week for the full day? Also, I am assuming that you weren't working at that point.

Help, these are probably completely idiotic questions, but I have no clue how to get started.

Thanks for the help.

Offline maggieruth

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Re: How to start child in daycare?
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2006, 14:50:47 pm »
not idiotic questions at all!  like with most things, i stressed this one and then ended up finding out that it was all good.
your darn ticker isn't showing itself yet so i am trying desperately to remember how old your lo is  :-[ as i could imagine that that would make certain things different.
for your first question- i was going back to my same old job so that was out of my hands... but the nursery did want as much time as possible to plan Ethan's entry into nursery.  tho, i DID base the days i would work on Ethan's nursery availability (but then again i work 3 long days which is equivilent to 4 days so figuring out how hours will work part time is different to full time jobs)
the aclimatisation process worked like this: i left him for a half hour and filled in forms whilst he hung out in his "class" (of babies), the next visit i left him for an hour and the next time a couple of hours.  all visits were fine and they would have called my mobile had they needed me to calm him etc but as i had already had a long chat with his key worker (who was there for all of his visits) and had written volumes about him, it went fine.
also, when he moves up into the next "class" he visits them from his own class but i am not involved in this process, i eventually meet the new key worker
i used to drop into bf on my lunch as Ethan started nursery at 8 months and that really helped me feel confident about my choice and i loved seeing him and touching base (gosh it was hard to stop).
hope all this helps!  things are quite different of course with different settings and scenarios.  hope its as successful for you as it was for us.

Offline Erin M

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Re: How to start child in daycare?
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2006, 19:54:19 pm »
Depending on how easy childcare is to find in your area, I would most likely start looking for childcare first, unless it's a relatively easy thing to find.  That way, you can be a bit choosey and not have to be under a time crunch that he has to be in childcare by a certain day and time. 

My LO was in daycare twice a week for awhile last year when I was working part time and I started off leaving her for just a few hours during the day and increasing the amount of time.  Your LO will be a bit older than mine was at that time though, so you'll be able to do more explaining to him as to what's going on.  I would say acclimation will also depend on how used to being without you he is.  If you've never really left him much before, it's going to be harder for him to settle into daycare (unless he's a very adaptable sort).

Good luck!

Offline GabrielleD

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Re: How to start child in daycare?
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2006, 23:29:38 pm »
Thanks so much for all of your help. This information makes it so much easier to plan. Thanks again.

P.S.: Maggieruth - it took me a little while to realize that when you mentioned "Ethan", you were talking about your son and not mine. Nice name! :D

Offline maggieruth

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Re: How to start child in daycare?
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2006, 08:36:25 am »
hee hee, i THOUGHT i remembered that your son was Ethan too!   ;D