Q. New mom worried about child care: My husband and I are expecting our first kid in 2016. What are the pros and cons of letting grandparents watch the baby? My MIL has offered to watch the baby one day a week. I am hesitant to take her up on that unless my mother is also able to take one day a week. I have seen when other family members have had kids how having unequal grandparent time can lead to hurt feelings or resentment as the baby naturally becomes more attached to one side over the other. I don’t want to set myself up for conflict, and isn’t it hard to find a day care willing to take the baby for only three or four days a week? (Both grandmothers are lovely women—so there’s no issue there.)
A: I am inclined to think you are overthinking this. You are being offered at least one day a week of free child care and have two lovely grandmothers on hand for the 2016 edition; it sounds ideal to me. You can’t prevent a possible future closeness between your upcoming child and one or more of their grandparents. Turning down this generous offer of assistance because you’re worried your baby might eventually prefer one grandmother over another seems like the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Commenter parents: I haven’t had any children, so I’m not very familiar with day care policies. Do many of them offer part-time child care? It would seem a little strange if none of them were willing to take in kids for just a few days a week, but maybe there are wheels within wheels I’m just not aware of. What’s your experience?
That depends. Our local daycare only billed hours. And, the daycare owner was pretty flexible about it. But, for most places, you will have to pay full time. However, she can take her up on the offer at other times. Maybe they want a night out or a day to go shopping or whatever as well. THere are lots of oppportunities to babysit. But, her concerns about this being "equal" are silly. SHE is the one setting up a problem that doesn't even exist. The more people who love your child, the better. It isn't a competition. Sheesh.
Be thankful you have parents who are looking forward to being involved and shut up.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I tried finding part time care here and it was non-existent. I had to pay full time to hold her spot even though she wouldn't be there for all those hours.
But this is silly. If that is your only issue with it, then just do it and don't overthink it.
My grandma babysits way more than any other family member. She lives closest to us so it makes the most sense. She loves having DS so it's not a problem. My uncle lives with her so he gets a lot of DS time too. DS still loves his other grandparents to pieces and is attached to them.
I'd be fine with my MIL babysitting him for overnights but she works and FIL doesn't change diapers so that's a no go until DS is potty-trained.
It's best to realize now that nothing will ever be "equal". Even trying to do that will drive you insane. And whether you manage to keep things equal does not mean your kid will like spending time with them equally. One is bound to be more fun than another.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Most places I have encountered that are centers have either part time or full time tuition. Most home daycare's tend to just do full time price for the week.
I pay for full time care. Full amount due on the 1st of each month. They provide breakfast, two snacks and lunch. I send in extra snacks to have on hand just in case. My tuition covers two weeks of paid vacation for the staff a year as well. They close for one week in July and then again for Xmas.
None of the day cares around here do part time. That was the issue when we were watching Marilyn.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
Some of ours will do 3-day part time, but not 4. If you want more than 3, you bump to full time. So, doing 4 days a week would cost full time. And the part time rate is higher on a pro-rata daily basis than full time.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
SOME of ours have a drop in day thing. But you have to be registered ahead of time and pay the registration fee ahead of time. And then it's a daily rate. And that's if they have room.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
SOME of ours have a drop in day thing. But you have to be registered ahead of time and pay the registration fee ahead of time. And then it's a daily rate. And that's if they have room.
Drop in rates are soooooo high.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
SOME of ours have a drop in day thing. But you have to be registered ahead of time and pay the registration fee ahead of time. And then it's a daily rate. And that's if they have room.
Drop in rates are soooooo high.
Yes. They are.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
I meant to ask Caitlyn if they have the drop in day care.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
It is not the norm here. In fact, there is no part time daycare. There's only full time and drop in. And drop in is only if they have empty slots. Which most of the time the empty slots are in the older school age kids. Not in the smaller ages. I know a couple people that looked into part time daycare here. There isn't any here.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
The real question, Husker, is when is the last time you had to shop around for daycare?
I haven't--but like I said, my buddy has a daycare for his twins that only charges the days they are there. They are in it NOW.
You said it was a CHURCH daycare. I am talking about the CHAINS.
flan
Well, i have had all kids in daycare. And, I paid by the HOUR. And, my mom would watch my kids one or two days a week. So, no, i was not charged a weekly rate but an hourly rate. It wasn't a big deal and that is how she operates her daycare. And, no it was not a Church daycare. So, if you all want to continue with your mantra that all daycares operate the same, they don't.
Just asked Caitlyn if they do drop in and/or hourly where she works.
Yes they do.
But it can be very high.
Where she works has two locations, is both private but also has a state run pre-k inside it.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
The real question, Husker, is when is the last time you had to shop around for daycare?
I haven't--but like I said, my buddy has a daycare for his twins that only charges the days they are there. They are in it NOW.
You said it was a CHURCH daycare. I am talking about the CHAINS.
flan
BS. Where in the post I responded to did it say anything about chains? The conversation was about daycares in general--and they don't all operate the same way.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
The real question, Husker, is when is the last time you had to shop around for daycare?
I haven't--but like I said, my buddy has a daycare for his twins that only charges the days they are there. They are in it NOW.
Well, I will tell you that is not the norm. Except maybe in Nebraska, but you people seem to do a lot of things differently there.
I never said it was the norm. Hence why I said in my first post "not necessarily". You seem to think that every place is the same as yours. Gaga refutes that, as well.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
The real question, Husker, is when is the last time you had to shop around for daycare?
I haven't--but like I said, my buddy has a daycare for his twins that only charges the days they are there. They are in it NOW.
You said it was a CHURCH daycare. I am talking about the CHAINS.
flan
BS. Where in the post I responded to did it say anything about chains? The conversation was about daycares in general--and they don't all operate the same way.
No, they don't. But most of the good ones do. They usually have waiting lists and can have stricter requirements. The ones that tend to allow more leeway are ones that don't have the same hours, or close more frequently, or are more casual.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
The real question, Husker, is when is the last time you had to shop around for daycare?
I haven't--but like I said, my buddy has a daycare for his twins that only charges the days they are there. They are in it NOW.
You said it was a CHURCH daycare. I am talking about the CHAINS.
flan
BS. Where in the post I responded to did it say anything about chains? The conversation was about daycares in general--and they don't all operate the same way.
No, they don't. But most of the good ones do. They usually have waiting lists and can have stricter requirements. The ones that tend to allow more leeway are ones that don't have the same hours, or close more frequently, or are more casual.
Um, ok.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
A lot of daycare have an alternative aftercare program and school holiday hours.
That varies day to day.
They actually figure in openings for those.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Too much emphasis is put on "chain" daycares or whatever.
Likely, some neighbor down the street could have her own daycare and do as good or better of a job--and cheaper. Both my sister and one SIL had daycares at one point and neither ever had any complaints.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
Too much emphasis is put on "chain" daycares or whatever.
Likely, some neighbor down the street could have her own daycare and do as good or better of a job--and cheaper. Both my sister and one SIL had daycares at one point and neither ever had any complaints.
Too much emphasis is put on "chain" daycares or whatever.
Likely, some neighbor down the street could have her own daycare and do as good or better of a job--and cheaper. Both my sister and one SIL had daycares at one point and neither ever had any complaints.
There are pros and cons to both. Having a private in-home daycare is preferable for the personal touch, but then you have to scramble when that person gets sick, or they need a day off, or they go on vacation. And many of them are just babysitters - they don't do enrichment and learning. A dedicated daycare center is held to higher standards with licensing requirements, usually has a learning curriculum in place, and doesn't close except for holidays.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
And I have found that daycares that have openings for drop-offs and part-time kids are not the most desirable daycares.
Again, your area, not everywhere.
My kids got excellent care when they were little.
Baby J went to a private in home daycare. We loved her except for all her personal days - they were numerous, and there was no back up when she was sick. We got through it, but life got a whole lot easier when she started Pre-school and I had a set schedule for her.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
The boys' did not attend "daycare" until they were two, and it was "preschool". They take them full time, part-time, half-days, full-days, after school, before school, whatever you want. But you commit to it at the beginning of the school year (first day after Labor Day), and different rates apply depending on which "schedule" you chose. Two year olds are more expensive, too, as they provide diapers/potty training, etc.
That being said, for those first two years my parents came to my house three days a week. I worked from home the other two days. And naturally, the boys adore my parents where they don't really know the in-laws. This created some very hard feelings on the part of my in-laws. Before having the boys, everyone got along quite well. We would host (or MIL would host) gatherings where my parents were included. Once the boys were born, the in-laws* were jealous that the boys preferred to sit by my parents at the table, or play with my parents. But the problem was, the in-laws (except SIL & MIL) wouldn't make any attempt to play with them or interact with them. They would sit on the sofa and just watch them, or ignore them altogether.
*in-laws = FIL and his wife. SIL & MIL weren't really jealous, and put forth efforts to bond with the boys.
This bond and lack of bond continues to this day. Last night I wrote out thank you notes for the in-laws for the boys to sign (it was easier than fighting with them over having them write them out themselves). #1 insisted on signing the card to FIL "sincerely", but when it was time to sign SIL's card, he signed, "love". I'm sure there will be fall-out from that, but as #1 says, "what evs."
And I have found that daycares that have openings for drop-offs and part-time kids are not the most desirable daycares.
Again, your area, not everywhere.
My kids got excellent care when they were little.
Baby J went to a private in home daycare. We loved her except for all her personal days - they were numerous, and there was no back up when she was sick. We got through it, but life got a whole lot easier when she started Pre-school and I had a set schedule for her.
Dunno. The lady we had got a replacement when she had to be gone.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.