The decision of who should watch your child can be a stressful and emotional decision, especially if it’s your first time parting with him/her for an extended period of time. Other than leaving your kid with a relative or having a stay at home parent, the two most popular childcare options are hiring a nanny or enrolling your child in a daycare center. These two choices both have their pro’s and con’s, so it is important to be informed of the good and bad before ultimately making a decision.
Daycare is a childcare option in which parents can drop off their child each day to learn, grow, play, and be supervised. Usually, daycare centers watch children who are infants to pre-schoolers. Some daycare centers provide services for before-school and after-school supervision as well. Most daycares are national or regional chains, along with being privately owned.
Daycare can be a positive option for many families, especially when the parents have flexible schedules. Daycare can be great for developing kids’ social skills since they are constantly around other children who all play, learn, and grow with one another. Daycare can be a great introduction into socialization for young kids. Daycare can also be very cost efficient and safe, since they use vetted and experienced teachers.
While there are positives with daycare, there are also many negatives. In daycare centers, there are many other kids around yours for the entirety of the day, meaning that germs and illness can spread like wildfire. When a child is young, they are more susceptible to illness and disease, which is one of the biggest cons of the daycare system. Daycare is also very inflexible when it comes to timing. Typical daycare hours are 6-7am to 6-7 pm on weekdays.
