To daycare or not to daycare

After parental leave is complete and you need to start back to work, what do you plan on doing with your child? Most of us can't afford to have a parent stay home permanently, we do not live in a culture where our employers encourage on-site daycare, so whats a family to do? Two options stand out... private child care or a registered day-care facility. Each has their pluses and minuses. For us, from talking to people who have done both, most recommend the daycare route because of the socialization, routines and structure the children get. A teacher told us that she can easily tell which kids starting school have been to daycare and which haven't. The daycare kids are much more adjusted to the school system before even starting. Now, day cares do have their downside. They typically cost more money, they're a breeding ground for colds and flues and other creepy-crawly things and even though the children get alot of exposure to other kids, they may not get the one-on-one attention they would get from private child care.

So, it looks like we'll first investigate the daycare option. Jennifer took some time last week to begin scoping out potential day cares for our little one. From what people tell us, the good ones have a waiting list so we need to get our name on the list early. Reading information on the web which is mostly all US based, it recommends looking 1 month before needing daycare. Here in Canada, we've been told to begin looking 1 to 2 years before you need it and you may need to start paying for your spot before your kid actually begins as once a spot becomes available, it may not become available for quite some time after that.

She checked out 3 of them. Two came recommended by friends and co-workers and the third is one in her mother's neighborhood that she was always curious about.

One of the 2 that was recommended had an open house on Saturday so she took me down to check it out. I really have never sat foot in a daycare so I had no idea of what to expect. My knowledge of childcare begins with the memories I have of kindergarten and watching those silly movies like "Kindergarten Cop" or that Eddie Murphy movie "Daddy Daycare". My first observation was how young all the staff was. It's difficult being in your mid 30's and having trust that someone in their early 20's would be capable of managing 10 kids at a time. From talking to them, we had different opinions on a couple issues but nothing major. Once a week, they all make a trip to the YMCA for activities there. This center is really close to our place and was supposed to close due to a lack of kids, but the push is on now to fill the vacancies to keep it open. We're on their list.

The other recommended daycare is on the way to Jennifer's work. Jennifer said that the staff there is older and she had a better feeling of comfort with the staff and the facilities itself. They actually have a teacher of Asian descent who is immigrating to Canada starting there soon for a 1 year work term which will should give the center a better understanding of the Asian culture. Too bad we weren't ready to take her to daycare now. They are close to Centennial Park and a Seniors Center so they make frequent trip to both of those places with the kids. This place has a long waiting list so we've added our name to their list.

The third center was somewhat of a surprise. For not expecting much, Jennifer was impressed with their facilities and the operator of the facility was Filipino. They are willing to take our child for a part time basis at the beginning just in case we have any lingering attachment issues.

There are many more but from what we've seen, they all appear to be about the same price and are all relatively the same when it comes down to program and quality of care. The meals are all healthy and the needs of the children seem to come first with all of them.