When did your baby/toddler start daycare? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

[krysalyss]

We started DS at 5 months of age because DH and I both work but it is flexible hours so him being in one day really helped us get all of the work done. He really enjoyed it and I think only once cried when we left (about 3 months down the track when he was teething). He eventually went to two days. He found it really stimulating and loved interacting with the kids (he would give the sad ones cuddles and pats on the back etc). Although he is very affectionate he has never been very clingy so I think that helped him. When we started we went quite slowly and I spent time there with him before leaving him there alone. But the major thing was that he went to an awesome centre and bonded so well with the staff. He got to do lots of things there that we don't really do at home. Eg. we do some craft but he would get to every day he was there. Also they helped us to know where he was up to and should be up to for his age. Unfortunately we moved away from that area and his new centre wasn't up to scratch so he no longer goes. We have him on a waiting list for one that seems really good so will see what it is like if he gets in. I don't think you can always go on how happy they are either. DS rarely cries at daycare and where the first daycare always made sure he got what he needed, the second tended to use that as an excuse to forget about him in favour of other kids (eg. he would be left in shoes and jumpers for the whole day even after it got hot or he wouldnt get his bottle).
I really think the main thing is how good the carers and centre are. We considered his previous carers as extended family. He wasn't just safe there. He got what he needed both psychologically and physically. Unless we find that again, I don't think we will be sending him to another centre.

I hope this helps.


Also just about socialising. I think it is true that children dont really play with each other until they are a bit older (I think it is around 3). But socialising is also about them just spending time together, learning to recognise the behaviour, expressions and emotions of other children. These are the precursors of playing well together. I think any supervised situation is good for this though so playgroup, playgrounds, mothers group, kid classes (eg. music, gymbaree) will help encourage these skills.