Occasional Care, opinions please..

Just looking for opinions please. DH and i are looking at maybe putting ds into occasional care maybe once a fortnight. I am keen to have him in care for a day a week closer to when the next bub arrives but DH isn't sure so this is a compromise for now that we are looking at. We have found an occasional care centre that is linked with a kinder so he would be interacting with older children and we would look at doing it once a fortnight to begin with.

My concern is that the session is only for the morning so he will only be going once a fortnight for 4 or so hours. Im in two minds about whether this would be beneficial for him or just confusing. DS is a very social creature and loves older kids especially so i think he would enjoy that time with them and i dont think he would have an issue being away from us but im worried that doing it just once a fortnight would do him little benefit. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of situation and have they found this to be beneficial for their babies? Ds is 16 months old. Id be interested to hear opinions from people who work in early childhood education also.

Thanks for your advice!

A fortnight is a long time for a little, even a week is. I found with DD1 when she was going to OC then long day care that she did not settle in very well until she started 2 days per week. I am finding the same with DD1, she started care at 20 months, she can only go once per week and is having some trouble settling. They have recommend that I send her twice a week.

If you are going to use OC, then it is better to opt for once a week, rather than once a fortnight. Not only with it give your DS some stability, but you will probably find that time beneficial.

Where is Audax - she'll give you the best advice, methinks... however...

I work in a centre, and to be honest, I don't think it would be worthwhile. I find it is difficult for children to settle when it is once or twice a week for full days, let alone four hours over a fortnight.

I could be wrong and your little man could be a trooper - but I just think not really being able to adjust to the idea of being away from mum - and it being a once off every fortnight might be a bit traumatic. I don't think an older child would be so bad, as they grasp time better therfore it would become routine but 2 weeks is a fair gap for a sixteen month old.

Thanks for the advice ladies. I kinda thought this might be the case which is why i was keen for a day of childcare but thats a no go for dh at the mo. DS is very resilient in terms of being away from us, he never sheds a tear when we leave him but in saying that we have never left him with a stranger (usually our parents or a friend who he sees once or twice a week) so he may have a diff reaction if we leave him with people he doesn't know. I guess i can always try and if its a disaster i can always stop or take him more often which is the benefit with occasional care i guess.

I'm with the others on this one, I honestly think once a week would be a better option than just a few short hours once a fortnight :) I put DD1 in one day a week (from 8:30 till 4:30) at around 18 months and she adjusted very well (she's also a very social creature and loved the interaction and learning that I couldn't provide at home), but she's doing even better now that she's doing two days a week. She's more familiar with the routine and her carers and is more 'in the circle' with the kids who go there, because they tend to leave out the kids who only show up once in a while, kwim? Not that anybody gets picked on or ostracised, they just form stronger bonds when they see each other more often.
I even think a half-day of care is 'too little', really - they get settled and then mum shows up to take them home, kwim? When I pick DD1 up in the afternoon she's still hard at it (playing and enjoying herself) and is full of stories about what she did during the day.

I found that DD1 adjusted just fine to being left with strangers - having all those other kids and new toys and activities tends to distract them from the fact that they don't recognise the grown-ups around them ;) She went through a phase about three or four months after starting daycare when she would cry as I left her in the mornings, but she got over it quickly and the carers always assured me she settled about two minutes after I walked out the door (and I witnessed it myself from the carpark lol, the little miss!).

Best of luck with whatever decision you make, but yes, from my own experience I would say it's more beneficial and easier on the little ones to put them in for a full day or more frequently to allow them time to really get to know the other kids and their carers. DD1 has formed some lovely bonds with her carers and looks forward to seeing them on Mondays and Wednesdays, and they love her, too :) Good luck! :)

My boys have all done occ care and it has been great for them :D I think too a weekly gig might be better than fortnightly only because I found if mine were sick one week and missed a session, they were quite clingy the next week at drop off. I guess all you can do is give it a go and see how it works for him!

I have my DS in OC once a week for a morning session and he LOVES it! he just wonders in when they open the door at 9am and he is just off and racing picking up stuff and throwing it on the floor! I am hoping to get him in on another morning as well because at this stage I think a full day is too much for him he gets tired around the 11:30am/12noon mark so when I go to pick him up he is ready to go home. DS is 14mths so at the moment he is the youngest in the group and doesnt go so well with a ton of kids flying around they tend to knock him over and stuff.
As I said ideally we would like to get him in at least 2 mornings a week before bub no.2 arrives late June so he has something to keep him occupied during the week and he also gets that interaction with other children. I noticed that he started to walk a lot more when he went to OC than what he did at home.

Are you able to spend sometime at the OC centre with DS so it isn't so strange to her and they carers are more familar to make it easier on him?

Could i please ask you lovely ladies :D ... Is Occasional Care something that you Mum's use as a way to have a break from your little ones or is that you are at work on those days ? ... Hope you don't mind my asking as we have one in our town and i've been curious as to what Mum's use the service for :dunno: ... as everyone i know that wants a bit of a break from their kid/s has their Mum's at hand to babysit, unlike myself who has folks miles away !!

^ I'm a SAHM and put DD1 in two days a week of daycare, partly to give myself a break or the freedom to run errands/do grocery shopping/have a coffee with a girlfriend without wrangling her (lol DD2 is still in that 'easy' stage, she'll be going into one day a week when she gets too frustrating to take to Woolies lol), but mostly just because of the benefits to DD - being able to play with other kids her age, the chance to do arts and crafts and play games that I wouldn't in a million years dream of coming up with at home, and basically the whole 'early learning' that I can't offer her; as well as giving her the opportunity to bond with 'teachers' and learn to follow their instruction etc, kwim?
I'm very lucky that I have my mum nearby, but she tends to get easily frustrated with DD1 as she's so mischievous and defiant, and mum works part-time and is out of town a lot of weekends so I really only get her to watch DD1 for a couple of hours a week. It's just more convenient to put her in care rather than rely on my mum's hectic schedule! :)
I was a bit apprehensive about it at first but it's turned out to be a wonderful thing, I honestly think DD1 gets more out of her days in care than I do :)

From a carers point of view, one day a fortnight makes it incredibly hard to settle any child in. Even one day a week can prove very difficult, because, as mentioned, a week is a very long time in the life of a child.
Also it makes providing that place difficult as you need to find someone who wants to use the off week of care for that day.

Here I am! Sorry a bit late...

Beaut... I would let the little guy guide you. Try once a fortnight, and if it's not working (give it at least six weeks) then think about taking him out or going in for the extra week. You know him better than anyone, and you'll know from his reaction what is right for you.

s4u - people use OC for all sorts of reasons. Dental appointments, work functions outside normal hours, working from home, sanity time.

I agree with Audax. Your son may absolutely love going to childcare and one day a fortnight might not bother him. Some children can find it difficult to settle into childcare settings. I am an early childhood teacher and from that view point I would probably say one day a week would be better if he finds it difficult to settle. But I am also a mummy and my DD started occaisional care at 18mths for probably one day a fortnight- one day a week for 4 hours at a time. She absolutely loved it and would get so excited when she knew where we were going. Now she goes 1-3days, 4hrs per day a week and will ask if she hasn't been for a while if she is going to school. So it may work out that your son is like my daughter. He might adore it and not have trouble settling, in which case, 1 day a fortnight would be fine until your DH comes to terms with it, otherwise if he has trouble settling, I would try to convince your dh to put him in for 1 day a week.