My workplace is a 45-minute commute from home (on a good day!)...I am wondering if people with a long commute choose a day care close to home or close to work.
I always assumed I would choose a place close to home but a friend mentioned that close to work might be more convenient.
What say you?
apricot / 384 posts
Someone once told me that it's better to be closer to home so that if LO is ever sick they don't have to spend a lot of time in the car. I also think it's better to be closer to home so that DH & I can share the pick up/drop off duties. He drops off and I pick up right now.
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
my daycare is literally 3 min away (by walk), but her house is on sale and will be moving about 10 min away (by car)
I have flexible work hours so I always arrive on time. but i know those who finish work late tend to find a place closer to work (only if you like your job) because if you switch then you need to find another daycare.
kiwi / 691 posts
Our daycare is about 10 minutes from our house but an hour+ (by commuter train) from my office. I often wish it was closer to work because then at least I could be with her right away if anything happened, even if we weren't close to home.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Rubies: hm. In your case it is a conundrum because I would want to get to my LO ASAP. Better her in the car with me than waiting at daycare alone.
Where is your ped and husband's work in relation?
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
@regberadaisy: We are ALL OVER TORONTO! It's freakin' insane. From home, my work is 45 minutes west, hubs is 45 minutes south, and ped is 30 minutes southwest!
Maybe I should move...
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
Our day care is closer to our home than to our work. Hubs and I don't work very close together so it made more sense to be close to home so we can share drop off/pick up duty.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Rubies: oh good lord! And that's on a good day??
Honestly, I would personally choose somewhere in between work & pediatrician. Because if you're picking them up in a emergency you're likely taking them to the peds afterwards right?
The theory of close to home is nice when you live in a city where everything is 15-20minutes away. Not the case in Toronto!
nectarine / 2797 posts
We had to make the same choice, we went with a daycare closer to home. This way DH and I can split the pickup/dropoff, since we work in opposite directions. Also this way if either of us were working from home, or if one of us was sick but LO was not, we could still take her to daycare for the day. If LO does get sick and need to be picked up, I'd rather her stay at her daycare where she is used to being and can be comforted by a caretaker than have to ride in the car for 45 minutes where I can't see/hold her while we get home.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
a block and a half. turns out the closest daycare was also our #1 choice. being so close by has been awesome because we're always forgetting something and having to drop it off.
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
When we have a LO, I will be working at the daycare. One of the many reasons I want to move back and get back to my old job.
If we had a LO now, my commute is 45 minutes but DH works close to home so we'd probably choose a daycare near home.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
I was thisclose to choosing a daycare near work but we found one we loved near home. It's not close to home, it's still 15 minutes from there, but it's closer to home than work. I say, research a bunch and pick the one you like best. Everyone is going to have a say on whether it's better to have it closer to home or closer to work. For us it was all about the daycare and the cost.
pear / 1837 posts
We're kind of in the same boat... DH works 35 minutes from home, I work 45 minutes from home, and our offices are in opposite directions. (and our commutes can go up exponentially with traffic)
We're happiest with a daycare close to home, so we can share pickup/dropoff. For a while, LO was in a different daycare near DH's office, and it was really hard on him to have to do all the LO-driving... plus if I ever needed to come out to get LO, it was a royal pain.
I actually disagree with @regberadaisy... when LO is old enough to have real conversations in the car, I think I'd probably agree that car time together is valuable, but at a year old, I think LO has a better time and probably gets more out of the extra hour at daycare vs. in the car.
pomelo / 5178 posts
Our daycare is about 15-20 minutes from work; 6 minutes from the house.
I would also say a daycare closer to home is better, since your LO may end up hating the car (or may go through a car-hating phase, like mine did), and you will be counting the seconds until you can get home.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
Ours is in between home and work. I think it is better to be closer to home if I had to pick. There are certain days when we don't have work and daycare is open so it is more convenient to have it closer to home.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I wanted a daycare that was close to home and our doctor's office, in case LO got sick. I figured it would be easier to commute alone in that case, rather than deal with a sick child on public transport. Also, if you don't have to go to work that day because you have off for some reason, you're not commuting just to drop of your LO.
It ended up being a non issue because the place by our house didn't have a spot and the other choice was 40 minutes by car in the other direction.
persimmon / 1465 posts
tough pick. Close to work is good for when LO is sick and you have to do an early pickup. That will happen. Lots! It is awkward on day care days you are not working. I would go close to work. It's what we have done and it works for us. (presuming there are day cares you love at both spots)
bananas / 9227 posts
I think either or works. I'd probably choose the better location/facilities since both would be convenient to get to.
We got lucky and have a daycare adjacent to the park near our house. It works for us since I'll be working from home part-time.
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