Hellobee Boards

Pro:
Socialization skills
Understanding and enjoying structure and routine
Good habits like being a good helper and cleaning up.

Con:
Illnesses (mostly in her first 2 years, though)
Food and drink we may not really want her to have.
Related to above: Parties - always with the parties and the crap food.

Pros: Our sanity. Socialization. All the fun activities and outside time. The teachers are great and they don't follow the school district schedule.

Cons: I miss my little goofball and I'm really going to have a tough time handing my two month old over to daycare. It can't be helped, because we both have to work.

Pros: structure, learning that the world isn't revolving around just him.

Cons: cost!

My son didn't go to daycare until he was 2, though, so my experience a little skewed, I think.

Pros: I feel like LO has a lot to do, lots of activities, lots of friends to play with. My husband likes that there are multiple teachers--he has trouble trusting a nanny 1:1 scenario where no one else is around.

Cons: The sickness. LO has been sick SO MUCH the past 1.5 years. Dh and I have both suffered in terms of time off work, her sleep sucks because she's always sick, etc. This year, her second year, she's still sick all the time, but it's more like a constant cold (hello nightly wakeups) rather than the constant fevers of last year. I also have to say our long commute is a major con, although I like her new daycare better than our old daycare, which was $800 more/month but 1 block from our house. Another con with my daycare being so far away is that I can't have a sick day of my own, because I'd have to drive LO an hour to daycare, then back home to rest, then an hour back to get her--4 hours in a day of driving = no sick days for mommy.

The price for child care in general is just astronomical where I live (for me), so cost would suck no matter what child care method I picked.

Sometimes I feel like our unique child care situation is giving me the worst of both worlds, haha. ugh.

pros
I can't think of anything specific, I LOVE our daycare. love love love. LO is learning so much and her teachers are wonderful. the other kids are fantastic too--lo is the youngest by about 6 motnhs (it's a mixed age class/6 mos-3 years) and they all dote on her since she's the baby.

OH! I thought of something specific--they expose her to so many more activities than I could provide at home that spark her development and curiosity. like, every day there are different sensory activities that she has so much fun with--different kinds of paint/brushes, foam, water with bubbles, colored water, sand, cloud dough, etc.

Cons
I can't really think of any big ones...sometimes her diaper feels really heavy when I pick her up, but I also change her more often than I need to. And she usually has food on her face/clothes/hair--it's hard to clean up purees off a baby who hates being cleaned!

So, I'm answering this as a person whose child is not yet in daycare/preschool but with the things I am looking forward to when LO starts preschool in September. She'll be going 8-6, M-F. Of course this list may change in September but I am SO EXCITED for preschool

Pros:
All meals provided!!!
Activities & learning, preschool is from 9-3:30 so she'll be learning with structured activities. Yoga, music, reading, and dance.
Socialization with other kids in preparation for pre-k.
Playing outside as long as it's 30 and above!
Coincides with Dept. of Ed. calendar (so same days off as DH who is a teacher)

Cons:
Have to travel.
No late pick-up or we get charged.
She will probably bring home some germs/sickness.
Have to pay extra for summer program

Our cost will be about the same as we are paying now. Can you tell that I am so excited about this?

Pros - socialization, DS 7 mos being comfortable with people other than relatives. It's also convenient for me as it's literally on the way to work. Very nice people work there, too Also, our daycare provides everything - blankets, crib sheets (all new when a baby starts), diapers/wipes, food, and formula so it's pretty nice that we don't have to worry about making sure that we have enough formula or food for him.

Cons - cost (Colorado is the 2nd highest for childcare- argh) and sickness (but I think it helps build his immunity).

If I could afford a nanny for the first few months I would have but eventually I would have opted for daycare for the socialization skills.

Pros: socialization, trusting caregivers other than DH and I, learning a 3rd language (!), it's a 2 min walk from home, it is very inexpensive

Cons: the nap situation is not ideal, the language barrier (for me), food is not up to my picky standards, the free-flowing juice

Pros:
She hit milestones early
Socialization
She loves it
She gets more variety in activities and toys then she would ever would at home with us all day every day.

Cons:
Expense (I just hate how much it costs)
Feel bad she has long days away from us

Pros:
-Socialization with other kids. She's not shy at all and is very independent.
-She loves it
-She gets to do a variety of activities

Cons:
-It's expensive
-She gets sick all the time
-She's picked up a few bad habits

Pros:
-socialization
-she is a much better napper
-she eats great thanks to daycare
-it's such a wonderful, lovely place where they do so many activities that I wouldn't necessarily do with her
-she gets daily outdoor time, twice a day

Cons:
-I have to pay 5x a week, when she only goes 4 (my mom takes her once a week) plus I keep her home with me on snow days, holidays, and whenever my sister is in town, she keeps her home (probably 5-6 days a month) . Add all those days up and I pay for a lot of extra days. I'm sure there's a cheaper option but she loves her daycare so we stick it out.