Hellobee Boards

Home daycare was our first choice, LO is a DIVA and loves the one on one care she gets there. I also like being able to make th rules up ourselves re: pickup/drop off times and days off/holidays.

charlie started daycare at 21 months, and I have no regrets about that. up until 1 i prefer a nanny, but from 1 i think daycare is great! they learn so much and love it. olive just started a month ago, and now she throws tantrums when we come pick her up because she doesn't want to leave! (she started daycare at almost 16 months.)

@T.H.O.U.: true. ours is a small independent center.

@PurpleUnicorn: I would say by age 2, big commercial preschool would be ok.

My son (11 months) is in a center and I'm really happy with it. He is very social and loves having other kids to play with. Since we don't have a lot of friends with kids or family close by, it's really the only chance he has for any kind of socialization. Most importantly his teacher is a teacher and not just a baby-sitter. A nanny wasn't a really attractive option for us for that reason.

Center. I think having babies of other ages/development stages around them is beneficial. Older babies will model behavior for your LO, and the younger ones will help teach patience, having to wait our turn for items, sharing, etc.

I say nanny. We're going with a nanny when I start work in two weeks. I'm really happy Cobi's schedule will stay the same (naps etc), he'll eat our own food, have personalized attention etc...

I was worried about sickness with daycare. DH and I dont want to have to take a lot of sick days cause our child is sick. I also really worried about his nap schedule. When I was nannying I thought he would adjust to napping somewhere else and he never did.

I honestly don't worry at all about the socialization aspect of a one year old. My mom was a SAHM with all six of us and I was homeschooled as well and I never suffered socially as a result.

Centre daycare. I've heard a lot of horror stories about home daycares in my area and I don't want to go through that. Plus, even if it's a great home daycare, you are at the mercy of the whole place closing down for sick days/vacas ect. A centre doesn't shut down just because a worker is gone.

If money wasn't an issue, I'd go with a nanny. I think I'd prefer my child to have individualized attention.

I believe that at that age, the most meaningful experiences for babies/toddlers actually occur with caretakers, rather than with other kids. For that reason, if money were no issue, a nanny would be my #1 choice at age 1.

It would be a nanny because most babies are still on a two-nap schedule and a lot of daycare centres have a one nap routine. I would want to have a nanny for LO up to the 18 month mark and then have her in a daycare for the socialization.