Hello everyone,

I am currently on mat. leave and enjoying every single precious moment with my son, however I am painfully aware that I need to start making provisions for next year when I return to work.  My question is this:  which is better for a 1 year old, daycare or grandmother care?  I am so torn.  I would love for my son to spend the time with his grandmother next year, but I also think it is important for him to socialize with other children and be exposed to fun, educational experiences.  All thoughts and insights are appreciated!

There is no right or wrong choice, its all about what you believe is best for your child. There are plenty of drop-in programs during the day or even on weekends that would give lots of social time.

As a mother and a home daycare provider I think a combination of both would be great. Even though I am home and there are plenty of children here, I still signed my daughter up for pre school 3 mornings a week before starting JK so that she could learn in a different environment and adapt to being away from family.

I also provide part-time care for a few families whose grandparents watch them the remainder of the week. The children love to come here a couple days to play and do fun activities with the other children. But they also love the days with their grandma's.

If you choose grandma care, nothing is stopping you from changing your mind later on.

sarah warmington wrote:We chose to go with grandparent care 2 days a week and home-based day care 3 days a week. We were a little worried about how she would do in either/both settings.  It is a good thing we have both, though.  Her grandparents decided to take a 2 week vacation this summer and without the daycare, we would have been in trouble!  Also, the grandparents are already saying it is not so easy chasing after a little one...Grandparents have definitely bonded with our daughter, though...

Thank you so much for your input.  I am leaning towards your recommendation of having David spend two days a week with his grandparents and 3 days a week in day care.  I think that really will be the best of both worlds allowing my son time to bond with his grandparents and time to socialize and learn with other kids his age.

Thanks again!

It all depends on what your child's needs are - whether you chose home care or centre care.

I am a home care provider, who practices attatchment parenting and operates a bilingual homecare- I welcome cloth diapers, I baby wear and provide lots of cuddles - I basically offer the things that I would hope I could find for my little ones, if I was on the other side of the table.

If you are looking for your child to become the next rhodes scholar, you would check out a preschool setting- I'm not saying Montessori necessarily, because I've heard a few things about the Montessori programme that would make me think twice before even LOOKING into a location with that title, for my little ones. But a preschool is more structured and educational oriented.

Ok- so that's not daycare...right, a daycare centre is great for socialization , but I prefer a smaller child to provider ratio, I don't want my baby in a big room full of hustle and bustle- but that's just me.

Finding the perfect provider, is a really tough task- I've tried being on that side of the table and I didn't like what I found...at all. No home was 'right' for my little ones, and I couldn't get comfortable- so I decided to start my own daycare becasue I knew what I wanted for my kids, and I knew it wasn't within a close enough distance to my home- so why not create it myself?!

** I also agree with other providers- even though my children are being socialized here, in our little dayhome , I still sign them up for programs outside of the home with different groups of children and I'm lucky to have inlaws close who want tobe involved in their programs

Good luck in your daycare search! It's definitely an exhausting time