Childcare near Home or Work?

I prefer near home, that way she's not in the car for so long, which she hates, and that way either my husband or I can pick her up in the afternoon, which works out pretty well for us.

I believe it is better to have them near work. You can do unexpected drop-in visits, and you can respond faster if they are sick or if there is an emergency. Also, you can stretch out minutes at work (like leaving work at 5:45 instead of 5:30) and still arrive on time for pick up.

The only downside is those occasions when YOU get sick, and you still have to make the drive all the way to daycare so that you can get rest. The solution? Stay healthy!

I prefer near home. I've had it both ways and home has worked out better. That way if you need to take him to daycare to run errands, go to to the doctor, pick him up because he's sick, you don't have far to go.

As far as keeping organized for daycare, I have a bag that I keep in the car that has everything I need. A change of clothes, some crackers, a couple of toys, diapers (for when he was using them), and wipes. That way the bag stays in the car when we get home and doesn't have to go in and out of the house every day. I would also take a box of diapers and a few packs of wipes at one time to leave so I wasn't having to refill the bag every day. Probably wouldn't work in a center setting, but might work if you are using in home care. I'm sure you'll be fine once you settled into the routine of going back to work since that will occupy your time during the day. Good luck!

I perfer near home. Mostly because my husband works close to home and he can do the pick ups after work. I'm lucky that my son gets home before I do. I don't like the idea of him being at day care longer than I'm working.
Also, If I take a day off work to take care of personal business or If I get sick, I don't have to drive near my job, to drop my son off because the daycare 5 minutes away from home.

At that age I had my baby near work so I could got breast feed her on my lunch time. When she started kinder I went with one near home so that her friends would be in the neigborhood. I work 30 miles from home and was afriad that all her friends would be that and on weekends I have to drive the 60 miles round trip to birthday parties, play dates, etc. This has worked well for me even though I missed having the travel time with her.

A lot of people have good points here.. I like that your time with them is extended if they are in the car with you more. Also, if they need something you can bring it to them easier if they are close to work. Also it is more likely that they will get sick than you so if you get that call you will be there sooner if it's near work. Also, here in CA you might have to worry about traffic and if being in the carpool lane will help you, then I would definately consider that (and the extended time you can have at home because of it).

Hi T.,

It's been 6 months since my 2.5 year old started daycare. He was previously cared for by our nanny but after our move he quickly started "play" school. I wish I could've prepared him more on what to expect. He also did well w/other kids but it's very different to go from spending all day w/mom (or nanny, grandma, etc...) to blending in w/a group of other children who have been there since they were a few months old. I think it's a little tougher for kids who got more one on one attention and a late start in daycare. There is a learning curve but it's doable. Sure drop offs are always a little sad but make sure to prepare your son for the rest of her day. Let him know who he can go to for help. Teach him how to speak up for himself when he needs something. Try to learn their routine so it's not such a tough transition from weekends to week days. And keep open communication between the caregivers and you so you know exactly how he is doing and what he may need help on. It all seems so easy and obvious but its so easy to get distracted once you've started back at work.
Best of luck! -JB

I would say close to work, in case you are late getting out of work and you'll also get to spend time together in the car on the way there. As a childcare provider my advice for that age is to be really calm & brief when you drop him off. Some kids will cry as the parent tries to leave but stop and go play once they are gone. The more you drag it out with extra hugs and kisses the worse it can be. Talk to him about it in the car on the way so he doesn't get surprised when you leave. I hope you don't have this issue but that's my two cents just in case!! GOOD LUCK!

T.,

I had a 30 min freeway commute and put my daughter in daycare near work. I loved the time in the car with her everyday- we would sing, talk about what we saw on the road ect (she started at 6 mos and we did this everyday since) I also have loved being able to get to her quickly when she has gotten sick at school. The other huge factor for me- that another mommy mentioned was given that we live in earthquake country- I wanted her close enough to me that I could walk to her if I had to should there be a disaster.

For staying organized- try to get lunches together the night before. I also keep an "emergency" diaper bag in the care so that if we end up going out after work- I don't have to worry about not having diaper, bib, fork, ect for her.

If you have time- before your little one starts daycare- spend time there together to help both of you transition. start with you both there playing then over a few days- you leave for just an hour the first day and then progressively longer. Help the little one adjust and helps you get use to leaving with out it being forever before you see him again. the first week you are back to work will be hard- but it does get easier and at 18 mos- it won't be long before your son is telling you to leave so he can play with his friends.

Good Luck
M.

Absolutely near work! If there is an emergency you MUST be able to get to the school right away! If he has a fever, throwing up, etc. the quicker you can get there the better! As parents we need to remember that there is ALWAYS traffic somewhere and a quick trip to school from work is best! I am a preschool teacher and I cannot tell you how long a 45 minute drive to pick up a sick child seems to that sick child!

I would say near home. On the days YOU are sick, you still have the option of bringing your child to daycare. If your job happens to change, you will be able to keep the same daycare for your child. Lastly, on your vacation time, it is nice to have the option to still use the daycare for part of day.

My husband and I work at the same place, which is about 25 minutes from our home. For us, we wanted to spend the ride to work with our daughter, after all it is almost an hour a day. Even though she is young we spend that time talking, singing, and just being together. We love our ride to the baby's school!

As far as getting ready to go. Best thing to do is have it all done the night before. all the way down to having his cereal in the bowl and the milk in the cup. so you just grab and go in the morning. lay all the clothes out etc. pack the bag. now as far as the daycare goes. depends on the job. i myself like to have the closer to home daycare. that way your just dropping and going and you have that half hour to get your mind on work stuff. make calls, talk to yourself etc... and the wind down time on the way home is sometimes a blessing. that way by the time you get to pick him up your out of work mode and into mommy mode.
flipside
if you pick the closer to work place you spend a little more time with baby on the way to work and the way home.

There are a lot of pros and cons with both. I started out with childcare near our home and it was nice because my husband could pick our son up if ever he got home before me and because I could go home and take a quick nap before picking him up if I got off of work early when I got pregnant with our daughter.
I also liked the childcare near work because that meant I had more time with our son before going to work and they were closer to me if something happened. One time I forgot our son's bottle and so on my lunch break I had to go buy bottles and run them to the babysitter because he hadn't yet been able to eat. I wouldn't have been able to do that if he was still at the childcare near our home.
I think I preferred having my child near my work even though it mean I couldn't go home and rest before picking him up on the occasions I got off early. Having more time with him and knowing he is closer in the event of an emergency was comforting to me.
Also, I found it helpful to pick my son up right after work if I needed to go shopping instead of having to drive all the way home first (so the sitter didn't charge me for after hours) before going BACK to shop. That reminds me... when he was closer to work I could work later without the sitter charging me since our son was not too far away.

First of all get all his stuff ready the night before. If possible get yourself ready in the morning and then get him up and going. Bathe him at night so you don't have to fight about getting in or out of the bath. As for where to put him....pick the place you feel is best. My son's school is not near either one. I work 5 minutes away and his school is 10 minutes in the other direction so it's not too bad but I chose this school over many more convenient options because I liked it. It's much easier to leave your little one when you know his teachers are interested in him and he'll have a good time playing with new friends. At my son's school they sing all day, have lots of physical activities both inside and outside, and they make the learning process easy for the kids. His school is Montessori and if you have one in your area you should check it out. His Montessori school is actually less than Kindercare where he was until 18 months.

I like having my son near my work because that's where I am when he's at school. I like the idea that in the event of an emergency I could get to him quickly during the day (by foot if need be).

Hi T., I am a daycare provider, and I have and had clients who found daycare closer to work was more conveinit since they would be heading to work after dropping the child off and coming from work to pick the child, if you get a daycare closer to home then picking your child up you'll have to back track. I found the children do better than most parents especially if the child has been home with mommy. Most kids would rather play with other kids their own age than with mommy. That's my experience.

I prefer near home definitely because of the reasons others have stated. Also, if I get out of work early, I sometimes like to swing home, change clothes and get dinner figured out or a load of laundry in or something. I can't pick them up too soon anyway because they are usually still down for a nap, and I feel I can relax more with my children when we get in the door that way.

I think either near home or work is good as long as it's not too far away. The key is to get someone you trust. Take the baby there a couple of days before you go back to work so he gets to know the day care provider and the other kids. Maybe just leave him for a couple of hours to see how he does. Prepare a list of emergency contacts, things he likes, dislikes, etc. to leave with the daycare provider. I put my son in daycare when he was 9 weeks old. Luckily it was with a friend of a friend who came highly recommended. I cried the first day on the way to work. He was fine. He was there until he was almost 2 years old. He loved the other kids and he learned lots of social skills. At 2 he went to the daycare provider's daughter's daycare. He already knew her so he was fine there too. At 3 he started preschool. He never gave us a hard time when we left him at school. He was very comfortable and knew we always came back to get him.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

T. - I was an outside the home working mom and I had my son both in a childcare close to my home and close to work (we lived 20 minutes from where I worked). I have to say that I preferred to have him close to where I worked rather than close to home. I felt like when he was close to home that my time leaving work was rushed and my drive was hurried which only prolonged my work stress. When he was in a daycare minutes from work I felt like once I picked him up that my time with him began and I could be more relaxed and then my drive was less stressful and I could enjoy more time with him.
I hope that makes sense!
Now for you going back to work, take it slow and easy. Take pictures of him with you. Know that if you need to have a little mommy melt down, you are not alone!
Good luck!

I agree with the point that you should not have to change daycare if your job gets downsized and you choose an entirely different area. Ultimately, it depends on the daycare you choose. Some providers charge outrageous fees for parents that have longer than normal days. I'm used to my parents driving quite a ways to work and I don't charge them extra for those longer commutes.

You need to feel very confident with the safety and professionalism of your provider and the way she handles things. If you are called away from work for an emergency, you'd be very upset driving that far to an emergency room. I've been a provider for 24 years and only had one emergency and it was because the mother didn't tell me she medicated her son with a new medication before dropping him off. He had a reaction and I drove him to my fire station to be evaluated because she wouldn't come for him when I told her to. He ended up having to go to the hospital in an ambulance. For any other providers out there...if you live near a fire station and have time, take them there. That leaves the PARENTS in charge of the ambulance bill. If you have an ambulance bill pick up at your house, you'll be charged.

I would suggest near home. That way if your place of employment changes down the line you don't have to switch to another daycare. It also limits the amount of time your son is in the car and at risk of being injured in a car accident.
Of course the final deciding factor will likely be where is the best quality option. Is there a state of the art Montessori that you are in love with two blocks from your office? Is the air more polluted in one location over the other? Look at all your options, think about the factors I mentioned along with other factors you have thought of and go with what feels right.
~K.
(I just read Kim C's answer and hadn't thought of the quality time in the car bit! Lots of factors to consider make your list of pros and cons...)