If you use day care part-time, please come in:)

LClaire

Can I pick your brains?

-What do you do?

-How much do you work?

-When are they there?

-How do they do being there part time when lots of the kids are full-time?

-Other thoughts/words of advice? 

We're figuring out me going back to work and I'm in the process of visiting a ton of centers and job hunting to figure out a balance of how much to work and still actually be making money after paying for two in daycare, so any advice is helpful:)

 

p.s. If anyone sees this post and has any input/thoughts/love/hate on day care centers in Lanaster, let me know - I'm visiting a ton in Hempfield, Mhm Twp and toward the eastern edge of downtown in the next couple of weeks and I'd love any help!)

rlthomas7

We're part-timers.

I do marketing/PR/communications for a credit union and I'm in the office 3 days per week. So I have at least 24 hours, more if I work at home during naps or at night during busy times.

We take him Monday, Wednesday, Friday for full days. This was dictated by the center because they only do 3-day on those days or 2-day on Tuesday, Thursday. It wouldn't have been my choice, but it seems to work well for all of us.

He does absolutely fine being there part time. I think the MWF part works well for us because he's used to being there every other day so it's spread out. I think if we clumped it together it might be worse - like older kids going back to school after an extended weekend or break. And I can see older kids in daycare being miffed if the class did something fun on a day off. But if there's a really special event, like an Easter egg hunt or the Thanksgiving program, I take him in for that event and just stay with him. They're really cool about doing that.

I can also pay for a day if I need to take him in on a Tuesday or Thursday for something work-related. I have to ask, but I have not been turned down yet. It's kind of nice, because if I have a meeting in the morning, I can take him to school and then have the whole day to myself.

nj67ws56qa21

I'm a part-timer, too. 

I'm in environmental consulting, and work a minimum of 24 hours a week.  My girls go to daycare 2 full days a week, and then my mom babysits one day a week. 

They do fine going there part-time.  Several other kids at the daycare are also part-time, so it's natural for the center to work around different schedules. The girls still get their individual cubbies and are made to feel like a part of the class as a whole.  We also go to special events that are held on days that aren't normally school days. 

I picked the days I wanted them to go, and the center accommodated my schedule.  They are also flexible, and let me switch days of the week if I need to work on certain day as long as I give a little notice. 

Overall, it has really worked out well for us.  My girls get the benefits of staying home with mom, as well as the social/learning benefits of daycare.  Both of my girls had a little trouble adjusting to daycare at first, but within a month, they were both excited to go and spend time with their friends there. 

Good luck with your decision and job/daycare search!

Christina617

I'm an in-home parent educator.  I work 30 hours a week, ideally it's 18 hours meeting with clients and the rest from home but it's been tough lately to meet my 18 hour productivity goal.  Ethan is at daycare T,W,R.  Our center let us choose which days and I thought 3 consecutive would be good for us.  For me, it helps the week go by faster and help my brain to focus on prepping for my visits those 3 days.  Going back on Tuesdays can be hard after being home with E for 4 days but I love knowing I have those 4 days to look forward to each week.  It was hard on him for a while too but I think it had more to do with adjusting to the 1-year-old room.  Recently it has been MUCH better.  Being part-time hasn't been much of an issue yet.  We also take him in for events.  The Halloween Parade was on a Friday so we went in with him for that and the lunch afterward.

When Ethan was having difficulty adjusting to his new room at school Matt and I had serious discussions about me staying at home.  We've talked about the money we'd spend if we had 2 in daycare too and although the leftover money wouldn't be as much as we'd like, we considered the personal benefits of me working and the developmental benefits of Ethan being in daycare.  Although there are negatives to every job, I feel as though I'm doing what I was meant to be doing.

Managing time for everything is an ongoing effort for me but I think that would be the case if I were working or not.

Good luck to you!!

Ambrandy

I am an attorney and I work at my office T, W, R.  Those are the days that DD is in daycare full days, generally 8:30 to 5:30.  There were a couple reasons I did it that way.  One:  it was easier to work my hearing/deposition schedule on these days and Two:  I would rather be in work mode for 3 days in a row then have 4 days off then scatter the days.  It has worked very well for us.  DD has been on this schedule since 4 months and there has never been a problem adjusting to the schedule between daycare and home.  She is pretty adaptable though.  Her only major adjustment was from the nursery to the toddler room, but that didn't have to do with her schedule.  She loves daycare and she learns so much there, even 3 days a week!  I'm happy that she doesn't cry when we leave. 

I love that I get to be her primary caregiver and still give her the opportunity to socialize and learn from trained providers.  She is involved in many activities at school that I could not provide for her at home.  I truly think it's the best of both worlds.  When #2 comes, I will really not be bringing in substantially more than the cost of 2 daycares, but it will be worth it for the socialization reasons noted above.  Also, it will keep my foot in the professional door, so I won't have to try to "get back out there" when they go to school.    In the long run, it will be financially wise for me to keep my job rather than stop for a few years.

 Good luck to you!!

LClaire

Great info and input everyone - thanks so much:)

KellyND04

We don't use a center, so I don't know if this is the feedback you are looking for, but I've spent a lot of energy trying to work out a schedule for us for next year with 2 babies and part time work! 

I currently work Tues and Friday, but I'm probably switching to Thurs-Fri for the reasons many others mentioned - being more fully in work or home mode.  I find myself now thinking about work a lot on Tues and Wed, and it's hard to get into gear and wrap things up at work for one day. It will also benefit my employer to have continuity with patients Thu-Sun.

We have an in-home caregiver that provides continuity over the early years (never have to switch rooms).  Susanna will have preschool and the baby will have our awesome play/parenting group for socialization and learning to separate.  That group is also my time to talk with other parents while the kids are playing in the other room!

Mon: home

Tues: home,

(Mon-Tues is sort of my "weekend" because I'm often on-call from home over the weekend.)

Wed: Susanna pre-school in a.m. while mom and baby go to play group/parenting support group 

Thurs: Work, both kids to in-home provider

Fri: Work, Susanna pre-school in a.m., both kids at in-home provider (she picks up from school)

Working this out was tough, finding the right days for preschool, choosing a pre-school that was closer to my caregiver and play group than my own house, asking if I could change work days! The only downside I anticipate is pumping two consecutive days...I hope pumping goes better for me this time around!