Q/Poll for moms that had/have a preschooler + infant

Bride2b2004

Looking for advice from experienced moms.  I have a 4 year old and a new baby.  DS1 is enrolled in preschool about 20 min or so away from my house 9am-12.  Will it be too much for a 4 year old to go 5 days a week?  Is it a real hassle getting out the door by 8:30 only to be back out by 11:30 with an infant?  Or is it nice to have him get out of the house everyday among children his own age.

[Poll]

MrsCorbin

DD1 and DS go twice a week.  We go to story time, the zoo, etc the other days.  I would miss the kids if they were gone four or five days a week and Macy loves playing with them.

AnnapolisLari

DS will go 2 days a week this year and 3 days next year (2.5 hours a day). 4 or 5 days is too much, IMO.

MayorMcCheese000

I think 5 day preschool is a good thing, at least in my school district, because we have all day kindergarten. I think it would be a tough adjustment to go from just a few hours a day a couple days a week, to 5 days a week all day.

DS is going in the afternoon session M-F 12:30-3. I am worried about the same thing you are, getting everyone bundled up to head out just to come back and do it again (our preschool is about 15 minutes away.)

I chose the afternoon session because that is DD's nap time and we usually don't have much going on in the afternoons b/c of that anyway. I went back and forth on the morning or afternoon shifts a lot because they both had pros and cons for us. I'm hoping it works out!!!

JOEBunny

My state has free pre-k for 4 year olds.  It is 32.5 hours a week.  It is basically free daycare IMO.  DD is going 5 days a week for 3 hours a day.  If I could have, I would have sent her 3 days a week for 4 hours.  I think that would be plenty, but there are not many options for that here. 

MayorMcCheese000

JOEBunny:

My state has free pre-k for 4 year olds.  It is 32.5 hours a week.  It is basically free daycare IMO.  DD is going 5 days a week for 3 hours a day.  If I could have, I would have sent her 3 days a week for 4 hours.  I think that would be plenty, but there are not many options for that here. 

 

I am confused, 32.5 hours a week does not = 5days @ 3hours per day??

Are you in NY? NY has free UPK too (universal pre-k.) Luckily my DS's daycare is one of the establishments it is run through so he will be there with all the friends he has been with for 2 years. I am happy about that!

JOEBunny

MayorMcCheese000:

JOEBunny:

My state has free pre-k for 4 year olds.  It is 32.5 hours a week.  It is basically free daycare IMO.  DD is going 5 days a week for 3 hours a day.  If I could have, I would have sent her 3 days a week for 4 hours.  I think that would be plenty, but there are not many options for that here. 

 

I am confused, 32.5 hours a week does not = 5days @ 3hours per day??

Are you in NY? NY has free UPK too (universal pre-k.) Luckily my DS's daycare is one of the establishments it is run through so he will be there with all the friends he has been with for 2 years. I am happy about that!

DD is going to private school.  The public option is 32.5 hours a week.  DD's private is 15, 3 hours 5 days a week.  Like I said, the public option is daycare, which is wonderful if you need it.  It does not work for our family.  

shopgirl78

My 4 year old did 5 days a week 8-3 in a public school system however I work and we needed that type of care anyway.  If I didn't work I would do much less, 3 days.  I voted 4 for you because it was the least. 

Angela814

We've kept Annalise in daycare full time these last 2 weeks. We're going to switch her to half days (8am-12pm) next week, 5 full days. She does better going every day. We tried 3 days/wk when I was laid off, and it didn't work for her. Our daycare is 5 min away; DH will drop her off on the way to work, and I'll pick her up before lunch. In September she'll start 4K, which is 5 days/wk 8:45-11:15am. I don't think 5 days/wk is too much, but the 20 min drive each way might be.

veloelle

I kept DD in DC while I was on mat leave, 3x a week, full day. Doing 1/2 day w/ 20 min each way commute would not work for me. When DS was brand new and I was BFing, it would have stressed me to no end, worrying about getting out of the house that early. I couldn't get all of us out of the house before 10 for awhile. DH did the drop off a lot when DS was a newborn, it was so much easier for me to stay home w/ him that lug him out.

Can your DH do the drop off? That was a huge weight off my shoulders when DS was tiny.

Bride2b2004

veloelle:

Can your DH do the drop off? That was a huge weight off my shoulders when DS was tiny.

That would be great.  The problem it looks bad if he comes rolling into work after 9 and his work is about 30 min from the school.  He will do the drop sometimes, maybe once a week.  We are also going to see if one of the teachers/aides would like some extra cash to come in 20-30 min early a couple of days a week to play with DS before school starts (then DH could drop off and still be in to work at a reasonable time).