Daycare poll: Closer to work or home?

Mrs.Keith2B · May 2009

I work about 30 minutes from our house and I'm starting to look into daycares that actually take infants...but I'm torn on whether it should be closer to our house or closer to my work.

If you work a good distance from your home, what would you do? If you already have kids in daycare, what's your opinion on this?

justrachet · May 2009

I intend to put the baby in daycare closer to my work. That way, if it needs to be picked up in the middle of the day, I'm only 5 minutes away instead of 40. Also, the baby would have a shorter day at daycare, and more time with me, since it would be with me during my commute.

MsBeaglesly · May 2009

When my older daughter was in daycare i Preferred it closer to work. In case she was ill or if I needed to get her something or if she was having a bad day I was there in a hurry to help her through it and go back to work. When she was 2 and older we had that time to talk about her day and relax before getting home.

blueyez09 · May 2009

I work about an hour away from home (damn DC metro area) BUT my boyfriend works like 15 min from home, so we are opting for close to home. If something comes up and our baby needs to be picked up he can pick up in no time.

Plus our hours are different so he will drop off (at like 9-930am) and I will be able to pick up around 4pm so hopefully it will work out nicely...

CloudNine2007 · May 2009

We have decided on a daycare closer to our home. Here are our reasons:

- My DH and I work in totally two different directions from our home. (I am 1 hour north and he is 1 hour south.) I leave much earlier in the morning for work so DH would drop off DC and I will do the pick up.

- We can get bad winters here and I do not want to drive 1 hour (or more) with our DC in the car.

- We have excellent friends close by who in an emergency would be able to pick up DC for us until either of us could get there.

- Amazingly I think prices are a bit cheaper where we live versus where I/we work.

madhatter2003 · May 2009

Home. I'd much rather drop my kids off and then commute, rather than commute with the kids in the car.

Plus if there are days you want to stay home without kids then it's closer to take them...yes there are days I've been so sick I've taken them to daycare and stayed home sick from work to get better.

Plus my DH works in the other direction, so having them closer to home is easier if he needs/wants to pick them up.

mrs_sherod · May 2009

I will be a first time mom, but I would think closer to home. I say this because there may be days you take the baby to daycare and you're working from home, you don't wanna travel that far. Also, in the event you get a new job or your job relocates you, you don't want to have to find another daycare provider.

stacynikki · May 2009

Having done both I prefer close to home. One time when DS was sick when he was in daycare close to work I had to pull over twice on the freeway to clean up and comfort DS who had projectile vomited all over himself and the carseat. It was miserable and a very long ride home. Not to mention I was gagging the whole time because the stench was horrible.

Plus, being close to home I can still take him in if I'm sick. Also, when his school calls me telling me DS is sick, it doesn't really take as long to pick him up since it's not typically during rush hour traffic. It's worked out very well for us having him close to home. Also, DH can drop him off on his way to work since he leaves later then me.

luckyangel · May 2009

I am a SAHM but prior to that the kids daycare was only blocks from our house. ?The benefit-they were in daycare with friends from our neighborhood but my work was 40 minutes away and DH was even further and it was a nightmare when kids got sick etc. ?I would go closer to work.

TheNewMrs.H · May 2009

I have DD close to my work - it's right across the street actually. I wanted her close so I could pop in whenever I wanted to.

Phillywife · May 2009

DS's school is half way between home and work. DH's work is right around the corner from school so that is good.

Like PPs said it is nicer to have the car rides together and really nice to only be a short ride to get him if he is sick or whatever.

Suzi-G- · May 2009

Right now I am leaning towards close to home for a couple of reasons. 1) in a pinch DH could pick up if needed. 2) when they get older the kids from daycare are going to be the ones we get together with for birthday parties and playdates and I'd prefer not to have to drive into the city--or all over the city-- for those. I've also considered one close to my parents' house which would be a little out of the way for me but means my mom or dad (who are retired) could do pick up anytime I was running late.

mrshutch · May 2009

I've had one right at work and right now I'm spoiled because home, daycare and work are all within 5 blocks. It really helped to work w/ daycare right there so if there was an emergency or if I'd forgotten something like bottles, etc. I could run out quickly from work. That's just what worked for me, and I know everyone's different. GL with your decision!

SnowshoeMom · May 2009

Depends on your breastfeeding plans. My mom and my best friend both went to the daycare to breastfeed at least over the noon hour. Having it close to home would make this impossible for you ... if that would be a factor at all.

Kind of a toss up otherwise though - lots of pros and cons for either.

Good luck!

mjs_pmk · May 2009

I guess I am lucky. I work only 6 miles from home and DH is 4 miles from our home. There are a few daycares in between so we don't have to make that decision, but I am leaning towards the one that is right by the entrance to our subdivision. It would just be so convenient.

CarolynF80 · May 2009

Yah I live in a smaller town and work is 5 mins from home and the daycare is 3 mins from home and maybe 1.5 mins from work lol.
DH on the other hand is all over the place so obviously it works great that it's so close to me.

dionnemd10 · May 2009

we have stayed close to home. ? we actually have an awesome in-home daycare right in our neighborhood-maybe 7 houses away. ? love her to death!!!!!!!!!! ? when i worked farther away it was nice to get her up in her jammies-drop her at daycare where she could slowly wake up for the day etc. ? if your job changes you would have to find new daycare. ?also close to home allows my dd to meet other kids in our neighborhood and me to meet some other moms

Jerseygirl16 · May 2009

When I was still working we though we may need to use daycare for a little bit so I checked some out. I worked about 30 minutes from home too. I only looked at places that were close to work. I figured if anything ever happened I'd want to be able to get there fast. And it made it a little easier on me to know that she would be close by.

ahappygilmore · May 2009

CloudNine2007:

We have decided on a daycare closer to our home. Here are our reasons:

- My DH and I work in totally two different directions from our home. (I am 1 hour north and he is 1 hour south.) I leave much earlier in the morning for work so DH would drop off DC and I will do the pick up.

- We have excellent friends close by who in an emergency would be able to pick up DC for us until either of us could get there.

- Amazingly I think prices are a bit cheaper where we live versus where I/we work.

This is exactly us! I also can work from home up to 3 days a week (but usually only do one or two) so I'd like to only take DC to daycare for a few hours on those days. So close to home is better for us.

mgmccauley · May 2009

We're on the waiting list right now for two and both are close to work. The one we're hoping to get into is actually in the building next door to my office.

There were a few reasons we would prefer one close to work: 1.) DH and I only work about 6 blocks from one another, so either of us would be able to visit during the day. 2.) Especially if the baby is in the one next door to my office, I could also bf during the day. 3.) We'll probably move within the next 1 to 2 years but will work in the same area, so if we found one near our house now, we would probably have to switch at some point.

Seannon · May 2009

home

Anna&Matt · May 2009

I work from home and DH works 4 miles from home so it's not really a factor for us. But I'd think closer to home.

Sassystace · May 2009

Closer to home for the following reasons: DD doesn't have to drive in the car for an hour per day she can play at daycare, I work in the city and it is not as nice a neighborhood per say so daycare is not as nice, and as DD makes friends most of them live near us, it's not any closer to DH's work than mine (I do dropoff and him pickup). Anytime that DD has needed to be picked up for being sick one of us can get there in 30 min or less and that has only happened once or twice. At first, I also thought it would be nice to visit DD during the day, but for the most part, 'visiting' daycare during the workday is disruptive for the child and the center's activities.

skiel1015 · May 2009

We have our daughter in an in home day care center close to our home and the new baby will be in the same place. We chose a place close to home for a few reasons. Our most important reason is that if the weather is bad, she is only in the car for a few minutes and we don't take any major streets to get from home to daycare. I would be nervous to have her make the commute with me daily. We also wanted her to make friends with people close to home, not close to work. My husband works in the opposite direction as me so this location also allows him the opportunity to pick her up if he gets off early.

I pumped after I went back to work so it wasn't an issue for me needing to stop in during the day to feed her.

nealbl · May 2009

We are going to look close to home. All of my and his family lives in the same small town as we do. It makes sense for the baby to be close to home. That way if a fever happens or we work late someone else could easily go pick him/her up.

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