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Washington Babies
daycare dilemma
So...as I mentioned before in an FFFC I think?G?s daycare made some changes and as a result he moved BACK to the ?baby? room. They are no longer taking kids under 1 but they do have 7-16mo month olds in there still. He missed the 2 year cut off for the other room so he moved back. He has been in the toddler room since 12mos (so for 8 months now!) because he was an early walker.
PROS: He loves the ?Baby? teachers (better than the Toddler one), they adore him and I?m sure he is getting special 1-on-1 attention. Also, the ratio is 4:1 vs 7:1. He is eating a table, sleeping on a mat, and gets to go outside 2x day. It?s only for 4 more months, then he?ll move back at age 2.
CONS: He is the OLDEST in the room by 4 months. And it bothers me that most of the kids/babies are not even walking. There is no more than 8 in the class, but still. I worry that not being with all other toddlers and not ANY older kids is a detriment. I want him learning to share, sitting in circle time, learning vocabulary from his peers etc.
Am I being overly concerned? Does it really matter before age 2 what they do all day as long as they are having fun and being cared for (my DH?s take)? He is on target for all his milestones and is very social and active and chatty. I think daycare can be a positive thing, I just keep worrying I am not providing him the best learning opportunities while he is away from me.
NOTE: I really want him in a Montessori and have him on several wait lists. I think that may be skewing my perception of what I expect.
PROS: He loves the ?Baby? teachers (better than the Toddler one), they adore him and I?m sure he is getting special 1-on-1 attention. Also, the ratio is 4:1 vs 7:1. He is eating a table, sleeping on a mat, and gets to go outside 2x day. It?s only for 4 more months, then he?ll move back at age 2.
CONS: He is the OLDEST in the room by 4 months. And it bothers me that most of the kids/babies are not even walking. There is no more than 8 in the class, but still. I worry that not being with all other toddlers and not ANY older kids is a detriment. I want him learning to share, sitting in circle time, learning vocabulary from his peers etc.
Am I being overly concerned? Does it really matter before age 2 what they do all day as long as they are having fun and being cared for (my DH?s take)? He is on target for all his milestones and is very social and active and chatty. I think daycare can be a positive thing, I just keep worrying I am not providing him the best learning opportunities while he is away from me.
NOTE: I really want him in a Montessori and have him on several wait lists. I think that may be skewing my perception of what I expect.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: daycare dilemma
I honestly don't see what the big deal is. He is well cared for and he loves the teachers. He is still learning skills in the baby room. Learning to share isn't exclusive to being with kids your own age or older. He'll pick up words from his teachers and from you and your DH. He'll learn how to treat smaller children, be nice and gentle with them. There is a lot of social learning that can happen as well.
Plus, he only has 4 more months in there. Before you know it, he'll be back in the big kid room.
All of this... in my experience Cam has learned a lot from the older kids, but not all of it was good... biting, hitting etc.. Let him spend a bit more time in the baby room and get the extra loves, 4 months will fly by!
You mentioned earlier that there was a price increase with moving back to the infant room, no? If that were the case, in addition to your other concerns, I would make a case for the director to have him move back to the toddler room.
But, he is still learning a great deal. Although learning from your older peers is beneficial, so is learning from younger peers. And really liking your teacher is another benefit that you can't deny (I know you aren't). As a kid, I really needed that bond with my caregivers and teachers. That was the most important thing to me. If he is getting ample stimulation, isn't showing symptoms of boredom, and is happy, I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like they have made certain concessions for Grady; mat sleeping, eating at the table, etc, so that is positive.
Ultimately, it comes down to what would make you feel better as his mom. This is not an easy decision, but it is bothering you for a reason. Investigate what is troubling you with this choice and then make your decision from there. If you can live with it, I would hold off until you have a spot in a Montessori school. GL!
The only Easter Bunny I can get behind.
Maxwell Joseph 4/09 Lucy Violet 10/12
I'm in the minority here. I saw a huge difference in W when he moved to the toddler room. He was more verbal, more expressive and he picked things up at home quicker. I also think my son was bored in the baby room so he started acting out: they saw it and we saw it He gained a lot, in my opion from being exposed to more advanced concepts, different toys, different kids, and having more classroom structure from just play room structure. BUT this could have all been related to the structure of the center and not necessarily related to the moving up or staying put.
This.
I think people push their kids way too much these days. he's ONE YEAR OLD. He should just be playing. It doesn't matter if he's doing anything more academic or learning special things. He should be having fun. And having more one on one attention would mean way way way way more to me than having him learn bigger words from 2 year olds.
This.
I definitely see your pros and cons. Do you want to move him to a Montessori regardless of his being moved back into the toddler room? Or would you keep him in his current place if he is moved into the toddler room?
-If you'll move him to a Montessori no matter what, I would just stick with the younger room until a spot opened up at a different school. No need to make a fuss over 4 months if you're just going to move on anyways.
-If you're willing to stick with the current place IF he was moved to the toddler room, than I think the director deserves to hear that.
Does that make sense?
Yes, I really do want him in Montessori. We have been holding off for the past 6 months while trying to sell our house (and not knowing where we might move), but that didn't work so now I'm back to square one..then this happened. There is really only one Montessori that is near work we can afford - and the wait list is a year right now. I'd love the one near our house and save him 2 hours in the car every day - but it's $1,800/mo.
You guys have good pros for him staying. If he hadn't ALREADY moved to the toddlers and made that (hard) transition 8 months ago - this would be an easier decision. I just see him walk to that room every day and I have to redirect him and he cries at first. It could just be that it has bigger toys, who knows? He did have friends there - but he sees them on the playground.
Ugh...I'll talk to the Director and teachers again and see what they think...They do want to charge me $100 more per month - but I think since this decision is really more to balance their #'s than to benefit him - I should not have to pay.