Daycare: close to home or work?

saltedcaramel518 · October 2015

I will continue working full time after maternity leave, and (while I haven't even started looking into childcare), I'd like your opinions on this issue.

I live in the suburbs and commute 30-35 minutes into a large city to work 8-5 M-F. My husband is a teacher/football coach, and his commute is 5 minutes or less.

We aren't sure whether it would be better to use a day care that's closer to my work or our home.

In the instance that the baby would need to be picked up from daycare unexpectedly (sick, etc.), I would likely be the one to do that since my job has more flexibility. On the other hand, my husband gets off work an hour before I do during the spring semester (and home a lot quicker due to commute), and he only works about 3 hours/day in the summer (football weight lifting). I'm also thinking it may not be a good idea to have the baby in a car for 1+ hour a day. But I also like the idea of the baby being closer to me!

Has anyone had personal experience with this? What do you recommend?

laurenmdrn16 · October 2015

It really depends if you plan to duck out and see the baby or do a quick nursing session at lunchtime (which I know some moms do). If so, go for closer to your work. However, since your H works so close to home, it might be easier to pick a daycare close to home as well so there is less time in transit. Take into account your H's work schedule and ask near by daycares what time they start in the morning. We found a great one by our house, but we wouldn't be able to drop off our LO until 8am and both MH and I have to be at work at 8am. So instead we chose one that is right on my way to work/home (smack dab in the middle of my commute) that I can do early drop-off and pick-up (I also work at a school). MH has the 45 min commute and works 8-5 so it didn't make sense to look for anything close to him.

So, in conclusion, I would say look for something close to home/your H's work. I found that the smaller, suburban, home-based daycares were a better fit for us and since MH works in the city, I wasn't keen on the baby going to one of those big centers. I guess decide what kind of daycare you like and compare prices, hours, and distance. There is so much that goes into the decision, but once you find the right place, you will know. GL!

vinerie · October 2015

I'm also wondering about this. Another wrinkle is if you have a day off, or (in my case, at least) you work from home a day or two a week, I don't want to drive all the way to my job (I also have a 30-min. commute) to drop LO off so I can go to the gym or just be at home alone to work.

For that reason, I'm leaning toward daycare closer to my home. But the big downside is not being able to "pop over" for a feeding. If you can pump that is fine, but if you can't, then that's an issue. And you don't really know until you're doing it. I was *just* talking to a friend with a 4-month old and pumping really irritates her breasts. So she goes over for feedings.

Bluejay3030 · October 2015

Most of my co-workers agree that close to home is best for a multitude of reasons. Your job situation or location even might change without much notice (our office moved about 8 months ago, and a number of people were scrambling to switch daycares). Also, you're more flexible about WHO can drop the baby off, in case you can't always be the one to do it. It's also useful to have a daycare close to home when you're working from home, or sick, or if traffic sucks going home and you need your husband to grab your kid before the daycare closes (or so you don't have a screaming kid whose sick of sitting in traffic the whole way home).

You ultimately have to choose what makes most sense for you, but I'm a big advocate for closer to home than work if it works with your timeline, finances, etc. Good luck!

sillyfox · October 2015

I was undecided and we ended up liking the one close to home so that's the one we went with. I'm SO glad! A few reasons:

1. As PP's mentioned, if you have a day off or you're home for whatever reason (especially if you're sick!!), daycare is right there.
2. Less time in the car for your LO, which to me is both easier and safer. I take a highway where DH and I have each, separately, been rear ended in traffic. So there's that.
3. Our pediatrician is also close to home, so when DD is sick and for those check ups (every 2 months then every 3 months) it's nice to make an appointment first thing in the morning or last in the afternoon and she's right there to be picked up or dropped off.
4. DH and I don't work all that close to each other but either one of us can pick up/drop off. I usually do both still (because I'm seriously Type A, not because he doesn't offer) but on a few occations I've had to be at work early or been running late and I can just have him drop her off in the morning- no problem.

I think it depends on your situation, and like PPs said if you plan on visiting on lunch, etc. But close to home has been perfect for us!

yogahh · October 2015

My husband is also a teacher, and we will be doing day care by our home (his commute is also 5 minutes!) so he can do pick ups. It will also be nice in the summer so he can drop off/pick up since he will be off (since we will still need to pay for it, baby will go for a while during the day so DH can go to the gym, do errands, then pick up baby earlier than normal). What about times you might call off or take a day off? Would you still want baby to go to daycare? If so, would you want to commute to the city to drop off, just to turn around again?

vinerie · October 2015

Bluejay3030 Good point about having flexibility on who drops LO off, by keeping daycare close to home. I hadn't thought of that.

itsStackie · October 2015

Close to home worked better for me and DH. But I also had to drive from time to time for work. So once I clock out, I didn't want to have to drive back toward the office to get LO. Also on occasion DH or I would have a day off but still want to run errands without baby in tow, so we could drop her off easier by our home.

countrygrl5533 · October 2015

Another thing to think about for in favor of close to home is that you will have those 30ish minutes in the car...by yourself. Sometimes those few minutes to decompress after work will be nice. That may not be huge at first but as kiddo is having a bad day, starts talking, etc. it will be helpful to help transition from work to home.

emilyj77 · October 2015

I agree with all previous posts that recommend close to home. As for being able to go over and nurse during the day, I wouldn't give that too much weight. Nursing may be difficult for you therefore you wouldn't need to go over during the day. Unless you plan to do it for years then the months that you would need to go over during the day go by so quickly, that time will fly by and before you know it you won't be going over during the day. Make sense?

I'll also add that it's never too early to select your daycare and get on the waiting list. Next to nursing, this was the second most stressful thing I experienced as a mother. I found our daycare and got on the waiting list in my 2nd trimester and we didn't get in until 12 months later. Granted we live in an urban area and not everyone will have the same issue with daycare. But there are some scary daycare centers and homes out there, so it takes time to find the right one for you. I called every month to see where we were on the waiting list, seriously so stressful!!!

proudparent2b · October 2015

I chose one close to home because it's important to me that the child will go through daycare with others who live nearby for weekend playdates and going off to school with. Also, my husband or I may change companies over the next five years and it's easier to choose a place that we know will not be out of our way.

In my area, you'd be running late to look at daycare options. I recommend you start looking ASAP as the ratio of infants to teachers is so low that most places don't have many spots.

saltedcaramel518 · October 2015

Thanks for all the opinions, ladies!

slh812 · October 2015

Start looking for centers now! I used to be a director of a child care center in Denver in parents would come in in their first trimester and still not get into our infant room until their child was 10 months of age. The earlier you secure something the better! Near work is nice too since if there is an emergency you can be there very quickly and be able to pick peanut up as soon as you get out of work

doozer1345 · October 2015

We have DD in playschool near my work bc most of the time she's only there when I'm at work. We live 25-30 min away from playschool.

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