How to Decide If Daycare is Right for Your Family

Seeing those two pink lines on a pregnancy test , will most likely set your mind reeling. The emotions that over come you will be endless. We worry that the pregnancy will not be viable, we worry that our child will have abnormalities, and we worry that every decision we make will be detrimental to our child's well being. One of the biggest decisions you'll make will be whether or not you go back to work after the baby is born. For me, it was a decision ten months in the making.

I had started thinking about it a few days after my daughter was born. I couldn't imagine dropping her off in the care of someone I didn't personally know. I needed to think of something I could do to stay home with her, and bring in a modest income. I poured over every work at home website, hoping to see the flashing lights and ringing bells telling me I'd found the perfect well paying job.. It didn't happen. I had high expectations for what I was looking for. I wanted flexible hours, and no weekends, nights or holidays. Oh yes, and I wanted to be home. You can about imagine how many jobs I found with those requirements, and no formal college education. Then I stumbled on daycare. I thought about it for a couple minutes, but shrugged it off as one of those jobs I could never do. After pondering it for a couple of days, and discussing it with my spouse, I decided to look into it further.

Doing daycare in your home is a huge decision to make. Not only are you committing yourself to being home everyday, taking care of other children is also a big step. Especially if it's something you've never done before. This is a decision that both you and your spouse need to be on the same page with. I hated going back to work after my daughter was born, I felt like I was missing out on so much. Staying home was not an option, we needed my income. So I started my research on daycare, I wanted to know everything there was to know, even the bad part. And all I could think of was the bad stuff. The horror stories I heard of unruly children kicking holes in the wall, having regular food fights at the table. Now I just needed someone to tell me if I could do it. Would I have enough patience, or would I be pulling every last piece of my hair out? However, I am a firm believer that you can do anything your heart desires, as long as you have the ambition to achieve it.

After making my final decision, and going through the long process of getting licensed, I got scared. All the what-ifs came back to haunt me. Lucky for me I persevered, and now six years later, I know that I made the right decision for my family. I have the enjoyment of being with my kids day in and day out. Is this a job that I absolutely love everyday? No way, some day's I absolutely want to pull my hair out, but overall I love what I do. My kids get to come home from school, and have me there. We get to play, create new projects, and just have fun. I wouldn't trade this for the world.

As with any job decision, take some time to sit down and right all the good things about daycare, and all the bad things. I really thought the bad would outweigh the good, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course no one likes the idea of someone else's child hurling their lunch all over your living room furniture, but being able to take time out in the afternoon to snuggle with your kids while watching a movie is priceless. Knowing that I can be there for my children, and still contribute to our household income, makes me very proud. I have learned more in the past six years, than I ever thought I could. Yes my house is a disaster most of the time, but I am a much happier, patient mom now!