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Should I put my child in Daycare when I work from Home????
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4.7 after 4 votes
I struggled for months with the thought of putting my daughter in daycare while I was "home all day". The assumption was that if your home, you should be able to keep your child at home with you, otherwise you would be viewed as lazy, irresponsible or just flat out ...a disgrace.
I pondered the idea, while staying up all night to work, while Chloe slept, struggling with sleep deprivation each day as I tried to justify my crazy schedule and my "must keep her at home with me" philosophy. Finally, when Chloe was entering the tender age of 4 months, my mother in law came to spend the summer with us. Day and night, I finally had help, and I was able to get work done during the day for the first time.
Writing a book required intense concentration, especially when your trying to write 150 pages in 2 months. With the many nights of sleep deprivation and exhaustion, the progress wasn't going as planned. But with "grandma" around, I was pushing forward like the energizer bunny...A few weeks into it, grandma was ready to head back to Florida. The book was so far from being complete, that I knew I couldn't finish it on time without help. She started packing and saying that she was leaving, and it dawned on me..."I'm going with you!".
For three weeks, Chloe and I stayed down in Florida while mommy worked continuously on finishing this book. The honeymoon was coming to an end when Daddy wanted his precious girls back home, so I grew more and more determined to find help!
When we finally got back to Atlanta, I worked around the clock to find a daycare that i could trust. It was extrememly hard and so many "friends" persecuted me asking me "why would you put her in daycare?". I was so annoyed with their "opinions" but I grew to understand that I am an entrepreneur determined to have an identity and outside hobbies other than just holding down the title of "mommy, maid, chef and loveslave" (I'm joking!).....
But being an ambitious entrepreneur is for me. It may not be for other moms, but I admire this goal of mine, and I felt compelled to push towards it.
Finally, after all of the trying and challenging opinions, and not so impressive day care tours, I found an amazing in home daycare that would require a bit of a drive, but allowed me to put my daughter in the hands of someone that was passionate about working with children, and would treat Chloe as though she was her own child.
From day one, I fell in love with this place and appreciative for my few hours of freedom as it was obvious that it was a benefit to the both of us to get time apart. Chloe was able to be immersed in the social setting where she was freely able to roam around with other children, discovering things, finger painting, singing songs and just having good ol' infant fun. While mommy was able to run errands, give devoted focus to her work for a few hours and have uninterrupted "me time".
Finally, I was able to get a few things done without having to say "No No NO NO NO". The book was finished in no time, and I was now allowed to do a few things just for me. When you don't have family in the town that you live in, or friends who just adore your child and want to pick her up "just because", then we have to find ways around that, and get some kind of personal time.
For me, that way was putting Chloe in "school". It wasn't the easiest thing to do upfront, but every day that she smiles when we walk up to her school door and all the kids greet her by saying "Hi Chloe and Hi Chloes mommy", I know I made the right decision.
Every time I'm able to talk to someone on the phone without saying, "Uh oh...I have to go, my daughters crawling into the bathroom and I gotta hurry up and get her before she puts her hands in the toilet....." then I realize that I made the right decision.
When my daughter responds to Spanish as much as she responds to English, then I know I made the right decision.
For many of you, you may be struggling with what you should do about your children, if they aren't school age as of yet, and you have them home with you for the day while you attempt to get some work done. Let me encourage you, it's okay to put your child in a daycare or school that you "trust" and feel isn't threatening to your moral values and practices of how you raise your children.
If you are serious about building your home business to a place where it could allow you to become financially free, then you absolutely need to treat it like a "real business" and allow yourself a few hours of "professional time" to focus on building your business.
Don't allow the shame or fear of others to become your delay, if you know you want to build a better financial future for your family, then allow yourself a few hours a day or a week to do just that.
Besides, you owe it to yourself. This would be the perfect time to go to the gym, clean your house, take a walk in the park, meet with a girlfriend for lunch, read a book, go to the spa, take that class you've always wanted to take or even go on a date with your husband on his off day and have a hot passionate intimate time with him like you've never had before! You Deserve it!
Don't let yourself get so overindulged in helping everyone else around you that you forget about YOU! Like the Airline Attendant always says in his/her speech before your plane takes off....."if there is an emergency and your mask drops down, put the mask on yourself "first" before helping others!"..............otherwise, you won't survive to be their to help those around you and the same is true if we don't take care of ourselves and pamper ourselves with a little bit of "me time"...........
Are you willing to take care of you!
Nicole S. Cooper
Creator of Build MLM Biz Online
I pondered the idea, while staying up all night to work, while Chloe slept, struggling with sleep deprivation each day as I tried to justify my crazy schedule and my "must keep her at home with me" philosophy. Finally, when Chloe was entering the tender age of 4 months, my mother in law came to spend the summer with us. Day and night, I finally had help, and I was able to get work done during the day for the first time.
Writing a book required intense concentration, especially when your trying to write 150 pages in 2 months. With the many nights of sleep deprivation and exhaustion, the progress wasn't going as planned. But with "grandma" around, I was pushing forward like the energizer bunny...A few weeks into it, grandma was ready to head back to Florida. The book was so far from being complete, that I knew I couldn't finish it on time without help. She started packing and saying that she was leaving, and it dawned on me..."I'm going with you!".
For three weeks, Chloe and I stayed down in Florida while mommy worked continuously on finishing this book. The honeymoon was coming to an end when Daddy wanted his precious girls back home, so I grew more and more determined to find help!
When we finally got back to Atlanta, I worked around the clock to find a daycare that i could trust. It was extrememly hard and so many "friends" persecuted me asking me "why would you put her in daycare?". I was so annoyed with their "opinions" but I grew to understand that I am an entrepreneur determined to have an identity and outside hobbies other than just holding down the title of "mommy, maid, chef and loveslave" (I'm joking!).....
But being an ambitious entrepreneur is for me. It may not be for other moms, but I admire this goal of mine, and I felt compelled to push towards it.
Finally, after all of the trying and challenging opinions, and not so impressive day care tours, I found an amazing in home daycare that would require a bit of a drive, but allowed me to put my daughter in the hands of someone that was passionate about working with children, and would treat Chloe as though she was her own child.
From day one, I fell in love with this place and appreciative for my few hours of freedom as it was obvious that it was a benefit to the both of us to get time apart. Chloe was able to be immersed in the social setting where she was freely able to roam around with other children, discovering things, finger painting, singing songs and just having good ol' infant fun. While mommy was able to run errands, give devoted focus to her work for a few hours and have uninterrupted "me time".
Finally, I was able to get a few things done without having to say "No No NO NO NO". The book was finished in no time, and I was now allowed to do a few things just for me. When you don't have family in the town that you live in, or friends who just adore your child and want to pick her up "just because", then we have to find ways around that, and get some kind of personal time.
For me, that way was putting Chloe in "school". It wasn't the easiest thing to do upfront, but every day that she smiles when we walk up to her school door and all the kids greet her by saying "Hi Chloe and Hi Chloes mommy", I know I made the right decision.
Every time I'm able to talk to someone on the phone without saying, "Uh oh...I have to go, my daughters crawling into the bathroom and I gotta hurry up and get her before she puts her hands in the toilet....." then I realize that I made the right decision.
When my daughter responds to Spanish as much as she responds to English, then I know I made the right decision.
For many of you, you may be struggling with what you should do about your children, if they aren't school age as of yet, and you have them home with you for the day while you attempt to get some work done. Let me encourage you, it's okay to put your child in a daycare or school that you "trust" and feel isn't threatening to your moral values and practices of how you raise your children.
If you are serious about building your home business to a place where it could allow you to become financially free, then you absolutely need to treat it like a "real business" and allow yourself a few hours of "professional time" to focus on building your business.
Don't allow the shame or fear of others to become your delay, if you know you want to build a better financial future for your family, then allow yourself a few hours a day or a week to do just that.
Besides, you owe it to yourself. This would be the perfect time to go to the gym, clean your house, take a walk in the park, meet with a girlfriend for lunch, read a book, go to the spa, take that class you've always wanted to take or even go on a date with your husband on his off day and have a hot passionate intimate time with him like you've never had before! You Deserve it!
Don't let yourself get so overindulged in helping everyone else around you that you forget about YOU! Like the Airline Attendant always says in his/her speech before your plane takes off....."if there is an emergency and your mask drops down, put the mask on yourself "first" before helping others!"..............otherwise, you won't survive to be their to help those around you and the same is true if we don't take care of ourselves and pamper ourselves with a little bit of "me time"...........
Are you willing to take care of you!
Nicole S. Cooper
Creator of Build MLM Biz Online
Tags: building, business, care, child, daycare, development, pampering, personal, self, time
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Working-mom-of-2 on -
When my first son was little I had a mixed job. 2 days in the office, 1 day off and 2 days at home-office.
During my office days my son went to a daycare mother who had 3 other kids she took care of. It was perfect.
During my working at home days I hardly had a chance to work with my little guy around. He was 6 months when i returned back to work.
I have to admit that often I felt guilty because I was spending more time with my kid than with the customers. When I got pregnant with the second Luke was 10 months old. From that moment I knew that I would stay home long enough until the little one was ready for kindergarten. Now, since July the little one is 3 years old, joins his brother in kindergarten and I can work until 14.00 o'clock.
Noone should feel guilty putting their kid in daycare when they work even at home.
It think you have made the correct choice.
For my kids, the time with the daycaremother have only made them socially stronger.
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Permalink Reply by Brenda Carson on -
Very wise choice to make. I know it was hard, but you made the right choice. My daughter-in-law did something similar to that, even though it wasn't due to in-home work. She is a school teacher and the day care she used, which was excellent, run by a local church with a loving staff of teachers--not just sitters, charged the same amount per week, whether or not your child was there, in order to maintain a spot. Once you removed your child, there was a long waiting list to get back in, therefore, during summer, she continued to take her boys to day care each day.
That enabled their routine to stay the same and my daughter-in-law had some free time to take care of chores, go shopping or just chill out during the day. It worked out well for her and the boys. They were well prepared for school when it came along and were enrolled for after school day care until they got to old to go. They continued to go to special summer 'day camps' and other things all the way through elementary school. Now they are 13 and 17 and it didn't bother them at all. It helped them with their education as well as their socialization skills.
If I had been able to afford it when mine were young, I would have done it as well, but we didn't make enough money to pay for day care, so I worked at other jobs, such as selling Avon, being a Tupperware dealer and taking care of other children at home along with mine. Your way is much better, believe me.
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Mapp on -
Hi Nicole! I think it is a very good idea to use some kind of childcare when you are working from home, whether it is a daycare, a nanny, a mother's help, family or whatever. I do work from home with 3 kids - one is in grade one so he's usually away during the day, but my 4 and 1 year old are with me and I have less time than I'd like for my business. I am planning to wait until fall and find some childcare for the baby when the middle child goes to kindergarten and then really work on expanding my business (until then the hours are manageable with a few clients).
I hate to say this though, because I do agree with you in principle obviously, but I really dislike when people try to call childcare "school". It gives the impression that they are embarrassed to use childcare or that they are trying to act as if it is all about the benefit to the child. Of course they learn while they are in childcare, but they learn at home too and we don't call that "school". You use a daycare, not a school - be proud of it!! It is a good choice for you. But school is for older children not 2 year olds.
Take care!
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Permalink Reply by Mary Wehrle on -
I still don't understand why there are people running around telling other mothers what they should and shouldn't do as far as deciding to put your child in daycare or not. You may be a work at home mother but why do people think that work at home means your business is less important and therefore needs less attention that work that is done away from home?
My kids are grown and as a single mom, I had no choice but to use daycare while I worked. It was probably better for all of us. My sons daycare was in a church and was certified for private kindergarten as well. Both boys graduated from that into public school. When they started, they were more advanced academically and socially than many of the other kids in their class. I think the more important question is how to decide which care is right for you and your child, not if you should do it at all. Making a decision to put kids in daycare is as personal a choice as having children is to begin with. We all have the right to decide what is best for our selves and our children. I would be curious to hear how you addressed those who thought you were doing the wrong thing.
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Permalink Reply by MarlisaOK on -
As someone who does Child Care. Yes! If you need time to make phone calls and get work done without interruption by all means do it. I've had parent's who just put their kids in for just a few hours a week all the way up to full-time. Personally I think part of working from home is having the advantage of being "at home with your kids" But, sometime we all NEED that time. Think about how many hours of uninterrupted time a week you truly need, and get her in care. You can even start with part-time. I don't know how old Chloe is, but separation anxiety starts to peak at 8mos. So the sooner the better. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
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Permalink Reply by HELEN on -
Making a decision to put kids in daycare is a personal choice as having children is to begin with. We all have the right to decide what is best for our selves and our children. Having a few hours in the morning to do work and do your own thing is valuable and it is valuable for your child to mix an socilase with others but not all the time they need their Mum to.
I think that is important for the child as much for the parent to have time out. It is important though to have work and lesuire balance. Working from home is a job and you need the time to do it. Putting your child in child care for half day whilst you work is a good idea. Do not feel guilty about it. As a child care worker myself I see children being brought in at 6.30am and leaving at 6pm that is a long day for any child even if you do work from home. I feel that is the extreeme.
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Permalink Reply by Claire Evans on -
I started off having my daughter in daycare then took her out when Katrina hit and I lost my job. I stayed home with her for almost a year waiting for a daycare to open up with a spot. I got lucky and found a great one that I trust.
I so agree with your post!
We can not "do it all" and we all need help (and our sanity) I am a Single Mom now and I am now disabled but my child still goes to daycare because 1. She loves it there 2. She is building social skills 3. She is making so many friends 4. She is learning so much that I alone could have never taught her.
She gets extra love, extra attention, extra time to herself and it makes us work better as a family.
I never felt guilty for putting her into daycare, no one should. You are doing something for you child to help them grow up to be strong successful outgoing children and we all know that we need to do something for ourselves so that we can continue to be the great mothers that we are!
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Permalink Reply by Tammy Dantzler on -
I believe that if your going to be successful at working from home a half a day of daycare is beneficial to your child for gaining social skills with other children, plus give you uninterrupted time to meet your goals.
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Permalink Reply by Linda HB on -
Thank you, Nicole. Although I'm still working my pre-leave job, working from home with my daughter (13 mos) isn't working for me. I'm going to share your article with my husband. Hopefully, this will give him a new perspective on my struggle.
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Permalink Reply by MarlisaOK on
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Check out www.twittermoms.com/group/childcare for more discussions like this.
MarlisaOK said:As someone who does Child Care. Yes! If you need time to make phone calls and get work done without interruption by all means do it. I've had parent's who just put their kids in for just a few hours a week all the way up to full-time. Personally I think part of working from home is having the advantage of being "at home with your kids" But, sometime we all NEED that time. Think about how many hours of uninterrupted time a week you truly need, and get her in care. You can even start with part-time. I don't know how old Chloe is, but separation anxiety starts to peak at 8mos. So the sooner the better. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
