I Don't Believe in Daycare

There.  I said it.

I simply don't believe in a traditional daycare.  There is no need for it and I tend to view them as little germ factories for sad children with overly busy parents.  Oh boy, I've really stepped in it now....

So here's why I don't believe in daycare.

• High turnover rate in staff.  The kids can't become attached to a certain caregiver because many times that person leaves or moves onto another "classroom".
• Unexperienced Staff.  Many times these daycares are full of teenagers fresh from high school graduation.  Sure they may have a few hours of STARS certification under their belt but as for "real world" experience, nope.  BTW- now you can complete your STARS training online.  You never even need to train with real, actual children!
• Cleanliness.  Germs, germs and more germs.  Sure they try their best to keep things as clean as possible but lets face it- with that many children in one space, there's going to be germs.  And lots of them!
• Rules.  Ohh how I hate following the rules sometimes.  Sign in, sign out.  Five minutes late picking up, that's going to cost you!  No visiting during the day, no early pickups.  No peanut butter, no homemade cookies.  And the list goes on and on....Daycare is a business and it's run like a business.  No thanks, I'll pass!
• Strangers are helping to raise your children.  And this my friends is the #1 reason why I do not like daycares.  Exactly who are these people who are around your kids all day?  Yes, they may have passed a background check but sometimes that simply means they just haven't been caught yet.  And yes, they might be perfectly nice but how do they feel about attachment parenting?  Discipline?  Organic foods?  Extended breast feeding?  Co-sleeping?  You get my point here.  These people are caring for your kids for at least 9 hours per day.  Who the hell are they?!?

Alright, so we've established why I think daycares are a bad idea.  So what's a working parent to do?  Well, if you've read any of my blog posts, you'll know that I am a working Mom.  I have always been a working Mom and don't see that changing anytime soon.  Mainly because we need my income.

So here's some alternatives to a traditional daycare.

• Find a local stay at home Mom to babysit for you.  Better yet, find another working Mom to trade babysitting duties with.
• Nanny share.
• Ask family or friends for help.
• Work from home.  Arrange to telecommute if possible.
• Change your work schedule.  Four, 10 hour days. Overnight shift. Weekends etc.
• Find a great in home daycare.  Many are run by stay at home Moms and are a much better alternative to traditional daycare.
• Start your own business.
• Find jobs where you can take your kids with you.  Become a nanny, work for a church nursery or local MOPS group.

As a working Mom, I have done every single thing on this list. 

I had a part time job working Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays while my husband stayed home with William.  When William was older, I worked part time in Human Resources & took him with me, I helped in my family's business, asked my family for help with childcare and even had a friend/neighbor care for William on the one day per week that we weren't able to switch shifts.  Now I work part time from home doing customer service.  We made it work.  And we've been making it work for over 7 years now.

And now that my son is school age- I could very easily enroll him in public school and go back to work full time.  But here's the crux of the problem....we view public school very much like daycare.  All those points I made about daycare being undesirable still apply to public school.  So tell me, why would I enroll him now?  But that's a whole other post for another day.....

Now I fully understand that this statement is bold.  You don't BELIEVE in daycare?  Say what?!?  And I know it will most likely offend some.  I'm sorry.  That's not my intention.  Daycare may work out perfectly well for some families.  And if you don't have friends or family close by to help you- I can understand why many parents would turn to daycare.  

But here's my issue with that- If you have children you need to be prepared to make life changes for them.  This includes staying home with them, changing work shifts, never having a day off with your spouse, working part time instead of full time etc.  Your children are your most important work and you should treat them as such.  

It is possible to work and raise your children without having to ship them off to a traditional daycare.  I am proof of this.  If we can do it, so can you!