Daycare Decision: Balancing Work Responsibilities and Child's Growth

This essay delves into a young parent's experience of finding suitable childcare, driven by the desire to provide the best developmental environment for their children. Initially hesitant due to concerns about neglect in care centers, the parent emphasizes the importance of careful selection, particularly during the critical developmental period from birth to age three. Enrolling children in daycare is viewed as a strategic decision to foster social skills, prepare them for school, and alleviate parental workload. The chosen daycare program's structured activities and focus on learning capabilities are highlighted as beneficial. Ultimately, the parent concludes that finding the right childcare solution has positively impacted both their work-life balance and their children's early development, underscoring the significance of thorough scrutiny in selecting a facility.

Running head: FINDING CHILD CARE
FINDING CHILDCARE
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FINDING CHILD CARE
Introduction
As a young parent, I have always felt obliged to give my children a better version of life
from the one I experienced if not the best. Finding childcare is the most significant choice for me
that I feel I should make as a parent. At their younger ages, I always preferred taking my children
with me everywhere I went in the fear that someone could mistreat them. With time, I came to
realize that this would not work for a lifetime as I developed too many responsibilities at work.
Child care was the best route to take as I could hardly take my kids to work with me on all days.
I had heard of so many neglect cases going on in the care centers and had to be keen on choosing
the right daycare. Enrolling my children in daycare was a perfect decision as it could help them
get ready for school, develop social skills and reduce my workload as well (Babchishin,
Romano, & Weegar, 2013). However, I had to be more careful with my choices as gambling
with the lives of my kids has always been a big no for me. I had to be certain of care in the
specific center.
Ideally, the brain of a child undergoes a lot of developments from the birth period to the
age of three. I felt that this was the right stage that I could use to establish the desirable
foundations on the minds of my children. These developments are highly influenced by the
child’s exposure. Children who are brought up by affectionate caregivers are likely to grow to
more friendly adults (Vandell & Wolfe, 2012). I was convinced that the environment in the
facility which I had enrolled my children could help them develop healthy social skills in their
interaction. The daycare facility is less congested and those who ran it could definitely have
adequate time for the kids even at a personal level.
I feel that it is very essential to start getting a child ready for school as soon as he or she is able
to communicate. A child starts learning from birth, and it is always good to introduce more
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FINDING CHILD CARE
complex materials with an increase in age (Weglarz-Ward & Santos, 2018). The child care
program that I chose has a well-arranged schedule dedicated to shaping the learning capabilities
of the enrolled children. They have different activities that the children participate in every day.
This helps to ensure that each day passes with your child a notch higher than the previous day.
Placing my children in a daycare unit has helped me to plan for my time with much ease.
Initially, I always had to find someone to take care of my children. During some days, the kids
would be completely reluctant of remaining back home and insisted that I should take them with
me. This was much challenging as I did not like to turn down their request. Ever since I enrolled
them in a daycare, they are overexcited about it and always understand that I cannot always take
them with me everywhere.
Conclusion
Finding childcare was the best thing for me. It has helped in so many ways. I have
enough time for my work and am glad that my children are learning. Although I was reluctant on
putting them in daycare due to the bad reviews that I had received from friends and family, my
experience has turned out to be very different. I believe that I had a different experience with the
daycare due to the much scrutiny that I made on the facility before settling down for it.
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References
Babchishin, L. K., Romano, E., & Weegar, K. (2013). Journal of Educational and Developmental
Psychology. Early Child Care Effects on Later Behavioral Outcomes Using a Canadian
Nation-Wide Sample, 3(2), 15-29.
Vandell, D. L., & Wolfe, B. (2012). Child Care Quality: Does It Matter and Does It Need to Be
Improved? Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars, 1-9.
Weglarz-Ward, J. M., & Santos, R. M. (2018). Factors That Support and Hinder Including
Infants with Disabilities in Child Care. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(214), 1-
12.
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