Babies in day care?

[Mia]

I personally don't understand this unless it is the only option.

When people tell me they just had their baby 6 months ago, and are working full time again, I look for something with which to beat them.

1) Many are simply not safe. I have heard of at least three babies who have died this year due to day-care negligence.

A friend found a fantastic one - there are cameras everywhere and you can log online anytime and watch your baby.

Her whole family spot-checks in person as well, and the baby is always being fed or changed or held or played with.

I still object to this full-time. It can't be right for the baby's mental and emotional development.

Plus I think it's too young to be exposed to all the viruses and other infections, etc.

Anyone here have personal experiences to relate and/or comments?

[syracusa]

Originally posted by Mia, I personally don't understand this unless it is the only option. When people tell me they just had their baby 6 months ago, and are working full time again, I look for something with which to beat them. 1) Many are simply not safe. I have heard of at least three babies who have died this year due to day-care negligence. A friend found a fantastic one - there are cameras everywhere and you can log online anytime and watch your baby. Her whole family spot-checks in person as well, and the baby is always being fed or changed or held or played with. I still object to this full-time. It can't be right for the baby's mental and emotional development. Plus I think it's too young to be exposed to all the viruses and other infections, etc. Anyone here have personal experiences to relate and/or comments?

I just subscribe to what you said. With the additional observation that there are many families out there who KNOW that the mother staying home with the infant is the right thing to do - BUT THEY CANNOT AFFORD THIS REALITY.

Of course, to this you can always argue: "then they should not have had the baby in the first place". Which is probably true.

I dream of a utopian world where the middle- and the lower- classes would miraculously come to their senses and suddenly stop having babies for the simple reason that they cannot afford them; so the "-uppers" will have a smaller and smaller pool of labor available to them, fewer desperate job seekers to choose from and implicitly more decency and humanity in them.
Maybe THEN they will understand that men must make a decent family wage in order to reproduce; and not just CEO-s and doctors, but ALL men.

Perhaps we should leave it to the CEO-s and the doctors to provide tomorrow's pool of labor. Shouldn't we? ...

[Seeker_Of_Sins]

My daughter went to daycare from age 1 through to starting school at age 5 and I would recommend it to anyone. Your child receives extra attention giving them a leg-up in life. They enter school at an advanced learning stage enabling them to quickly excell and move forward. They are better able to grasp problems and arrive at solutions and finally their social skills are greatly improved allowing them to easily adjust to a busy school environment.

If you only have one child then these things will be severley curtailed if the child is raised at home. Many of my friends have only one child and they have raised that child to school age at home, all of them are shattered by the experience and the knowledge that their child is behind many others when they enter school.

A child has one chance at education, once its gone you are just an old fart trying to recapture youth or lost opportunity. I emplore any parent to thoroughly investigate quality childcare with dedicated and intelligent teaching staff. If all it is is supervised play then don't bother. If they have a programme designed to challenge a child mentally and physically every day then you should proceed.

[Comrade]

Originally posted by Mia, Plus I think it's too young to be exposed to all the viruses and other infections, etc.

Young children's immune system is something like 3x as effective as adult's. Ebola, for instance, has a fatality rate of 80%, and of the 20% that survives, 50% are children, the other 50% are third+ stage infectants (generally, Ebola "evolves" very quickly into a virus that isn't fatal in its third to fourth "generation" of victims, and the immune system eventually overcomes it).

I'm summarizing out of my encyclopedia on the Ebola section (which specifically says that, about the children's immune system, I'm not just inferring).

Just FYI. Children can deal with disease.

[Plaything48]

Ooo, a post where I can put my developmental psychology to good use, except I don't have time at the moment to write much, so just take it from me that there are a lot of case studies showing day care as beneficial, and quite a few showing that it can be detrimental to emotional/cognitive future development.

[bugsbunny04]

Daycare can be an oppurtunity for the child to develope his early social skills.

[Leopard]

Originally posted by Seeker_Of_Sins, If you only have one child then these things will be severley curtailed if the child is raised at home. Many of my friends have only one child and they have raised that child to school age at home, all of them are shattered by the experience and the knowledge that their child is behind many others when they enter school.

sorry seeker, this is relative to what the parents actually do with the child when it is at home: if they take an active role in educating their child, then the child will be ahead of 'schooled' children due to the direct attention and caring that only a parent can give - sluffing<sp?> off one's child to th hands of others is being either lazy, neglectful, or just plain uncaring - rationalizing it as 'the daycare center can teach them better then I could' is ridiculous and a cop out. The only 'excuse' that halfway makes sense is the necessity of having a two-income family... which is due to the long trendils of government manipulating and distorting our econmy... sucking it out from under the average family... but, thats an entirely different rant ;-)

A child has one chance at education, once its gone you are just an old fart trying to recapture youth or lost opportunity

untrue, as human beings we are 'educated' every day of our lives, even without the benefit of 'formal' education - many wise men never attended any schools, and many smart folks have seen to their own education through their own diligence<sp?>. To stop learning about life and the changing world around you is to stagnate and risk failure at predicting possible solutions to achieving your own goals an desires...

michael

[Mia]

Originally posted by Seeker_Of_Sins, My daughter went to daycare from age 1 through to starting school at age 5 and I would recommend it to anyone. Your child receives extra attention giving them a leg-up in life. They enter school at an advanced learning stage enabling them to quickly excell and move forward. They are better able to grasp problems and arrive at solutions and finally their social skills are greatly improved allowing them to easily adjust to a busy school environment. If you only have one child then these things will be severley curtailed if the child is raised at home. Many of my friends have only one child and they have raised that child to school age at home, all of them are shattered by the experience and the knowledge that their child is behind many others when they enter school. A child has one chance at education, once its gone you are just an old fart trying to recapture youth or lost opportunity. I emplore any parent to thoroughly investigate quality childcare with dedicated and intelligent teaching staff. If all it is is supervised play then don't bother. If they have a programme designed to challenge a child mentally and physically every day then you should proceed.

I agree with most of this - my main (severe) disagreement is the start at younger than three.

Many, many studies over 50 + years suport this 3 year marker, and they are how I came to my opinion on it. Plus child development classes in college and I always keep up with psyc. issues.

Syracusa, as I pointed out in your other thread, your "no choice" thing is bunk. (For your situation anyway. There are single mothers who hav little choice). You choose to see only two options when there are literally hundreds.

[syracusa]

Originally posted by Mia, Syracusa, as I pointed out in your other thread, your "no choice" thing is bunk. (For your situation anyway. There are single mothers who hav little choice). You choose to see only two options when there are literally hundreds.

You must know better (what my situation is).

In addition: those single mothers already made their choice of HAVING children. I have not made mine yet in this regard; and it is exactly because I do not perceive as many "happy choices" as you do - that I may not have mine at all.

When I make a choice, I must pay a cost for that choice.
In my case, all the costs that I would have to pay for either choice would be too high and too harmful to the life of my future offspring. One way or another. At least, this is how I deem them.

Just because 90% of the people do not see it necessary to make as many provisions for the lives of their future children as I do - does not make them bastions of "truth", and me - one of "error".

But then again, the children of 90% of people struggle as Hell their entire lives.

[Mia]

Originally posted by Plaything48,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Plaything48,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Ooo, a post where I can put my developmental psychology to good use, except I don't have time at the moment to write much, so just take it from me that there are a lot of case studies showing day care as beneficial, and quite a few showing that it can be detrimental to emotional/cognitive future development.[/b]

Doesn't it depend on age? Meaning beneficial for children but not babies?

<!--QuoteBegin-Comrade,

Just FYI. Children can deal with disease.[/quote]

Tell that to my friend who's baby almost died from contracting Meningitus in the day care!

There is a difference between babies and children - I'm discussing babies in here.

It's a miracle he didn't die or at least become brain-damaged. This disease moves through the body so fast no one can believe he made it through with a clean-bill.

[Mia]

Syracusa, my point is you've only presented two choices when there are many more. You don't know there's not a "happy" one until you examine the others.

And I'm not being critcal, I actually just want to help you see this!

[castille]

As this is a behaviour/psychological issue, it needs to be dealt with scientifically.

You can't use stupid statements like "I know this friend of a friend of a friend whose baby turned into Dr Evil when she went to child care". You have to show absolute facts or statistics that are not tainted by poor research methodology (as Dr Watson found out).

[Autophage]

I agree that it may well be bad from a young age - but also agree with whoever it was that mentioned it was an important time for social developement.

[Mia]

Castille, there are plenty of studies on this and there is a big difference between babies and children in day care.

The studies follow them through their whole lives and show the non-day care babies were better equipped for the world.

I don't need a study to tell me this, though. A college child-development class and a minute or two of thought can produce the answer!

[Pooeypants]

Originally posted by Mia, Tell that to my friend who's baby almost died from contracting Meningitus in the day care! There is a difference between babies and children - I'm discussing babies in here. It's a miracle he didn't die or at least become brain-damaged. This disease moves through the body so fast no one can believe he made it through with a clean-bill.

He didn't mean that the infants were immune from disease but rather they can be more resistant. Although I think that's wrong in itself not nvm.

But I think we shouldn't be too afraid to expose our new born to microbes, too much hygiene has lead to increased development of allergies because the immune system literally has nothing to do...

[Seeker_Of_Sins]

These sites may assist you in making a decision, the more I read and from my own personal experience, the more I realise that a good quality daycare centre with good quality and commited staff will be hugely rewarding for your child.

http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/3408.php

http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5586,00.html

http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,4394,00.html

http://www.linkup-parents.com/artseparation.htm

There are many more sites that may help you decide but the theme seems to be the same, choose a daycare with good ratios and good dedicated teachers and the rewards will be worthwhile.

[bugsbunny04]

Originally posted by Pooeypants,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Pooeypants,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Mia, Tell that to my friend who's baby almost died from contracting Meningitus in the day care!  There is a difference between babies and children - I'm discussing babies in here. It's a miracle he didn't die or at least become brain-damaged.  This disease moves through the body so fast no one can believe he made it through with a clean-bill.

He didn't mean that the infants were immune from disease but rather they can be more resistant. Although I think that's wrong in itself not nvm.

But I think we shouldn't be too afraid to expose our new born to microbes, too much hygiene has lead to increased development of allergies because the immune system literally has nothing to do...[/b][/quote]

Yeah, like muscles that are never exercised.

[Mia]

I agree. I merely object to full-time day-care for infants for a variety of reasons, two of which have been stated.

[prettyredhead]

Hey, I used to work in a Day care. I would cringe everytime I saw a tiny infant being dropped off by its "Mommy" in her BMW. Some as young as 4 WEEKS old. It made my stomach turn. These women (ALOT NOT ALL) had no reason to bring the baby there, except to pursue her "career". Their husbands made enough to live, one was a lawyer, one a PHD, yet these "mothers" felt the need, or wanted to work. I wanted to scream at them to have a cat, not a baby. I shake my head and wonder Do you love your baby? How can you leave it here for 8 hours a day. Why did you have a baby?
I just worked as I was told. But sometimes the little babys had to cry for a long time, before we could get to them, or we could not hear them, or the staff was short. They DO get neglected sometimes. Sorry. Older kids take alot of time away from the babys. We had two girls caring for 10 infants. That was the proper ratio for our state. No more, no less. How can 2 people give quality care to 10 infants. They didnt.
But, the steady stream of little infants continues. I say, buy a less expensive car, dont waste money on a huge, expensive home, live within one income. It can be done. Mothers belong at home with infants and kids up to 5. Children 0-3 years do not remember day care or anything they learned there. Lets be real...........
You cannot give any true fact about "abilities" of a day care child to a stay at home mothers child. Babies need their mother. Not a stranger with a nipple.
Sick sick sick. Career women should be home with their babies. WHEN at all (I mean at all_) possible. BUDGET to make it work. Or else get a cat.
We have had lice, rashes, flu, all kinds of terrible ailments spread around the center. Kids and germs go together. They are gross little things sometimes. THey share everything, if you know what I mean. Mothers belong at home. It IS possible, except with single moms. ALOT OF THEM did not start out, or strive to be a single mother. BY THE WAY.

[rlwinton]

i agree--i worked at a daycare. and although i did the best i could, i really couldn't help the infants and toddlers learn to crawl or walk or read because another child would be crying. if that kid was at home, i'm sure someone could be enhancing their reading, verbal, motor and communcation skills--but at a daycare its impossible. of course, your kid is going to be fed, clothed, and other basic needs met. but i wouldn't say much else.