Anyone who sent their 6 month old to day care?

Hi Kavitha, I used to leave my child in daycare when he was 6 months old. It's one of the hardest decision I had to make. As you said finding the right daycare is the biggest challenge.. Luckily I found a good one and also had an option of working from home on alternate days. So it somehow worked for me. When you choose a day care, check the following 1. if the baby to caretaker ratio is 1:1 esp for such small babies. After one yr 2:1 is fine. 2. how well the staff are trained, how the child behave when they are with them. Visit the place on a working da , 3. if they have a visiting nurse or visiting doctor in case of emergency 4. if the premises is child proofed and no construction or renovation work is going on, 5. the kind of toys they use - safe and good quality ones, 6. how often they clean the toys, 7. if the staff wash their hands before they attend to children 8. if the place is hygienic 9. if they have child sickness policy (though it can be inconvenient for the parents to keep the child home when the child is sick, trust me this policy helps a lot in keeping your child from falling sick often. ) 10. if there is safety gates to prevent from climbing the stairs or entering the kitchen 11. if they involve the child in any play activities instead of just feeding and making the baby sleep. 12. Find out the reputation of the center. Talk to other parents who bring their child 13. Most important check whether they would allow you to visit the day care anytime you want to see the child. (once in a while it's better to check on the child during the day without notice so you would know whether they do follow what they promised or just prepare the place just before your visit).

Hi Kavitha, I used to leave my child in daycare when he was 6 months old. It's one of the hardest decisions I had to make. As you said finding the right daycare is the biggest challenge.. Luckily I found one and also had an option of working from home on alternate days. So it somehow worked for me. When you choose a day care, check the following 1. if the baby to caretaker ratio is 1:1 esp for such small babies. After one yr 2:1 is fine. 2. how well the staff are trained, how the child behave when they are with them. Visit the place on a working day , 3. if they have a nurse or a visiting doctor in case of emergency 4. if the premises is child proofed and no construction or renovation work is going on, 5. the kind of toys they use - safe and good quality ones, 6. how often they clean the toys, 7. if the staff wash their hands before they attend to children 8. if the place is hygienic 9. if they have child sickness policy (though it can be inconvenient for the parents to take a day off from work to keep the sick child home, trust me this policy also helps a lot in keeping your child from falling sick often. ) 10. if there is safety gates to prevent from climbing the stairs or entering the kitchen 11. if they involve the child in any play activities instead of just feeding and making the baby sleep. 12. Find out the reputation of the center. Talk to other parents who bring their child 13. Most important check whether they would allow you to visit the day care anytime you want to see the child. (once in a while it's better to check on the child during the day without notice so you would know whether they do follow what they promised or just prepare the place just before your visit).

Hi Kavitha,I agree with Carol's points mentioned, apart from the above things I also ensured 1. the care providers didi and mentor are caring @ this age your child will thrive on love and care the most. 2. if they have cctv monitoring system and I was really lucky to have an access to cctv camera at daycare while sitting and working at my office.

Dont worry Kavitha, kids learn much more and faster in daycare. Please ensure you spend quality time once you are back home. As you mentioned about work from home policy at your workplace, take advantage of it and spend time at your child's daycare. You can develop relationship with the care providers there and also help your child in settling down.

If you are in Mumbai Podar Jumbo Kids day carentertain If you are in Mumbai Podar Jumbo Kids day care has all the facilities mentioned by Carol and Khooshbu

It's a lovely place for kids