Benefits of daycare for 20-month old?

We have a 20-month old, who has been at home until now. I think she
might benefit from going to daycare for 3 days a week, but at the same
time, I have mixed feelings about it.

My child is very shy and cried for 2 weeks when we changed sitters a
month ago. I am worried about upsetting the balance now. Something
else: a financial issue is that the centers here don't have part-time
programs for children under 3, so we'll need to pay the full-time price
for daycare + the nanny for the rest of the week.

Are there really any benefits to the child if she goes to daycare
before the age of 3? She sees other kids on the playground almost every
day, and she goes to a music class once a week.

Jeanne...

I can't see any benefit if she already sees other kids on the playground
and she goes to music class but YMMV. Does your daughter know/like any
of the other children at the playground? Maybe the nanny or you can
start to set up scheduled playdates with one of the other children.

Nan...

It's not unusual for a child under 2 to be shy.

If I were in your position, I wouldn't send her to daycare, mainly due
to the expense. Sure, social exposure to other children is a benefit,
but it sounds like she's getting that at the park and at music class.

You could always see if your nanny can get her involved in a playgroup
if you're wanting more one on one play time with children.

IME, daycares have a great purpose if you need them. When we needed
to send our 2 yo to a daycare temporarily while I recovered from
surgery, she brought home every bug going around, and then some. It's
just not worth it, if you don't need to take her, imo.

Ericka Kammerer...

No way in heck I'd pay for full time daycare if I
didn't need it! It sounds like your daughter has plenty
of interaction with other kids, and it's not that long
before she can do a part time program. What has made
you think that daycare would be so beneficial at this
stage that it would be worth not only paying for the
time you'd use, but also extra time you wouldn't be using
(and on top of a nanny!)?

Donna Metler...

Are there parent's day (or mother's day) out programs where you are? These
are one or two day a week childcare/preschool programs for infants or
toddlers which have some of the benefits of daycare as far as being a group
setting, but you only pay for the days you need, usually only one or two
part-days a week. They tend to be affiliated with private schools which have
preschool divisions, and I suspect it's largely a recruiting tool and a
service to keep parents happy as opposed to a big revenue producer. My
daughter's is pretty exploratory-at the young toddler level, they usually
have about 6 children to two adults, and there will be part of the time of
day in the room playing with toys and doing simple crafts/coloring/etc,
listening to music and dancing around, and listening to stories for those
who will stay still that long. They also have a toddler-specific outdoor
play area and a gymboree-type indoor play room for gross motor, take walks
around the campus, etc. Since Alli has a motor skills delay, this provides
her another avenue for gross motor exploration, and it's worked well for us
for the most part. She does seem to recognize the children from week to
week.

As someone who teaches toddler music classes, unless yours is structured
very differently than the ones I teach, I wouldn't count on them for
providing a lot of child-child interaction. They're designed to improve
parent-child or caregiver-child interaction, so while children can observe
others and see that there's other little people in this world, they aren't
getting time to really play with other children that they'd get at the park,
a playgroup, or a free play time at a baby gym. Just as school isn't the
best place for school aged children to learn socialization, any sort of
formal "class" is unlikely to be the ideal setting for socialization for
younger children.

Best wishes,
Ericka

chrissypete2...

I don't think so. Only my first went to daycare until I quit my job
when he was four months old. Other than that, they have all been home
with us - we work opposite schedules now. Now that the oldest two are 6
and 8, I can see that they would probably love to go to a daycare for a
few days a week just to have some fun and get out just because they are
bored with us. lol. Anyway, I wouldn't spend all of that money on
daycare and a sitter, especially if she gets attached to her sitters. I
think the security is more important at her age. Later, when she is
more flexible and understands why she may be where she is, it could be
a possibility, as daycares offer exposure to routines in a way that
caring for them at home sort of doesn't - as far as 10-11 always being
art time and 1-2 always being free time, etc.