Daycares are not cheap, and for any parents with more than one child  you are talking about paying over $1,000/ month just to have someone watch your kids for around 8-10 hrs/ day. This fee will remain same whether you take your child in or not.  When they get sick 4 out of the 5 days, you still will have to pay that week’s fee.

Then, there is the fact that you have no idea what happens to your child when you leave them at the daycare. You hope and pray that the teacher or caretaker will be loving and caring to your child and not just show that love when you are there.  It is truly difficult when they are just babies, or at the age where they can’t really tell you what happened to them whether it is good or bad.

I know parents always have that inner instinct and you just wonder it means anything or not.  you drop your child off and he or she cries and becomes very clingy, even though this is not entirely an indication of something going wrong, but you still wonder. You go back to pick your child up after work and you find them sitting on a corner by themselves with a sad look on their face, and they spring up and run and jump onto you the minute you walk through the door… Then you keep on wondering, you ask the teachers how your child did for the day and they tell you great…You can’t just ignore that feeling all the time.

So, when you do find a good sitter, someone your children love and are truly happy to see them – Take care of them and reward them sometime.  It doesn’t matter if this person is a teacher,  a friend, or your neighbor’s kid. When you do find a good sitter, it is like ten big chips have been lifted  off your shoulder, it is like peace of mind, and a good day at work , i mean happy you everyday. You do not have to worry  yourself sick about what your child is going through every minute of the day, before you can get to them.

Julian had a not so good sitter at once, it was a teacher in his daycare…I saw all the signs something wasn’t right. I followed my instincts had him switch classes and it was like a whole new child. Come to find out,  all the other teachers new how bad  this teacher  was with kids but of course nothing has ever been done about it. Yeah, i know… Why work with children then!

Funny, when we go to job interviews, the hiring boss asks us so many questions, and will take time to see if one is  a good fit for the company, so many of us parents forget sometime we need to do same thing for our baby sitters. You have to know who you are leaving your child with, get references and have them checked out, if you have any doubt whatsoever, find someone else. They will be caring for your CHILD, you worked so hard, went through so much, to finally hold that child in your arms- I won’t take any chances with just leaving them with just anyone.

So here’s to taking care of our children and their sitters.

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Ever heard other parents say, having a baby is not hard, raising a baby  is? Well whoever is saying this  to you is definitely right.  People can give you tons of advice on how to raise your child, but the thing is there is no set fomula. For those who claim they have cared for other people’s children,  trust me, when it is your own child, somehow it is different.  If you are a teenager set to have a child right now,  and  you may have an option to wait a little longer to have a family ?  my advice to you, hold off and think again. The late nights or weekend socials may just put to an end, the moment you have your baby.

So…

• It can be expensive. Diapers, clothes, fomula, baby food, daycare or babysitting  expenses take a big chunk of your wallet  – These are all  baby essentials.
•  You have to  feed and  change   baby diapers all day long.
•  You can’t just come and leave anytime you want, unless you have someone else to watch your baby, and you can’t just leave your baby with just anyone. They have to be responsible adults, a sitter or in a daycare facility. ( That’s not cheap, depending with where you live, a newborn baby can cost upto $250/week on just daycare)
•  You can’t just sleep anytime you want either, if you are lucky, your baby will get on a sleep schedule, and give you some time to catch on your sleep.
•  It is your job to keep them healthy, by getting them  any medical attention when needed, make sure they are up to date with their shots, if you vaccinate.  Insurance is not cheap, and yes you will need insurance to get discounts on hospital charges and prescriptions for your baby.
• If you hate cleaning and doing laundry, think again, as this will be one of your  many daily chores.

I am sure the list can be endless, if you feel you can handle all the above and more, go for it just remember A Baby Changes Everything… but when ready, it is the most wonderful experience. So many great lessons to learn. Every mom or dad has many stories of their own. 

17 Lessons from my children.

Have a great week!

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