Questions for me to Answer:
Q. Why do you want Gwen to go to *that* daycare when they are so disorganized?
A. Because the Office Woman aka Manager has nothing to do with the kids or the care they receive. She is the gatekeeper of administration and can determine whether or not Gwen gets in - but once she's in, she will have nothing to do with Gwen at all. The people who work in the childcare area are wonderful and not morons at all.
Q. Why don't you just take Gwen to a home-based daycare?
A. Well, obviously at this point that is what we'll have to do. I had a lot of prejudices about that, but as I am learning, there actually are good home-based daycares out there. (There are also not-so-great ones, like the woman I talked to who told me that she wanted to switch Gwen to one nap a day, and that way she could have some quiet time while the older kids watched TV in the afternoons. Hey, if I wanted Gwen to have half-assed, distracted care, I'd do it myself.) Part of the reason I am stressed about her not getting into a centre is that I want her to go to preschool in two years. There are three preschools in town, two of which have infant/toddler programs as well. The best way to ensure she gets into the preschool is to make sure she is in the infant/toddler program, since they will give waitlist preference to "their" families before letting in new kids. So yeah, now I'm stressing about something that's two years down the line. Go me!
Q. Why are you taking her to daycare at all, if it's going to make you so broke?
A. Because even if I don't go back to work, thus eliminating the daycare expense, I still need to pay my car loan and student loan and put food on the table. That is hard to do on an income of $0.
Q. Can't you blog about something Valentines-y? It's Valentine's Day!
A. I have something very Valentines-y to blog about, but it will have to wait a few days until certain people have received certain things in the mail. It is a Rule of Motherhood that parents of young babies don't ever get things into the mail on time.
Questions for me to Ask:
Q. At what age can a child be taught to understand (and obey) the word "No"? It occurs to me that a distinct disadvantage of being so mobile so early is that the child's physical development far outstrips the cognitive development, and thus let's cut to the chase and say SHE GETS HERSELF INTO DANGEROUS SITUATIONS about 3,295 times a day.
Q. When I am supposed to stop giving her a bottle? I've read that 12 months is the "recommended" time, but this seems hopelessly unrealistic. I'm pretty sure I saw my 2-year-old nephew drinking from a bottle last summer. Why are we supposed to take them away at 12 months? And don't say "switch to a sippy cup" because sippy cups are just bottles in disguise, so what benefit does that have, really?
Q. Enough about me. What's new with you?
4 comments:
I can answer the bottle question, because I had that exact question with Callum as well.
I was told that sippy cups and bottles AREN'T the same, the sucking action is different (apparently) and that is why you're recommended to switch. Something about teeth I believe. eh, I can't remember, but I can tell you the sucking action is different.
Second of all, when you wean from the bottle is entirely up to you, just like everything else about parenting :). With Callum I started the transition at 12 mths and he was on milk, in a sippy cup, at 13 mths. A lot of Mom's wouldn't be switching to milk that early, but as has been well established I'm THAT mother and I'm sorry, but milk is considerably cheaper... He still drinks predominantly from a sippy cup, unless he's sitting at the table having a meal, then he gets a regular cup.
I say "no" a lot. Probably too much. I was given some advice once to find a different word (like, I don't know, "careful" or "danger!" just so that when they're 2 you're not listening to a stream of "nos". But "no" just came so naturally to me that I never managed to change).
Scott still drinks his nighttime milk from a bottle. The rest of the time, he drinks from a regular cup. Somewhere in the back of my head I know that he's getting old enough that I should cut out the nighttime milk...but I don't really care. He's happy and it's not hurting him. So why mess with it just yet?!
And also: my kids have gone to home-based daycares (for 5 years now, on and off) and I have nothing but good things to say about that experience. Obviously each daycare provider is different but you can't rule them out as a group just because one lady is a lazy moron.
Good luck, honey! I know the daycare thing is hard, but I'm sure you'll make it work.
Are you thinking you want pre-school daycare or pre-school classes? Because from my experience, most daycare facilities offer all of the same activities as a preschool class, just spread out over a full work week instead of crammed into about 5 hours a week. And the ratio of teacher/child in a daycare setting favours Gwen more than that of the ratio in a pre-school.
I think you gotta go with your gut on bottles. I also think the "weaning" they are talking about, with switching to a cup (sippy or otherwise) has more to do with taking milk as a balanced part of a meal instead of being a meal. Lots of families will transition around a year to homo milk instead of formula, and that seems like a good time to also transition into meals. Some families keep the bottles, (sometimes smaller servings) and serve them as snacks.
Sometimes I think with Gwen, it's not so much your decision as hers.... You have such a lovely daughter, and she knows her own mind!
J
Gwen = Megan - 5ish months. Again!
And the bottle thing - we're still on 2-3 bottles of homo milk a day with Megan because she is not a very good eater. Hopefully it won't scar her for life. She just doesn't "get" cold milk or cup milk yet, although we keep trying. When we remember.
And daycare - go where the care is good. And there's availability. Given how mobile and curious Gwen is, she will have a good time anywhere & will keep her caregivers on their toes!
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