Here at 2000 Days Pre-Kindergarten, we have several parents who are looking to put their son or daughter into a daycare that they can trust as they go back to work. For many of these parents this is the first time that they are putting a child into daycare, as they may have to return to work.
One scenario that we see quite a bit is a mother trying to find a daycare for an infant, as it is time for them to go back to work. In a perfect world, the mother would be able to quit her job and stay with her baby even longer.
However, most families need that second income in their home to keep up with the standard of living they are accustomed to. The question that many new parents ask when looking for daycare, is going back to work now going to hurt my son/daughter?
The short answer to this question is no. No, you are not going to hurt your child by putting him or her into daycare and returning to work. Today is a different world. A generation ago, the answer would have been different. However, studies on this subject have proven that this is no longer the case.
What Parents Fear as They Go Back to Work
Calgary parents who are going to back to work and looking to put their child into daycare may fear for the development of the child, not having that constant parental contact. However, that is not an issue when kids attend our daycare. We focus on developing well rounded children who are eager to learn and find this fun!
What most parents fear is something that is simply no longer true! In past generations, the seventies through the nineties, children who were put into daycare’s or whose parents went back to work within one year of them being born, were at a disadvantage when they went to school.
A study points out that in these cases during this time, most of these children suffered with early learning and has poor behavioral skills.
Times Have Changed
So, what changed to make it okay for parents to go back to work earlier, without suffering the ill consequences of doing this? According to a University of Connecticut study in which children were measured for their development, the newest findings state that children whose mom does go back to work, are still at the same level of development that they should be, compared to those kids whose mother stayed at home with them until they were school age.
The study does not really know what has changed that has shown that there are no differences in the children learning. However, they do state that it could be mothers going back into the workforce is now more acceptable. It could also have something to do with the standard of living in which these parents are giving these children when they both work.
We would also like to believe that the changing world of daycare is opening the doors for those kids whose parents both must work and often return to work soon after giving birth. Generations ago, daycares were nothing more than babysitters.
They would feed the children and watch them, but they did not try to teach them or help the children develop. More daycares today are doing so, however, none really compare to the curriculum that is offered via 2000Days. We strive for a child to develop physically, mentally and emotionally so they are the best person that they can possibly be!