Should Children be Sent to Daycare?

Source: USF blogs
Written by Allison Perry. Media by Kelsey Middleton.

Should children be sent to daycare? This is a common debate among the parental world. Some believe children simply should not go to daycare, but instead stay home until preschool, while others believe that a baby can be sent to daycare just weeks after being born and maternity leave has ended.

Allison’s nephew, Todd. Media by Allison Perry.

I had the opportunity to interview a mom, Gracie Morrison, whose child started daycare this fall. Morrison’s child was 17-months when he was enrolled into daycare this past August. Morrison explains, “The first two days it was really hard because he cried when I dropped him off, but after ten minutes he was perfectly fine.” 

Morrison admits that before sending her child to daycare she did have some worries, due to the daycare horror stories she had heard, but one thing she did in order to overcome the fear of sending her child to daycare was to look at all of the daycares in the area. “I think I made the right decision sending him and picking where he went. You’ll have a gut feeling if it’s not the right place.”
Since beginning daycare, Morrison explains, her child has improved in many ways. “He’s done really good interacting with other kids… He is talking a lot more. He used to only jabber, and now he’s actually saying words. He actually plays with his toys; he knows what they do and what they are. He’s much more independent, and he’s not so clingy to me.”
 
The improvements Morrison has found in her son are not surprising. According to Fox News writer Julie Revelant, “One of the biggest benefits of daycare is socialization, because kids have to learn how to share, solve problems and be team players.
 
Daycare is a safe environment for children to move away from being so attached to family members and become comfortable with new people. Through interacting with other children, as well as adults outside of family members, children learn how to better socialize, allowing them to become more outgoing. This shows not only in the fact that Morrison’s son is now using actual words, but also in the fact that he is actually playing with his toys, which he most likely learned how to do from watching other kids at daycare play with their toys.
Julie Revelant. Source: Twitter.

Revelant also explains that if “kids are given enough learning and socialization opportunities, stimulation, and affection,” in daycare, then sending children to daycare before they enter preschool allows them to grow familiar with a school-like schedule and routine, which makes it easier for them to adapt once they are enrolled in school.

Ultimately, sending a child to daycare is a decision that is only meant to be made by the child’s parents. There is no right or wrong answer to the question of whether or not a child should be sent to daycare. However, it is important to consider the benefits mentioned in this article, as well as numerous other benefits of sending a child to daycare, during the decision-making process

4 COMMENTS

  1. I appreciate how you mentioned that through interacting with other kids and adults outside their own families, children learn to socialize and develop confidence. My sister isn’t able to be home anymore during the day to take care of her daughter, but she isn’t sure what her daughter should do during the day in order to overcome her shy temperament. I’ll have to recommend that she look for a daycare center in her area where her daughter can learn the prosocial skills she needs to be successful in life.

  2. Ever since my sister gave birth to her first child, she has been asking me to watch over my nephew for her while she’s off to work, but I can’t do this every day since I also have a job. It’s good to know that daycare centers are a safe environment for him to be in, so I might suggest to her that she should take him there instead. I think that this will help us get some peace of mind and help us boost our performance at work as well.

  3. Thank you for explaining how daycare is a safe environment for children. My sister is needing to send her child somewhere while she is at work but she wants a safe place for them. I will suggest that she look into a daycare.

  4. My brother works as a waiter at a restaurant a state away from me, and he’s worried that his child might feel lonely because she’s always alone because he’s working overtime for a long time already. I think he will feel better if he sends her to a daycare center so she can have friends to play with. Thanks for the insight that he should look at all the centers in his area so that he won’t fear sending her to a bad one.

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