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I'm a dad with two kids, one went to nursery 3 days a week from the age of one while mum worked, one didn't (the income/childcare cost maths on 2 kids didn't wo

I'm a dad with two kids, one went to nursery 3 days a week from the age of one while mum worked, one didn't (the income/childcare cost maths on 2 kids didn't work out) and I doubt you'd see any difference in their demeanour. Nursery is not some kind of punishment for your kids, in fact it's probably the opposite, especially if the alternative is being looked after by a stressed mum who's trying to do two incredibly taxing jobs at the same time! From your post it sounds like the issue is your nursery, if you're not happy with it try looking around for a different one didn't. Speak to friends & acquaintances, do the legwork and visit some in the day and find one your comfortable with. I've seen quite a few people give up on nursery because the first one they tried didn't fit, don't let an implementation put you off the whole concept. Working from home is hard with kids, I do it 2 days a week and I find it challenging to concentrate even though I'm not looking after them (headphones are your friend!) May be worth talking to your present employer and seeing if you can reduce your hours or become more flexible, say go down to 3 days a week with 1 work from home. In that situation your probably not going to make that day up while your kid is awake, but spreading a couple of hours a day in the evening or while your partner plays mom across the remaining days is doable. Your kids most pressing need is some happy supportive parents (or parent) so don't beat yourself up about your decisions if your kids are smiling and happy. Parenting is a minefield these days, mostly because the natural parent emotions (panic, worry, paranoia) have been turned into multi-billion dollar industries. Trust your judgement and remember, it gets easier(ish) when they're a bit older ;)

Jem 15y ago
We did the legwork before we chose the nursery - dismissed several other options (including childminders) picking the one we liked the most. The problem is, my judgement is telling me to get her out. Hence the post!
- betageek 15y ago
  Thanks for clarifying - if taking her out of nursery is what you feel you should do then do it, your the only one that knows what's best for your own child.
- dkubb 15y ago
  IMHO if you have even the smallest doubt I would remove the child from the daycare and either move them to another, or bring them home. With my first son we ignored some of the doubt, thinking we were being overprotective first-time parents. Once we made the decision to move him to a new daycare, the changes in my son were immediate. He was socializing with kids, and learning much more rapidly than before, and in general much of the behavioural problems we were having disappeared.

Jem 15y ago

We did the legwork before we chose the nursery - dismissed several other options (including childminders) picking the one we liked the most. The problem is, my judgement is telling me to get her out. Hence the post!

betageek 15y ago
Thanks for clarifying - if taking her out of nursery is what you feel you should do then do it, your the only one that knows what's best for your own child.
dkubb 15y ago
IMHO if you have even the smallest doubt I would remove the child from the daycare and either move them to another, or bring them home. With my first son we ignored some of the doubt, thinking we were being overprotective first-time parents. Once we made the decision to move him to a new daycare, the changes in my son were immediate. He was socializing with kids, and learning much more rapidly than before, and in general much of the behavioural problems we were having disappeared.