suze@terak.UUCP (Suzanne Barnett) (01/30/86)
I have a question on child care for infants. I'm particularly
looking for responses of people who have been in this
situation before. Mail responses and I'll post a summary.
My husband and I work in opposite corners of Phoenix (I in the
NE, he in the SW). We live in the SE corner. Work is about 45
minutes from home for both of us. After our child is born, I
will be returning to work. Should I look for some sort of
child care near our home, near my office, or near his? Travel
time between our offices is a minimum of 1hr, 15 min.
In a way, I'd prefer to have the baby close by during the day
(like maybe 10-15 minutes from work), but if something
happened and my husband needed to take/pick up the baby, he
would be a long way (time-wise) from the baby. The reverse
would be true if the child care location is near his office.
Yet, if we choose a location near our home, we'd both be 45
minutes from the baby, longer than I'm comfortable with (right
now).
How did/would you resolve this and why? (Not working is not an
option.)
By child care I mean any type of child care, day care centers
that accept infants, baby sitters in our home, baby sitters
that care for several children in their own home, etc. We
haven't really looked at these choices yet. Any info, pro and
con for this choice is also welcome.
Thanx!
--
Suzanne Barnett-Scott
uucp: ...{decvax,ihnp4,noao,savax,seismo}!terak!suze
CalComp/Sanders Display Products Division
14151 N 76th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
(602) 998-4800leo@cca.UUCP (Louise Osterman) (02/03/86)
> I have a question on child care for infants. I'm particularly > looking for responses of people who have been in this > situation before. Mail responses and I'll post a summary. > > My husband and I work in opposite corners of Phoenix (I in the > NE, he in the SW). We live in the SE corner. Work is about 45 > minutes from home for both of us. After our child is born, I > will be returning to work. Should I look for some sort of > child care near our home, near my office, or near his? Travel > time between our offices is a minimum of 1hr, 15 min. > > > Thanx! > -- > Suzanne Barnett-Scott > uucp: ...{decvax,ihnp4,noao,savax,seismo}!terak!suze > CalComp/Sanders Display Products Division > 14151 N 76th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 > (602) 998-4800 I chose to have my daughter near home. She would be nearer her pediatrician and in a neighborhood that was familiar to her. At the time I made that decision, I was on a two-hour mass-transit commute and about a 30-45 minute drive from home. I didn't like the feeling that I was physically "far away" from Lauren, but I had to put her overall well-being first. Lauren is now nearly four years old, and is a part of our neighborhood even though I am working. I place a lot of emphasis on feeling a part of the whole since my own childhood was a series of moves and being the only kid who went to a Catholic school - being the new kid on the block and the oddball who was "too good for 'regular' school" didn't do a lot for my self-esteem and was rather lonely. Lauren plays with other children in the neighborhood, takes tap and ballet lessons with the girl next door, and knows people even I don't know (I've met some of my neighbors in settings outside our neighborhood because they've seen Lauren and come by to say "hello" to her and introduce them- selves to me.) I would make the same decision again. BTW, I have been a single parent from the start, so I didn't have to be concerned about Lauren's father's employment location. (He panics when she has an accident, anyway, and nearly faints at the sight of blood. So much for the image of the "strong" father.) Louise E. Osterman Computer Corporation of America
rachel@ada-uts.UUCP (02/05/86)
My husband and I both have 30 minute commutes, in opposite directions. We're expecting a baby in two months and have decided to go for child care close to home, rather than close to one of our offices. We have found a center that we like close to home, and if that doesn't work out, we'll look for an alternative in our town. The major reason for this is so that we can share the picking up and dropping off chores, rather than saddling one parent with the entire job. Also, both of us will be in touch with the day care center and its routines, and we'll both be familiar to the staff. It's not a perfect solution. I think I would like to be closer to the center during the day. But I think it's very important to try to structure an equal involvement for both parents; and as our society currently works, making that goal requires a conscious effort.