How many hours in daycare?

cjra wrote:

Thanks. To be honest I'm hoping to quit work altogether in 3-4 years
anyway, all the more reason why an increase (in my previously
pathetically low salary) makes a huge difference. Paying more loans
off now, means less time I'm forced to work.

And really, if you have to make a tradeoff, that's not
such a bad one to make. You're still spending good time with
her, you're well attached, you get time at night without having
to worry about needing to get her to bed early so she can get
up in time for school, you feel secure about her care providers
during the day, etc. When she gets to school age, it becomes
a bit more of a challenge to juggle all that stuff. You do get
the time that she's in school "off," but school doesn't take up
all of a workday plus commute and dealing with before/after care
and how to manage any activities she might be interested in and
so on is not so much fun. So, don't beat yourself up too much
here. Keep the big picture in mind, and as long as she's thriving,
all is relatively well.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"cjra" wrote in message
Thanks. To be honest I'm hoping to quit work altogether in 3-4 years
anyway, all the more reason why an increase (in my previously
pathetically low salary) makes a huge difference. Paying more loans
off now, means less time I'm forced to work.

IMO, it's more important for mom being there when they are older and in
school than it is now when they are little and easily portable. If she is in
good care, that can only help her to be well adjusted. You want her to be
able to have good relationships with people.
--
Sue

"toypup" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:32:04 -0500, Donna Metler wrote:

FWIW, the maximum in the four states that I know Daycare rules in is 12
hours in a 24 hour period (the center I do my demonstration classes at
is
open for 13 hours a day-6:00 AM to 7:00 PM). And I know Nanny contracts
are
usually written for 50 hours a week, to allow for travel time. I suspect
10
hours a day is pretty typical if you're in at all a big city where
commuting
tends to be a major time-hog.

I don't think that's the case in our area, since there are a number of
family dcp that are explicitly open 24hrs.

It's not the center or provider hours which matter. I worked at a 24 hour
center while in college, and we were required to track the number of hours
that children had been in care, and at hour 11 start calling every name on
the child's list-because as soon as the child had been there 12 hours, we
had to contact CPS.

I also remember that when I worked in Head Start, we had some children who
would do a school day and extended day with us (8:00-5:00), then go to a
daycare center with overnight care. I suspect some of these kids were "home"
for only a few hours a day due to having a parent who was working two jobs.

On Jun 6, 2:08 pm, Ericka Kammerer wrote:
cjra wrote:
Thanks. To be honest I'm hoping to quit work altogether in 3-4 years
anyway, all the more reason why an increase (in my previously
pathetically low salary) makes a huge difference. Paying more loans
off now, means less time I'm forced to work.

And really, if you have to make a tradeoff, that's not
such a bad one to make. You're still spending good time with
her, you're well attached, you get time at night without having
to worry about needing to get her to bed early so she can get
up in time for school, you feel secure about her care providers
during the day, etc. When she gets to school age, it becomes
a bit more of a challenge to juggle all that stuff. You do get
the time that she's in school "off," but school doesn't take up
all of a workday plus commute and dealing with before/after care
and how to manage any activities she might be interested in and
so on is not so much fun. So, don't beat yourself up too much
here. Keep the big picture in mind, and as long as she's thriving,
all is relatively well.

Thanks for saying that. That certainly was my thinking (and we hope to
have more than one kid coming in the next few years). There's just
that feeling inside me I can't shake when I'm sitting in traffic and
it seems like every minute I sit there I feel a physical need to get
to her. It's very similar to how I felt when she was in NICU and I'd
gone home and was ready to go back. Except in this case she's happy
and playing...

FWIW, the maximum in the four states that I know Daycare rules in is 12
hours in a 24 hour period (the center I do my demonstration classes at is
open for 13 hours a day-6:00 AM to 7:00 PM). And I know Nanny contracts
are
usually written for 50 hours a week, to allow for travel time. I suspect
10
hours a day is pretty typical if you're in at all a big city where
commuting
tends to be a major time-hog.

I'm not sure whether this was a state rule or not, another day care which is
intentionally drop in only accepts children for upto 6hrs, I'm fairly sure
it's a licensing thing, that's how it's implied in the info, both are open
longer than the child is actually allowed to be there and fit different
schedules. I was quite surprised just how many children at this day care
seemed to be only there for short days, it strikes me as expensive as there
was no reduction in price, but it seemed the normal thing to do, a lot of
children where there 10-4, more like 6hrs than 10. I suspect it's an anomoly
and relates more to the type of family that would choose that type of day
care, or maybe it's a population thing, this area is very ethnically mixed,
but also reasonably affluent, so there are a lot of non americans, but
probably better off than your average area of immigrants.

Cheers

Anne

IMO, it's more important for mom being there when they are older and in
school than it is now when they are little and easily portable. If she is
in good care, that can only help her to be well adjusted. You want her to
be able to have good relationships with people.

I'm starting to think that too, I've not been there yet, but in many ways it
actually seems easier to leave a young child, you can fix a schedule that
they stick to day in day out, with older kids that's much harder, then you
add in how much more they notice the parent is away and how much they need
the parent right here right now. I see how much my son needs me in a window
of time after preschool and I think that probably gets more important as
they get older.

Problem is, I'm not sure I'm cut out to do that for a long period of time,
if I have no more kids, I'd still be under 45 when the youngest gets to
college age, which is an awful long time to have no career, even if one can
afford it, yet at that age, it's on the old side to start up anything, so
I'd rather get stuck in sooner, but even if I can figure it out visa wise, I
don't see how I can figure it out schoolwise, unless we manage to get a
nanny or something.

Anne

cjra wrote:
On Jun 6, 2:08 pm, Ericka Kammerer wrote:
cjra wrote:
Thanks. To be honest I'm hoping to quit work altogether in 3-4 years
anyway, all the more reason why an increase (in my previously
pathetically low salary) makes a huge difference. Paying more loans
off now, means less time I'm forced to work.
And really, if you have to make a tradeoff, that's not
such a bad one to make. You're still spending good time with
her, you're well attached, you get time at night without having
to worry about needing to get her to bed early so she can get
up in time for school, you feel secure about her care providers
during the day, etc. When she gets to school age, it becomes
a bit more of a challenge to juggle all that stuff. You do get
the time that she's in school "off," but school doesn't take up
all of a workday plus commute and dealing with before/after care
and how to manage any activities she might be interested in and
so on is not so much fun. So, don't beat yourself up too much
here. Keep the big picture in mind, and as long as she's thriving,
all is relatively well.

Thanks for saying that. That certainly was my thinking (and we hope to
have more than one kid coming in the next few years). There's just
that feeling inside me I can't shake when I'm sitting in traffic and
it seems like every minute I sit there I feel a physical need to get
to her. It's very similar to how I felt when she was in NICU and I'd
gone home and was ready to go back. Except in this case she's happy
and playing...

I can imagine. I've been fortunate not to have to face
that dilemma. On the other hand, I do have some perspective on
what you're missing in the early months and what you're missing
as they approach and get to school age, and I know what I'd pick
if I had to. You managed the breastfeeding, which is fabulous.
You're clearly well-bonded, and she's happy and healthy. You're
getting the job done, even if you feel the pinch. What you consider
"getting the job done" when they're a bit older may be more
challenging to accomplish. I know it's running me a bit ragged
at time ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka

Anne Rogers wrote:
IMO, it's more important for mom being there when they are older and in
school than it is now when they are little and easily portable. If she is
in good care, that can only help her to be well adjusted. You want her to
be able to have good relationships with people.

I'm starting to think that too, I've not been there yet, but in many ways it
actually seems easier to leave a young child, you can fix a schedule that
they stick to day in day out, with older kids that's much harder, then you
add in how much more they notice the parent is away and how much they need
the parent right here right now. I see how much my son needs me in a window
of time after preschool and I think that probably gets more important as
they get older.

As the old saying goes, "Little child, little problems; big
child, big problems."

Problem is, I'm not sure I'm cut out to do that for a long period of time,
if I have no more kids, I'd still be under 45 when the youngest gets to
college age, which is an awful long time to have no career, even if one can
afford it, yet at that age, it's on the old side to start up anything, so
I'd rather get stuck in sooner, but even if I can figure it out visa wise, I
don't see how I can figure it out schoolwise, unless we manage to get a
nanny or something.

Depending on what you do, you can always look for something
flexible. I'm very lucky to be able to work flexible, part-time
hours, mostly from home. Keep building networks, and when you're
ready, put the word out that you're looking for something that meets
your availability. You might be surprised what pops up. You live
in an area where you're somewhat more likely to be able to work out
that sort of thing. Quite a few women in my neighborhood find flexible
employment in their areas of expertise. I'm not so naive as to think
these sorts of positions are just lying around for the taking
everywhere, but they're out there and you usually find them through
your personal networks.
I do find that it's challenging. Between kids, home, work,
and volunteer activities I get stretched a thousand different ways
at times, but it's the best I can do to balance things.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:41:23 -0700, toypup
wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:32:04 -0500, Donna Metler wrote:

FWIW, the maximum in the four states that I know Daycare rules in is 12
hours in a 24 hour period (the center I do my demonstration classes at is
open for 13 hours a day-6:00 AM to 7:00 PM). And I know Nanny contracts are
usually written for 50 hours a week, to allow for travel time. I suspect 10
hours a day is pretty typical if you're in at all a big city where commuting
tends to be a major time-hog.

I don't think that's the case in our area, since there are a number of
family dcp that are explicitly open 24hrs.

In general that is to allow for parents who do shift work and not fo
allow the same children to stay more than 12 hours, however, the
licensing standards in Illinois do allow for exceptions to the 12
hours. Here's the wording from the regulations (this is not for home
day care as that link is not working atm)

c) Children served in a day care center shall not remain on the
premises for more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period, unless the
parent's employment or training schedule requires more than 12 hours
of day care and this has been confirmed in writing, by the parent. The
written confirmation shall be kept on file for licensing review.



--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Depending on what you do, you can always look for something
flexible. I'm very lucky to be able to work flexible, part-time
hours, mostly from home. Keep building networks, and when you're
ready, put the word out that you're looking for something that meets
your availability. You might be surprised what pops up. You live
in an area where you're somewhat more likely to be able to work out
that sort of thing. Quite a few women in my neighborhood find flexible
employment in their areas of expertise. I'm not so naive as to think
these sorts of positions are just lying around for the taking
everywhere, but they're out there and you usually find them through
your personal networks.

Problem is, I don't really have an area of expertise, my field was IT, but I
don't actually like it all that much, plus, it's now been almost 3 years
since I last worked in that field other than teaching. In the UK, I did
teach on a very part time basis and got a high rate of pay for that (50
dollars an hour), but that style of teaching is only available in a small
number of places, here I'd take larger numbers for less pay and to be
honest, it isn't worth working for much less as prep and marking time isn't
paid. At this stage, it's probably not too late to go back to full time in
research or development or something, but the more time that passes, the
more difficult that is, even if I got a job now, I couldn't start until Oct
08 due to visa timings, which is when DS starts kindergarten. I don't want
to do that, I'd have to work full time initially, and only once I was back
into things would I be able to be in charge and be flexible, plus I'd have
to have a green card to be able to do that, which at the earliest would be
Oct 2012!

Anne