My toddler is 16 months and she has been in daycare since the age of 3 months. She goes 3 days a week.
The concerns you listed are almost the exact opposite of what we’ve experienced. If anything, sending her to daycare a few times a week has been blessing to us.
You mention teaching children the faith when they are barely old enough to even comprehend what is going on. They will be preoccupied with learning how to crawl and moving objects around, not about focusing on the mysteries of the rosary in a prayer group. This shouldn’t be a concern within the first year at least.
In terms of being neglected, we have found that our toddler has learned a very important lesson in being in a group. She learned to wait. Not every demand should be a treated like an emergency. Being with other children she learns through observation, how to interact, how to socialize, how to share. She enjoys the company of other children.
Besides getting our sanity back (especially after the first three months,) there was a sense of relief knowing our child was in good hands. These are trained professionals, who chose this very demanding work for a reason, not because they needed a job.
Our daycare also has so many protocols. We are required to pick her up if she has diarrhea three times a day, if they can’t get a hold of us within a half hour, we give them formal permission to administer Tylenol if they have a fever, etc. There is a sugar-free policy, all food given to them is organic and steamed. They have live music performances, stretching sessions among a multitude of activities that she wouldn’t get at home and certainly not in a group environment.
The only negative I have about daycare is that it is a haven for germs. Not only does your toddler get sick but so do you. But babies are very resilient, they get over a colds and fevers with a couple of days while it lingers with adults for a week or more. This also much improves after the first year.
If you are seriously considering a daycare, go to several and check them out. Not all are the same. Simply observe, use deduction and ask questions. Are the children calm? What is the demeanour of the workers, how many are assigned to a group? How large are the groups? Are the facilities well equipped and organized? You should get a vibe within the first few minutes.
My advice would be to also stop reading about horror stories on the internet. If you research all the possible things that could go wrong with your child, whether at daycare or from illness, you will go mad. Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks they are an expect. What lesson are teaching if you aren’t open to trusting others, they are here for your benefit and that of your child.
