Question for parents re: daycare?

Question

What's your opinion on leaving children in day care all summer long. Have you done it, was it full time, part-time. I realized today that leaving kids in day care all summer long would probably just suck for the kids. I worked beside a day care and couldn't imagine being stuck their everyday all day as some had been. Activity, snack, bathroom, outside repeat-day in day out. My kids have never had to do it, so I consider them very lucky, and have told them so. They got to explore, go to parks, beaches, and best of all be absolutely bored so they'd be forced to use their imaginations. We've had to tighten our belts as I'm the paycheck, but thems the breaks. What are your thoughts. No judgement passed of course.

Answer 1

We have these things here at all the elementary schools called Extended School Program which we call ESP.  It is great for school age children whose parents work because they get to do alot of things.  They go on field trips all the time like going to the movies and the zoo and the aquarium.  I worked at one while in college and we did some really cool things.  So those things I think are really good for kids whose parents work.  I don't know much about older kids at daycares but are ESP programs are awesome!

Answer 2

I take mine to a martial arts school they got to for the summer and they also go after school. they love it because they learn martial arts and during the summer they do lots of other things, swimming, golfing, go to the movies, hikes. i like that they can have fun while i am at work my children are 7 and 5

Answer 3

My daughter is going to be 5 in October.  She's been in daycare since she was one. I stayed home with her for the first year...just nursing and loving her.  

She loves "school"...but not more than staying home with me, I admit.  She'd choose that over going to school.

She's in a daycare/preschool...not in home as one answerer was talking about.  I would never send her to an in-home daycare.  I did for about a minute and took her out and sent her to the school she's currently in.

Okay, here's their schedule:

Open - 8:30 Free play

8:30 - 9:00  Morning Snack

9:00 - 9:30 "Circle Time" - assigning tasks for the day (Door holder, calender, line leader, line caboose, name tag collector, prayer picker, weather, bell ringer, etc.)...this is also when the children who get calender and weather get up and work the weather "clock" and do the calender...counting up to the current day in English and Spanish and saying the month, deciding what 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow' mean, the days of the week in English and Spanish, that type of thing.  Then the teacher reads them a book.

9:30 - 10:35  Music circle to sing and dance to cd's or craft time.

10:35 - 11:30 Outside to the playground...or the "Big Room" in the event of inclement weather.  The big room has everything that would normally be on a playground except swings.

11:45 - 12:25 Lunch

12:30 - [they wakeup]  Naptime

When they wake up, they play 'table toys' (puzzles and such) until everyone wakes up.

3:00 - 3:30 Wake up and 'free play'

3:30 - 3:50 Afternoon snack

4:00 - [until parents pick up] Out to the play ground.

In addition to reading books, learning spanish, playing outside, dancing, singing, etc. they go on lots of field trips...children's museum, the pool, petting farms, bowling, the movies, chuck e cheese, the zoo, putt putt golfing, etc. on a regular basis as well! :)

Would I choose to stay home with her if I could?  ABSOLUTELY!!!!  But I'd probably still send her to preschool once or twice a week...because she learns social skills, learns lots of things like Spanish and such, and has lots of fun! :)

EDIT: Just saw your additional information, when she was two they took them down the street in a really long buggy type of thing...then when they were three they did 'tie them together' to walk them down the street - this was to go to a public playground for a change in pace for play time...  There was a lot of space between them, it kept them safe and the children liked being 'connected' to their friends.  Now that she's four they just walk and hold hands with a 'partner'.  Their 'freedom' increases as their ability to listen to and obey instruction does so they can stay safe.

And while having available time to use their imaginations (which this school has incorporated with the free time and playground/outside time) is important, so is a certain amount of structure, dependability and consistency.

Answer 4

My kids have never been to daycare because I'm a SAHM, but there are 2 daycare's across the street from me.  From what I can tell the kids are having a great time.  They ride their little buggies around the driveways, go for walks as a group (some walking, smaller children in wagons), one of the daycare's has a pool and I can hear them splashing around in it on occasion (probably the days when they can get extra supervision on hand).  They do a lot with those kids, most of the parents drop them off before 7am so are probably working during the week.  I'm sure they're getting more hands on activity than they would at home with a teenage babysitter (who can't drive to the beach 45 minutes away).

Answer 5

I think most people that do it, have to. With my oldest, she was in daycare until she was 8.  When she was school aged, she went to summer camp type places.  One place was even at a golf resort where they golfed and swam.  They had planned activities every week- sometimes with a theme and that kept the kids very active and not boring.  With a home daycare (which is what I think you are talking about), it can be rough.  But, if you have a good provider, I think there are lots of activities you can do at home.  I stay home now with my kids, and I don't always want to drive somewhere to have fun.  I have to think up ideas just like a daycare provider.  If the kids are there with some kids their own age, I think it's still okay.  They are socializing and making friends while mom and dad are working to take care of them.