What kind of child care do you use?

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Haugh on March 24, 2009 at 4:43pm

I am a babysitter and what works best for me is just getting the children envolved in activities and making sure that they are having fun!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 24, 2009 at 4:44pm

During the work week, my husband & I use a daycare...two different daycares, actually. Our daughter attends an after-school program sponsored by our city's Parks & Rec department and she stays at her school. This is her 2nd year in the program and she loves it and so do we. Our son, who is in Kindergarten, attends morning kindergarten (K is only half-days here in VA) so he's not able to participate in the same after-school program that our daughter does. So, he's picked up by his daycare and is shuttled to the center where he eats lunch, gets some more enrichment and plays with other kids his age. It works well for us because the office where we work, our son's daycare and their school is all within 15-20 minutes of our house and we don't have to go out of our way in the afternoons.

Other than that, we don't rely on any other form of babysitting except for our family for whom we are grateful for. My husband's mother lives locally and takes our children when she can and helps us out when we want to get out for an evening on our own. My parents help us by coming to our home (they live 2.5 hours away) when we go out of town and my husband's father even helps out from time to time.

Hopefully, this site will help me find a regular babysitter that I can trust and rely upon!! :-) (so I can give my family a break LOL)

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Permalink Reply by amybuddy45 on March 26, 2009 at 5:54am

I am a SAHM but when we need to go out we use family or a high schooler that lives down the street. Family is free and the girl that we use lives 2 doors down so it is very cheap.

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Permalink Reply by Cyndi Lopez on March 26, 2009 at 7:35am

I use a home daycare provider. Not only are they less expensive than a daycare center but they provide a home away from home environment plus a much smaller group to take care of, so more personal attention.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah @ Mom Balance on March 26, 2009 at 7:53am

My children attend a home daycare. I love that it's a mixed-age group, so my kids benefit from being together, and they are like "one of the family" there. I know that staff turnover can be an issue in some daycare situations, so it's really nice that my son has the same care provider now at four that he did when I returned to work and he was seven months.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 26, 2009 at 4:28pm

Hi Sara! I'm in Virginia Beach. My parents live in Fredericksburg. I actually graduated from Mary Washington College.


Sara Cokonis said:

I have been a babysitter/nanny since I was 15! Making sure the kids are having fun is number 2 on my list... but ensuring their safety is definitely my top priority. Fresh air is great for the kids and i love taking them for walks to the park, or different outings during the summer.

And Michelle, what part of VA do you live in?! I was born in Fairfax.. i lived there for 12 years.. (live in MA now) but just wondering :)

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 26, 2009 at 4:29pm

My sis used to live in MA in Easthampton. They'll be moving to Boston next year -- she's doing her fellowship in Pathology at the Children's Hospital.

Sara Cokonis said:

I have been a babysitter/nanny since I was 15! Making sure the kids are having fun is number 2 on my list... but ensuring their safety is definitely my top priority. Fresh air is great for the kids and i love taking them for walks to the park, or different outings during the summer.

And Michelle, what part of VA do you live in?! I was born in Fairfax.. i lived there for 12 years.. (live in MA now) but just wondering :)

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Permalink Reply by Heather on March 26, 2009 at 7:52pm

I am a home childcare provider currently.. However when I was working in the "outside" world... We used home care. Tried the center care and HATED it.. it was not for our family. I loved the smaller ratio and more attention my kids were given.

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Permalink Reply by jeanine peterson on March 27, 2009 at 2:28pm

Oh I'm so glad mine just turned 13 --- so he is quite capable of staying home for short periods of time by himself. However, for weekend or day trips we try to get classmates or friends' mom's to take him and we offer to do the same in return for them. Works for us most of the time.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on March 31, 2009 at 6:58pm

I'm a SAHM. When I'm not able to be home with the kids my mom or sometimes even my friend can stop by with her kids and watch them for a bit.

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Permalink Reply by Jillian Dunn on April 1, 2009 at 3:17pm

Ha funny, We live in the Stafford area :).

Michelle said:

Hi Sara! I'm in Virginia Beach. My parents live in Fredericksburg. I actually graduated from Mary Washington College.


Sara Cokonis said:

I have been a babysitter/nanny since I was 15! Making sure the kids are having fun is number 2 on my list... but ensuring their safety is definitely my top priority. Fresh air is great for the kids and i love taking them for walks to the park, or different outings during the summer.

And Michelle, what part of VA do you live in?! I was born in Fairfax.. i lived there for 12 years.. (live in MA now) but just wondering :)

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Smith Luedtke on April 1, 2009 at 3:35pm

I use an in-home child care and LOVE IT. Looked at several centers and didn't feel they would be a good fit for our family. I spend time playing with the kids when I drop my son off and when I pick him up. They all know my name, and I know all of theirs. It's nice to feel like we're a big extended family. In addition, my provider has the whole bottom floor of her house turned in to a daycare center, so the kids aren't crowded in or into her personal space/family living space (which I like for safety reasons).

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