Daycare Dilemma: Choose A Daycare Near Work Or Close To Home?

When parents choose a daycare center for their child, one of the most common questions that they ask themselves is, “Should I choose a daycare center close to home or near work?” Ultimately, the final decision comes down to your personal choice, and what works best for your family. However, here are some pros and cons that you may want to think about:

Choosing A Daycare Center Near Home

If there are daycare centers around or near your home, here are some of the pros and cons that you will experience if you decide to choose this arrangement for your child:

Pros:

• If you are sick or on leave, you won’t have to go too far to drop them off at the daycare center.
• You won’t have to put your child through a long commute.
• If the weather isn’t good, you won’t have to drive them through bad weather, and potentially risk their safety.
• If something happens at the daycare center and you can’t easily get off work, a nearby family member can easily attend to them right away.
• If you have more than one child: If one gets sick and can’t go to daycare, while the other still has to go, you won’t have to go too far.
• Your child gets to play with local kids in your neighborhood, who they might end up going to school with later on.

Cons

• If you get stuck on traffic from work, your child will end up staying at the daycare center longer. This will cost you additional charges for late pick up fees.
• If there is an emergency, it might take you awhile to get to the daycare center if you’re at work.
• If you plan to continue nursing even when you’re back at work, having them far from you will be a problem.

Choosing a Daycare Center Near Work

If your workplace offers daycare services, or if there are daycare centers near your place of work, it can be very tempting to make this choice. However, make sure you carefully consider these pros and cons first:

Pros:

• If your office offers daycare services, you will have the assurance that your child is just in your immediate vicinity. You don’t even have to get out of your building to visit them!
• Dropping them off and picking them up will be faster and more convenient. You can just drop them off on your way to work, and immediately pick them up right after you get off.
• You can spend more time with your child during your commute/drive to the daycare center.
• If you are still nursing, it will be convenient to have your child close by your work.
• If there are any emergencies, you can get to them faster.
• Even if you get stuck at work, you won’t have to rush to pick them up if they’re just close by.

Cons:

• If you switch jobs, you will have to look for a different daycare center closer to your new office.
• You will be putting your child through a potentially long ride. They will have to endure traffic to-and-from the daycare center.
• If you don’t have work – either because you’re sick or you’re on leave – you will have to drive all the way to the daycare center to drop off your child.
• If you have more than one child: If one gets sick and can’t go to daycare, while the other still has to go, you will have to make some drastic arrangements.
• The other children in the daycare may not be from around your neighborhood. While it is still good socialization for your child, they may have a difficult time adjusting to new people once they go to school in your neighborhood.

At the end of the day, the choice is really up to you and what you think is best for you and your family. Ultimately, these are just some of the many pros and cons that you have to consider. You also have to take into consideration other factors like: cost, your family’s situation, your commute time, and many others.