Mary Ann wrote:
>The best child care is done in the home. I spent about 50-60% of my
>income to have a wonderful provider come into the home. My daughters do
>the same and they are your age. It is a major relief for working mothers
>however there must be income. But in home child care diminishes the
>illnesses.
I have to disagree with Mary Ann's assesment that the "best" childcare is in
the home. I had excellent experiences with high-quality day care centers
staffed by professionals. It, too, is expensive but many of these people
receive higher education degrees in child development and related fields. I
was also not directly responsible for their social security, health insurance,
etc. like one would be if hiring someone full time into your home. And, most
importantly for me, there was a staff of many people and this provides for
checks and balances. I was not dependent on placing my trust in a single
person. For very small children who may not be able to vocalize what goes on
during the day, this was important to me. My children are now well into their
school years and (so far!) appear happy and well adjusted. Both of them are
particularly good with their social skills and I credit our good day care
center for these. As far as illness goes, I think they get it young, in day
care, or they get it when then enter the public school system.
______________________________________________
Jennifer Loros
Department of Biochemistry
Dartmouth Medical School
email: jennifer.loros at dartmouth.edu
