LilSugar

Up All Night: "Night Care" For Kids Gains Momentum

Natasha Dantzig — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:04:27 PST

Get your PJs, it's time to head to "night care"! Nine to fivers are quickly becoming a thing of the past, and parents' alternate work schedules get blamed for all types of things, even childhood obesity. Thanks to good old supply and demand, a new industry has cropped up in the parenting world. Known as "night care," day care centers are extending their hours late into the evening, and sometimes through the night, to accommodate the nearly 40 percent of the American work force who reportedly work nonstandard hours. According to a story in the New York Times this week, "It’s the wave of the future. The trend is to move beyond nine to five because, with the changing economy, that’s where the need is."

The concept of having someone care for your kids at night isn't a new one: plenty of LilSugar readers said they would hire a night nurse if money was no object , but this is the first time there's been a significant shift from at-home night care for children to the use of outside facilities. While complete overnight care is still relatively rare, the idea of a child being fed dinner, read a bedtime story, and tucked in somewhere other than home might be the wave of the future.

Have you ever utilized a night care program? Would you?

Wee Watch: Monitor Your Lil One With Daycare Webcams?

babysugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:00:00 PDT

Doggie daycare webcams may be fairly common, but how about a childcare that will let you watch your fur-free baby? A company has debuted a webcam monitoring system designed to help "reduce separation anxiety" for a parent. Live streaming video from webcams placed throughout a participating daycare can be accessed via your iPhone, Droid, or computer so you can monitor your tot's sleeping, playing, and screaming whenever you want. Would you be interested in this service?

Mommy Dearest: Second-Guessing Childcare Choice

LilSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:00:39 PDT

Mommy Dearest,

I am about to return to work following the birth of my first child and am investigating my childcare options. After interviewing some nannies and visiting daycare centers both home- and program-based, I thought I had settled on a daycare center with low student to teacher ratio, clean rooms and a great daily schedule. After sharing my plans with family and friends, they started presenting me with horror stories about day care - children who are more aggressive, constant ear infections, lack of attention, etc. Should I just ignore my friends or should I reconsider my decision?

– Clueless About Childcare

To see the response from Mommy Dearest,

read more. Clueless About Childcare, Childcare decisions are never easy and there are vast generalizations that can be made about any option you choose. Your decision must be made based on your personal situation - financially and otherwise - and the quality of the care you believe your child will receive. There are good and bad nannies and good and bad day cares. If you feel that you have done the research and are comfortable with the choice you made, stick with it. Don't let the naysayers convince you otherwise. – Mommy Dearest Submit a question for this feature at the Mommy Dearest Group on TeamSugar.

Do You Drop In Unannounced on Your Nanny or Babysitter?

LilSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:00:13 PDT

When The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is in the back of a mama's mind, it can be stressful to find a trustworthy caregiver for her child. After hiring your babysitter or nanny, did you drop in unannounced from time to time to check things out?

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Daycare May Protect Baby From Serious Disease

babysugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:00:46 PDT

You may not like the ear infections and colds that your tot gets in daycare, but all the exposure they are getting may pay off in the end. A new study found:

Children who attended daycare or playgroups have a 30 percent lower risk of developing the most common form of childhood leukemia compared to those who do not.

To see what else the report said,

read more. The researchers looked at 14 different studies that examined 20,000 children. Of those, about a third of them had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Researchers believe the earlier exposure to germs can strengthen a tot's immune system - even to leukemia. While there are unknown factors that cause leukemia, this report may offer a peek into how the disease might be prevented. Source

Banished From the Bash?

PetSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:30:06 PST

I hosted a Christmas party at my house on Saturday night to catch up with old friends before we all went our separate ways for the holidays. Now, North enjoys parties as much as anyone else I know (two or four legged), but I made the decision to bring him to daycare on the morning of. You see, he adores company so much that I worried his desire to meet-and-greet would cause unfortunate party fouls involving Pomegranate- Champagne Punch and my microsuede couches. Eek!

My little guy loves going to Pet Camp and they always greet him by name when I walk in, which makes both of us feel extra special. I thought of it as offering a relaxing weekend retreat . . . so instead of watching me prep snacks, he could play with tons of other dogs and new people in a safe environment. What do you think – if you are having a special party at your house, is your pet present or banished from the bash?

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Tending to Baby, Part 1: The Daycare Option

babysugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:00:05 PST

After a year of staying at home with my lil one, I'm back to work and loving it. The decision to work was easy, but babycare was my big dilemma. I searched for daycares, nannies, and nanny-share options. I'll share my journey with you in this three-part series.

This week: The Daycare Option.

I wanted my daughter to attend daycare to learn how to be a social being and be stimulated while I was at work. Daycare would teach her that she's not the center of attention, how to share, and how to take a lick and keep on ticking.

At the same time, I would be opening the door to colds, earaches, and biting! And, you need to factor in the time it takes to drop off and pick up your kid. Most daycares that I looked at closed around 5 p.m. "Excuse me boss, I am going to have to leave at 4:30 p.m. every day so I can pick up my baby on time." Not a good way to start a new job. And, all of this is assuming you have the option to attend daycare.

read more Here in San Francisco, finding daycare is like finding a needle in a haystack. Many well regarded daycares have year-long waitlists. By the time she'd be able to attend, my daughter would be in preschool. (I didn't know I had to have her name on the list when she was born!) So I went on word of mouth and hunted around for smaller daycares. These are facilities run out of people's homes with a 6:1 child-to-caregiver ratio. Some of them were cute, clean, and well-maintained operations. Others, not so much. The one I felt most comfortable with required each child to sleep for four hours a day. Come again? Yes. My child was expected to sleep for nearly half the time that she would be there. And, this place wanted to charge me more than I was going to make. So, I continued on my search. If you do find a daycare that you are crazy about, here are some things you might want to check out:

Make sure the daycare provides a safe and healthy environment for your child.
All daycare centers must be licensed.
Upon request, they should provide you with references. (See if you can call families who have already graduated from the facility as well as current enrollees
Inquire about the staff's background and how long they have worked there. Also, ask what the daycare center's hiring qualifications are for them.
Know what the napping and sick policies are.
Make sure unannounced and unscheduled visits to the daycare are allowed.

Unfortunately for me, daycare was not an option. Next stop . . . nannies.

Angelina Jolie Says No Way To Cell Phones In Daycare?

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:01:54 PDT

Angelina Jolie has requested that other parents at the same daycare as her children be banned from carrying their cellphones and from taking pictures of her kids, according to CellPhone9. In fact National Ledger reports that many of the parents who also drop their kids off at the $931 per month pre-school and daycare center are very disgruntled with Jolie's demanding requests. Wait a minute, I thought Angelina confessed to Brad that she wanted to be a stay at home mommie? Anyway, I'm not sure there's a reason to have cell phones in a preschool and I certainly don't think this is an unfair request considering the buzz around the family. Do 4 year olds really need their own digits?

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OnSugar Blog: Raising Kids Can Be Mind-Numbing, but Take This Advice

OnSugar Blog — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:04:25 PST

Lots of moms like to think out loud and marybabysteps is one of them. Here is an excerpt from one of her recent posts to Every Day Baby Steps.

Whew! Christmas is over. What takes such a big toll on your budget, you sanity and your time is blown away in a matter of minutes while the kids rip open their presents, scurry around searching madly for batteries and try to figure out their new toys without bothering to look at the damn book. All this with barely a "Thanks, Santa." But you know what? It's worth it. We had a very nice, small Christmas at home. The kids got what they wanted (Thank you, Grandma!), and I loved watching their faces light up and spending the morning just watching their excitement as they played with their new stuff.

That being said, I must confess that for the last couple months that I've been trying to work from home without the help of part-time daycare, I've nearly pulled my hair out on a daily basis. I gave up my two day a week sitter in an attempt to save money, and I'm beginning to wonder if I gave up my sanity with that decision. Playing blocks, watching endless pre-school TV and begging Brady to, "Please, go potty." have just about sent me over the edge.

But just the other day, I saw a post on Facebook that led me to a blog I had never visited before, Girl on Saturday. The post was about how poor Karen is now known as "Penis Mom" by the parents and teachers at her kids' school, but that it's okay because she took a stand against ridiculous gender stereotypes and was a role model for her kids. Karen is pretty cool. So cool, in fact, that I took a look at her other posts. Each one spoke to me and conveyed a lesson that I needed to learn or to be reminded of. I was especially moved by this post that gave life-changing advice on surviving the first few years of raising kids. Karen reminded me that, though parenting can certainly be mind-numbing, it can also be some of the best moments of your life. She emphasized what's important, and I intend to keep those things in mind when I'm thisclose to having my next breakdown. If you feel like you just can't take one more second of the mind-numbing routine that has become your life, please head over to read Karen's advice. I guarantee it will help you out.

Want to see more? Start following Every Day Baby Steps or start your own OnSugar blog. It's easy, it's free, and we just may feature your content on our site!

Group Therapy: Boyfriend Is Controlling About Career Path

Tres Community — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:17:00 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

The first plan I had was to earn my associates degree in early childhood education and work in a daycare. They make little money and once I graduate I'd move near my boyfriend. Plan two, which I just conjured up, is to get a doctorate in psychology. I love giving advice, getting in people's heads, etc. so this career is very intriguing. When I told him, he leaned toward plan one.

He said that he would make the money and I wouldn't have to. Then he started bashing psychologists. I understand that he wants to take care of me and be the man; bring home the bacon but it's kind of selfish. I sense some underlying reasons. Can someone give me advice?

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.