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Working mom woes

This past Friday I found out that the woman who watches Jordan in her home M and F is going to watch the children out of her daughter's house starting next month. The nice thing about the location now is that it is only seven or eight minutes away from my job without traffic, which is how it typically is during my morning commute. But going to the daughter's means my average total commute time one way will now be about one hour or more instead of 45 minutes.

Unfortunately, where Jordan goes T and Th, they allow a schedule of M-W-F or T-Th or five days, not to mention it is much more expensive. So I can send Jordan to this place four days but pay for five, and then end up paying quite a bit more per month than what I do now. Or, I can let Jordan stick with this woman but accept the fact that I will be in the car for about two hours those two days instead of 1.5, which is not appealing with the weather getting nicer and the price of gas skyrocketing. There are other pros and cons of each, but I won't bore you with them.

I am so bummed about the entire situation; I just wish I knew someone reliable who lived near me who could watch Jordan two days a week. Having gone through the screening process before Jordan was born, then doing it again for school is nothing I am looking forward to doing anytime soon. It is so hard to find someone you can trust enough to care for your child while at the same time not spending a ton of money to do it. This is one of those times I really wish I were a stay-at-home parent. How envious I am of that today, so come on Powerball!
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Anonymous said…
Faith, remember that sometimes you get what you pay for in life. You can't pick child care based exclusively on cost or convenience. Losing the convenience of your caregiver stinks but it might be worth it to stick with her if it's what's best for Jordan. I know too well how good daycare is expensive but we have peace knowing that the kids are safe, clean, learning, and happy there. We tried to switch daycare to save money for a year (and to make my commute easier) and she was miserable. She still talks about how much she hated that place. We also had more problems with bad management, teachers with attitude, not teaching my child, and a bat (we found that one out after we left.)Thankfully, not everybody has that experience. But if you really like her caregiver, maybe you should at least give the extra commute time a chance, it might not be that bad. If it doesn't work out, you can always look later.
April 16, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Facie said…
Honestly, I don't know what is best for Jordan. At this woman's house, she spends most of the day watching TV; it is always on, even if Jordan is coloring or playing with the girl who is her age. That bothers me a lot, but the convenient location, the great price, and that this woman did not get mad when I picked up late made up for that. But if Jordan was not happy there, then I NEVER would have stuck with it.

I really like the structure and how much she has learned at the other place, not to mention all the physical activity, but Jordan sometimes does not want to go because she has to nap, and I also think she feels a little overwhelmed because there are more people.

The two are so different; I just need to figure out which is best, whether it means living with a longer commute or paying more money, or if it means finding someone to watch her the other two days.
April 17, 2008 at 8:24 AM
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