I've suddenly found myself embracing the idea of daycare as the right choice for my daughter. Its been a rough personal struggle for me - the balance of responsibility as a father and pursuit of my own personal goals, but with advice and guidance from my friends and family, I come to conclude that putting a child in daycare is OK. I think I used the expense of childcare to disguise my overprotective instincts. Who knows? Maybe I'm just stubborn.
So now what? My wife has actually done a lot of foot work on checking out different day care centers while I've been stubbornly protesting. While day care centers are regulated, I agreed with my wife when she said it was a good idea to visit a center before signing up our little infant.
Since we're looking in the Bethesda, Maryland area, I've scouted out the state laws regarding family child care centers: http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/subtitlechapters/13AChapters.htm#Subtitle14
I'd like to be able to visit and check up on the little one during the day to say hi from time to time. My mother-in-law has been taking care of her lately, and I gotta say I miss being around her all the time. Ultimately though, I now know she'll be OK in daycare, and will be happier if my wife and I are happier, busy pursuing our passions.
