The Daycare Dilemma

*digs family out from under a pile of Kleenex*

Well, hello there!  What day is it?  Wow.  The Monkey Butt household has been so sick.  Again.  Flu, sinus issues, general misery.  It hit us all pretty hard, and we’re really all still in the midst of it.

Not fun.  I’m hoping we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but sadly I know there are more tunnels ahead.

And so we come to the daycare dilemma.  Jack is in daycare one morning a week.  Mr. Monkeybutt is a stay at home dad, so daycare isn’t a necessity so much as it is a nice way for Jack to get out and play with other kids, and it gives my husband one morning where he can run errands without the toddler, or work on some projects, or just sleep in.  The problem is, of course, that a daycare full of little ones is like a festering house of plague, and our little pestilence-bringer carts home every germ he comes in contact with.  While Jack rolls with it pretty well, my husband gets chronic sinus infections that require antibiotics to treat and which really take him out for a full week at a time.  And sometimes – more recently than ever before – these sickies take me down with them, which means I miss work.

And so, our dilemma: is daycare more trouble than it is worth?

Daycare has its pros:  Jack loves going there.  He socializes so well with the other children.  He learns so much there.  He genuinely looks forward to “school.”  I know all this sickness now is helping build his immune system.  And I know that taking him out of daycare doesn’t mean he’ll never get sick.

Daycare also has its cons:  Aside from this whole constant illness thing, it isn’t cheap:  we pay $64 for each morning that he’s there, plus the random fees and charges that they assess at the full rate even though he’s only there one morning a week (example: $30 summer activity fee.  The only summer activity that is going on during one of his mornings is “water sprinkler day.”  Hmm…).

We’re considering not renewing daycare for next session.

Jack will still have plenty of playtime with other kids – we are very active members of the YMCA, and he absolutely loves their nursery and kids’ gym.  We go there at least once a week (you know, when we aren’t dying of some plague).  I’m sure he’ll still get sick from his contact with the other little germy fellas at the Y daycare too.

Although, I’ll miss stuff like this from the daycare:

So, we’re pretty torn on this.  Any thoughts?