Saturday, January 17, 2009

Dilemma... I Need Opinions!

I need opinions, opinions, opinions. Here's the situation ~ Our princess will be 2 at the end of February (tears, tears). For being 2, she knows a lot~ she is putting 4-5 word sentences together, knows all of her animals (including zebras, lions, monkeys, caterpillars), most of her colors, can "read" a book by looking at the pictures, knows 60% of her ABC's, can almost count to 20, and SO MUCH MORE.... OK so on with the story... the babysitter that she currently goes to is the mother of a girl that I teach with. Usually, we are pretty happy with how our kiddo is being taken care of, but we've had some issues. Remember this post , and how our kid got plowed over? And, there have been many occasions when Morgan has come home with poop left in her bottom from not being cleaned thoroughly. This lady also has 2 newborns, 1 7 month old, 2 2year olds, 2 3year olds, and 2 4year olds... in a trailer all by herself. Morgan loves this lady to death, and we are basically happy with the job that she's done. But, with the amount of kids she has, and some other things that have happened, I've gotten a little ticked here and there; although it's nothing that I haven't gotten over.

Now, here's the dilemma part of it... there is a daycare in town that is amazing. Totally amazing. The kids do a craft every single day, they have circle time, they get to play with rice, shaving cream, all other kinds of stuff, they are constantly taking pictures of the kids and making something for the parents, and the schedule that the kids are on really rocks. I also have 3 other "friends" that take their kids to this place. My parents have agreed that, starting this August, if we are willing to put another $60 toward what we are already paying, they will make up the difference of about $180 a month to send Morgan to this other daycare. From an educational point of view, I am totally on board. I want her to make crafts, and have constructive play. They also teach sign language, Spanish, go on field trips, and so much other fun stuff. I also worked in daycares, and know that the amount of kids our babysitter has now is totally illegal, and probably not the safest. But, we're kinda attached, and don't want to hurt her feelings because we love her. Here is the link to Stepping Stones, where she would be going... take a look at the schedule and the pictures of the activities the kids do!

So, I need opinions, please. What would you do? Help me to rationalize this situation! I want my daughter to be more educated, but she's comfortable where she is, and we really don't want to hurt our babysitter. I'm a very emotional person, and wrench my guts over making hard decisions. My dad just told me yesterday, and I've cried over it already! HELP ME!

3 comments:

Shelly said...

it's so hard!
i vote for the preschool--they had me at "crafts" =) it's so hard when you have a relationship with someone that you don't want to damage and your daughter is happy. one thing i have learned is that kids are resilient--she WILL be ok if you switch and possibly even safer like you said.
i'm sure you guys will make the decision that works best for you guys!!

Erica said...

If you move her I'm sure she will adjust just fine (and might just love it) and her current babysitter will understand that it is time for you to move on! But I'm not in your situation so it is easy for to say! Good luck with your choice!

Grace said...

After working in a few different daycare centers and preschools (all of which were very picky about ratios), my first reaction to the numbers you gave was not a positive one. As your other two commenters said, kiddos adjust to their situation. It definitely looks like an amazing place for her to be if you can do it for her.

I'll keep your decision in my prayers.