The first day the twins spent in daycare brought me to a realization: my daycare center is not just a service I'm paying for, it's also a resource that can help me become a better parent. It stands to bear that the experience of their staff is a knowledge pot that I can dip into as a first time parent.
When I was finally able to stop stalking detach myself from the infant room after dropping off the girls, I had a sit-down with the center's propreitor. Gosh! I loved the experience of sitting with an experience grandma trained in childhood development. Here's some snippets of what I've learnt in our first few days of attendance:
- Solids feeding schedule - I want Sugar and Spice to be on a feeding schedule similar to what obtains in toddler and pre-K classes. I was able to get an example of that schedule from the daycare and intend to use that as a guide for timing solids when we start
- Parenting Educational materials - My daycare has a library with books for children as well as their parents and the propreitor invited me to avail myself of the resources. I browsed through the bookshelf adn then gave her a pop quiz: "If you had to recommend one book for me as a first time parent, which would it be?" She recommended By the ages
. I can't find this in my local library or bookstore so I'll have to order off my favorite online store and of course write a review when I'm done
- Toys - You know I've been obsessing with getting the right toys for the girls and haven't been too successful. When I dropped them off, I lingered in the room to observe the toys they were given and how they played. Based on my observations, I finally found a toy that is age-appropriate and the girls enjoyed playing with. What was this toy you ask? It was a package of 9 brightly colored, textured links. Cost me all of $3. Children really are simple.
- Dressing for the day - I asked the daycare how they would like me to dress the twins and they replied onesies and pants. That was news to me, as I dress them in mostly sleepers with snaps or zips and thought this was the easiest way to go. Apparently, diaper changes are easier with pant and onsie sets (3 snaps on the onesie versus the million on the sleeper). Another reason is that if the days warms up, the pants can be discarded and the kids kept cool in their onesies only. Now I know to keep the sleepers for home and weekend use only
Whether I like it or not, the daycare providers are going to spend 9 hours with my children every weekday. It definitely makes more sense if I take the daycare as partners and advisors in my parenting journey and I'm glad that they have people capable of filling those rolls. Gives me one less thing to worry about as I return to work.
This post was submitted for Works for me Wednesday hosted by the lovely Kristen
This post was submitted for Works for me Wednesday hosted by the lovely Kristen
