Daycare dilemmas

Well, we're switching daycare for Elijah again. It's always a hard choice but I think this one has been harder than usual for me. He's been with this daycare since May of last year. He's just starting to settle in and form bonds with the other kids. There is a lot of good stuff that goes on here - lots of preschool type activities that he really enjoys. It's a very cool setup - stations for painting, sand or water play, exploration of the current topic and other stuff. But there are a few reasons we're not happy with it. One of the biggest reasons for us is the tv watching. The kids watch until ~9am, which means an hour for Elijah. Then again for a few minutes as lunch is prepared. And if the day is a "low energy" day for the caretaker or it's really miserable outside, they watch a movie or half movie again in the afternoon. It seems like a lot to us, and we don't like it. Especially since Elijah seems grumpier when he's been watching tv in the afternoon. I think he really needs to be playing at that time. And now it's coming into the rainy, miserable weather season. Does that mean the tv time will increase? It's just not good. The other reason is that when we signed Elijah up, the caregiver expressed to us that she was not interested in taking the younger kids any more. Now, she has taken in a 1 year old since then, but do we really want to leave Charlotte with someone who doesn't really want her there? Anyway, that's the dilemma. So, we chose to search out another place. On a tip from a friend we found a new place for them. On the upside she's super keen, has no tv, gets the kids outside as much as possible, is closer to home, provides the food, is excited about taking in a girl (she has all boys right now), and speaks spanish to them. I wonder about the down sides - does fewer kids mean less stimulation for Elijah? Will it slow his development to have only younger kids around him? Will she provide enough variety of activity and the type of activity that he will enjoy? Ak!

Being a mother is not easy. It's amazing what you worry about. Anyway, we've done a few trial days at the new place and he seems to be enjoying it. He comes away happy and tired, which is what I like to see. So, hopefully he'll enjoy the new place and not be affected too much by another major change.

Here are the recent photos from his current daycare.