Preschool for 2yo... good experiences?

Joey_V

Emma has been going to preschool since 6 months ago, and she seems to enjoy it. Being that my wife is 90% stay at home, she only goes for 3 hours on Thursday and Friday. Kinda to give my wife a break.

This fall/winter (perhaps for 4 months), we are planning on keeping her out of preschool just because of how many times she gets sick during those months.

The school has asked us to preregister and for us to pay for those 4 months even when she is not there to hold her spot... that amounts to approximately $660/mo.

Did you guys send your kids to preschool and if so, was it worth it?

I'm not looking at it as a daycare thing - just as a way for her to socialize with kids her age, something her dad or mom can't do or take the place of.

It's not cheap... she also goes to speech therapy for an additional $600/mo since it is not covered by my Aetna insurance. Used to be covered on my Blue Cross insurance last year.

And that's not including the occupational therapy and feeding therapy she gets on a weekly basis that racks up the rest of my deductible to a tune of $8000+/year.

Yes, it's not cheap.

But if it's good for her, I will close my eyes and do it (which is probably what I'll end up doing anyway).

Just wanted to get opinions and vent.

Upstatemax

I think pre-school is great for children. Especially ones that stay home with a parent.

It gives them a great chance to socialize and learn to deal with other children. Plus it can be A LOT of fun for them.

My children have been in daycare since they were 3 months old, then my wife would return to work. Even though they are in a daycare, we still have them pulled 3 days a week for (Tuesday-Thursday) for a 3 hour stint in pre-school. They learn different things and meet new people.

txcoastal1

I believe kids socializing skills and interaction improved greatly with day/pre-schools

Both sides need a break now and then

Joey_V

DSkip wrote: »

See if you can get into UNT speech therapy. It's $30/session, once a week.

Unt?

Baylor is gouging me at 150$ out of pocket. Was that with insurance?

Joey_V

Upstatemax wrote: »

I think pre-school is great for children. Especially ones that stay home with a parent.

It gives them a great chance to socialize and learn to deal with other children. Plus it can be A LOT of fun for them.

My children have been in daycare since they were 3 months old, then my wife would return to work. Even though they are in a daycare, we still have them pulled 3 days a week for (Tuesday-Thursday) for a 3 hour stint in pre-school. They learn different things and meet new people.

That's kind of what I think too when I've had Emma there for the past few months.

Although I noticed some behaviors that we did not teach...

F1nut

Get a nanny.

Willow

Both our kids went and one is still in preschool or daycare. It's at a school and it's a program run by the city school system. As I mentioned we had two in there at a time at 2k mth. My oldest is now in jk so we only pay before and after care of 350 mth plus the 1k for my daughter. Is it worth it? Yes. They are socializing learning and having fun. They also have no issues if we leave them alone with someone. Gives them a sense of independence and they learn that mom and dad will be back so they learn trust. Joey_V, t here are so many bonuses and positive things about it. Is it right for your little?only you can decide. For us it was the best decision.

[Deleted User]

lemme think...
Reagan was president. No. No good experiences.

mrbiron

My daughter has been going to Bright Horizons since she was 3 months old. Daycare/pre-school/kindergarten all wrapped up into one.

The only thing i don't like is the $1400 a month i pay NOW (was higher). Fortunately, she is moving to a new room in 2 months which drops the bill but when i add #2 at the end of Oct, daycare will be $2600 a month for 2.

The program is great. Very structured with lots of interaction. They co-mingle the different rooms so the kids are staring at the same 3 faces all day long.

tonyb

Depends on the pre school I guess. Some are just glorified babysitting services while others actually prepare them to enter real school. They have to learn their ABC's, know most their colors, talk coherently, obedient have little to zero behavior issues, and are used to the school structure, being away from mommy. Pre school helps with all that and teaches them how to socialize with other kids.

2 kids at 2600 a month ? You have to start thinking if it's worth it over Mom staying home and doing most of that.

I put my kids into pre school 2 years prior to going into kindergarten. Just so they were well adjusted to the structure of school in general. Todays world however isn't as forgiving, they don't put up with much in school. If your kid doesn't listen well or has some behavior issues, they may require you to medicate them or slap that label of "special ed" on them.

mrbiron

tonyb wrote: »

2 kids at 2600 a month ? You have to start thinking if it's worth it over Mom staying home and doing most of that.

Stay at home infants/toddler don't get the environment at home that they would with other kids of age/race/gender on a daily basis. (lets not turn this into the last Home School debate)
I would never ask my wife to stop her career or put it on hold so that we could save money. So we live frugal for a little while. No big deal.
Mom needs to have her own social interactions outside of the kids and not just on the weekends.

It's actually more than $2600 but since my wife works at a corporate office in the same parking lot, they get a discount.

tonyb

Not my intention to bring in home schooling, save that for another thread. Pre school has it's worth for sure.

Lets also not belittle the stay at home moms. They can and do, do the same things a pre school can offer. They teach the same things, socialize with play dates with other parents, etc. A tough job by any measuring stick.

My comments was strictly financial based. At 2600 a month, you'd have to bring home roughly 4k gross a month to balance it all out. After taxes, then added gas to and from work, dry cleaning bills, etc. You have to add up what it cost to chase that working salary too and then balance if it's worth it to you or not. That's all I was referring to. If it works for you, cool....I just have a bad habit of doing math is all.

rooftop59

tonyb wrote: »

My comments was strictly financial based. At 2600 a month, you'd have to bring home roughly 4k gross a month to balance it all out. After taxes, then added gas to and from work, dry cleaning bills, etc. You have to add up what it cost to chase that working salary too and then balance if it's worth it to you or not. That's all I was referring to. If it works for you, cool....I just have a bad habit of doing math is all.

Even on a purely financial basis, you are not thinking long-term my man. Mom who stays home loses out on valuable work experience, raises, promotions, retirement, benefits, etc. One study found that women who took just one year out of the workforce sacrificed 20% of their lifetime earnings. Women who took two or three years earned 30% less. Another study found that leaving the workforce has a significant negative effect on women’s wages even twenty years after a career interruption. The bottom line, the smarter longterm financial choice for an educated, successful women is to stay at work, even if it doesn't really make in the short term. As we say in my house, short-term pain, long-term gain.

As to Joey's question, yes I think that a development center is worth it, not necessarily just a day care where they just babysit your kids.

And dude, are you seriously concerned about spending 8 grand a year on your precious child when you are thinking of spending almost that much on speaker cables? WTF is wrong with you??? You 6itch about not being able to put 55 grand in retirement a year when there are people on this forum who don't make that much a year. You flaunt all your huge purchases, your perfect credit score, etc., and then ask if you should pay a couple grand for your wife and child's well-being? Wow, just wow.

Sorry for the rant. I'm out.

steveinaz

Just my opinion---but with my lack of trust in people (in general) I would minimize the time (if my kids were still small) they spent in someone elses care if I could avoid it.

scubalab

Agree Steve. Balance is key. Kids need the social interaction skills, but at such a young age (preschool age), there is nothing that can better the care a parent can provide.

steveinaz

There's just not the consistency with values/morals that you could depend on years ago. I'm glad both of my daughter-in-laws decided to hold off on their careers until the grandkids were in elementary school. While it's a loss in income, it is already paying HUGE for the personalities and performance of the kids. They've had some solid principles instilled in them from mom(s), and they all ADORE their mothers. I think people miss this part of the puzzle, and how the pay-off can end up being far greater in the future.

There's no telling what some stranger is "teaching" your kid anymore, as parents personal choices aren't necessarily respected anymore.

adb3da

+1 for preschool. We have 3 kids aged 5 and under. They are all in care of some kind. My 5yo is in Pre-K which is what I equate to preschool. The others are at a daycare, but it has some academic curriculum so maybe that is what you are referring to as preschool? Our kids do very well socially. I think some of that can be attributed to their preschooling.

How many days/week do you get for $660/mo? That seems like a pretty good price.

cnh

It's been YEARS now, but, yes, we did have our daughter in a preschool for about two years, almost the full day (not quite), because both of us work and the grandparents were no longer with us-they had provided care during the first two years, and a bit! Fortunately, we're a block away from the center so we could pop in whenever, and it's a small town where things are pretty safe and calm. Plus we knew the woman who ran the center.

The unasked question, and forgive me if I'm prying, is that's an awful lot of maintenance for your daughter, I'm assuming she has some kind of condition (at birth). Our daughter was born with no problems, she spoke early, about 16 months or so, and hasn't stopped talking since, she also, like her mother, has a gift for language and languages, and is currently a freshman at University (went British on you there!).

Regarding socialization! YES, that's important, serves a child well as they move forward. Cost, the daycare/school does not sound like much there, but you also have a lot of other expenses most don't so I understand the concerns. Only you can answer those questions, but where I come from, we spare no expense for our children, sacrifice everything, kinda like rooftop above!

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

There's just not the consistency with values/morals that you could depend on years ago. I'm glad both of my daughter-in-laws decided to hold off on their careers until the grandkids were in elementary school. While it's a loss in income, it is already paying HUGE for the personalities and performance of the kids. They've had some solid principles instilled in them from mom(s), and they all ADORE their mothers. I think people miss this part of the puzzle, and how the pay-off can end up being far greater in the future.

There's no telling what some stranger is "teaching" your kid anymore, as parents personal choices aren't necessarily respected anymore.

Agreed.

Not so sure about those stats Larry either. I guess it depends on where you put the priorities, your own personal gain, or that of the kids. Nuthin' wrong with being a woman with a successful career and all that, but I'm somewhat old school in that when you make that decision to have kids to begin with, you also make a conscience decision to raise them as best you can. Doesn't mean either you can't have a career and raise kids, people do it every day. No offense meant to anyone, we all do what we think is proper and right.

I just can't wrap my head around a 2600 buck a month outlay for child care. That's more than most peoples mortgage. You can get a nanny for 5 days a week for that amount, preferably one in a French maids uniform. lol

dromunds

Somebody say something about a French maid's uniform? Lol

afterburnt

I think it is sad that you would farm out raising babies for making money

steveinaz

A couple of harsh replies from some of you; remember 1 thing: You never know everything that someone is faced with; so while you sit on your high-horse and offer your judgements--try to keep that in mind.

dromunds

I took five years of French as a kid, now all I can remember is French maid's uniform.

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

A couple of harsh replies from some of you; remember 1 thing: You never know everything that someone is faced with; so while you sit on your high-horse and offer your judgements--try to keep that in mind.

Agreed Steve, my comments were meant to be focused on the financial, not parenting abilities. My apologies if I offended anyone.

Except French maids....no...nope, can't see anything to apologize for when it comes to French maids. ....or French kisses/French fries/ French's mustard....

rooftop59

tonyb wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

A couple of harsh replies from some of you; remember 1 thing: You never know everything that someone is faced with; so while you sit on your high-horse and offer your judgements--try to keep that in mind.

Agreed Steve, my comments were meant to be focused on the financial, not parenting abilities. My apologies if I offended anyone.

As were mine. But if you post something - especially personal info - on a public forum and then you are offended by the responses you get, well, I am not sure what to tell other than either grow a pair or stop posting personal s#!t on a public forum.

I'm out of this thread.

steveinaz

Tony, I wasn't addressing you.

Upstatemax

afterburnt wrote: »

I think it is sad that you would farm out raising babies for making money

I've read some really crappy things on here, this is near the top of the list.

* I had a long winded response typed out. But it's not worth it...

Now I'm going to go listen to my 2ch system and drink a bourbon. I should point out, all of it was purchased with the sinful money I made sending my children to daycare and pre-school...

Upstatemax

Joey_V wrote: »

Although I noticed some behaviors that we did not teach...

I call those "teachable moments"...

I figure we better get used to it. Haha

BlueFox

Upstatemax wrote: »

afterburnt wrote: »

I think it is sad that you would farm out raising babies for making money

I've read some really crappy things on here, this is near the top of the list.

Agree. Par for the course.

Joey_V

Upstatemax wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

Although I noticed some behaviors that we did not teach...

I call those "teachable moments"...

I figure we better get used to it. Haha

Yeah more of that I'm sure. What can you do, just another perk about raising a kid.

Thanks bro

Joey_V

rooftop59 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

A couple of harsh replies from some of you; remember 1 thing: You never know everything that someone is faced with; so while you sit on your high-horse and offer your judgements--try to keep that in mind.

Agreed Steve, my comments were meant to be focused on the financial, not parenting abilities. My apologies if I offended anyone.

As were mine. But if you post something - especially personal info - on a public forum and then you are offended by the responses you get, well, I am not sure what to tell other than either grow a pair or stop posting personal s#!t on a public forum.

I'm out of this thread.

Not offended, my choice to post, figured we are all comrades here or atleast the majority are. I agree with you. I shouldn't complain, you are correct.

I see the dichotomy too. I buy gear, I should have no problem with extra expenses especially with my child. That said, I am sure I am not the only one faced by what appears to be a pretty large sum for child care and it would be nice to hear what other parents' experiences have been.