Looking for child care

We have been busy looking for a child care centre Lara could go to next year.

Most of the child care centres cater for kids between 2-5 years old, there are only 5 local centres for kids under 2 (I guess it's a profit and ratio thing). After calling a couple of them and got the same response of no space available next year and that we could be on the waiting list for over 12 months, we widened our search to neighbouring suburbs and suburbs on the way to work.

I also visited a few centres, even those that don't have spaces at present, to give myself a feel of things for comparison. One child care centre was ruled out straight away, even when they have spaces every day next year. I don't have many requirements. I don't care for any 'special education program' or nice parent-teacher communication books, I believe simply to give kids a safe, clean and loving environment to play in. And I prefer smaller centres over bigger ones. A centre with senior teachers or teachers who have been there for a long time rates higher with me than centres with the latest equipment and toys.

Anyway, after looking around 6 centers, I found one I like, even though it is not the most convenient in terms of location and hours. Because they don't have all the days I need, we will also send Lara to another place just for a day a week. Most local child care centers open from 7.30am to 5.30pm, so I might have to work shorter days. We shall see how things pan out next year and what Lara thinks of it.

I have to admit that even though I'm keeping a cool and relaxed exterior about the whole thing and believe that Lara will benefit from more social interactions, inside my heart, I'm quite worried and nervous. I can't sleep very well at night and when I think about her in day cares some mornings, I actually feel physically sick. Maybe I need to learn how to let go. One of the teachers I met said that kids at Lara's age usually adjust well after a week or so, it is the Mums who find it hard to adjust and let go.

ps. I stayed at one of the places Lara is going next year for 20 minutes to give Lara a chance to be with other kids there. One of the kids coming to say hi (and touch Lara) had two permanent jelly lines running down her nose. I was worried about she touching Lara too much, luckily, one of the teachers intervened. Yesterday Lara woke up with a running nose, and she has not even started child care yet(sign).