Key Takeaway: Daycare offers unexpected advantages beyond childcare, from expert developmental guidance to preserved sanity on fussy days. Here's what I learned (and genuinely miss) from my daycare experience.
When I dropped my three-month-old son off for his first day at daycare, my coworkers gave me sympathetic glances. "Are you doing okay? He'll be fine!" they said reassuringly.
"It's just so hard to leave your kid with someone else, you know?" I answered, pretending to be distraught lest they think I was a bad mother.
But the truth? I LOVED daycare. After our second child arrived and I became a stay-at-home mom, I found myself genuinely missing it. Here are five unexpected benefits that made daycare invaluable for our family.
1. Free Expert Advice
Being a first-time mom can feel overwhelming. If you're working outside the home, you might not have time to build a village of mom friends who share helpful wisdom. But daycare providers? They become that village.
What I gained from daycare professionals:
Having multiple trained adults observe my baby daily meant I had experts watching for developmental milestones I might have missed. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, early identification of developmental delays significantly improves outcomes—and my daycare team helped me stay on track.
The validation alone was priceless. Hearing "Yeah, all babies flail around like that during diaper changes – he's not possessed" saved me countless Google spirals at 2 AM. My personal favorite reassurance: "You aren't crazy, he is just really difficult to get to sleep."
Sometimes all you need is experienced professionals confirming that what feels impossibly hard is actually completely normal.
2. Running Errands Without the Chaos
Since having babies, I have never once "run into the store for a gallon of milk." Instead, I've dragged screaming children through grocery aisles while other shoppers offered sympathetic (or judging) stares, leaving hours later dazed and defeated.
We just need milk? Dry cereal until the weekend, kids.
The daycare advantage: I could stop by the store on my way to pick up my son, alone, efficiently, and maintain my sanity. A quick 10-minute Target run stayed a 10-minute Target run instead of becoming a 90-minute endurance test.
Was I supposed to drop him off early and hit the gym before work? Maybe. But let's be realistic about our priorities here.
And if you've ever had to take two toddlers to a last-minute gynecologist appointment, you understand exactly why having reliable childcare is a game-changer. Trust me on that one.
3. Guilt-Free Breaks on Challenging Days
Being a stay at home mom is the best thing ever. It is always 100% perfect at all times and I love every minute of it. My kids are without a doubt the two best things to have ever come out of my vagina. Okay?
(Are the sanctimommies still here? No? Okay, Good.)
Sure, there were days that I felt bad leaving my teething, clingy, fussy baby at daycare and wished I could snuggle him on the couch instead. But there were also days that I dropped him off, yelled, “He’s your problem now!” and cackled all the way to the parking lot. Okay, fine not really. But on more than one occasion I was glad I had an eight hour break from my sweet little fusspot.
Just because I didn’t change every single one of his blowout diapers when he was a baby did not make me any less of a mom.
4. The Never-Ending Stream of Adorable Art
Know what I got from my kids this year for Mother’s Day? Nothing. I got nothing. I mean, of course I got nothing, because they are tiny and can’t even look up a delightful homemade project on Pinterest by themselves yet.
But when my oldest was in daycare, he was always coming home with something for our fridge – a pumpkin magnet with a Polaroid of his cute little mug for Halloween, a rainbow made out of his handprints for St. Patrick’s Day, a card with his footprints for Mother’s Day. All were adorable, and I must say, showed a lot of artistic promise for a six month old.
I tried making some heart shaped art with their feet for Valentine’s Day once. It ended up looking vaguely like a murder scene. Pro tip: Don’t craft with red paint. Another pro tip: Don’t attempt making art out of your offspring’s appendages unless you are a licensed daycare professional.
5. Watching Him Genuinely Thrive There
When I would show up at the end of the day ready to pick up our little tyke, he would immediately crawl towards me and grab my legs, ready to head home.
Or wait, no, that’s some other kid holding my legs. Wrong pants, kiddo, your mom will be here soon I’m sure.
My son would frantically run around the room in an attempt to play with every toy one last time before he was forced to leave. It felt good to know that when I was at work, he was in a place where he was happy, and also one that apparently had way better toys than we did at home.
Making Your Childcare Decision
Finding childcare when you are a parent can be a tough decision. Whether you enlist the help of family, decide to stay at home, hire a nanny, or enroll your little one in a daycare, it’s important to remember there are always going to be drawbacks and benefits.
So focus on the good, and keep your eye on the prize – it’s not that long until they are in kindergarten and you can stop writing those daycare payment checks.
About the Author
Jackie Semmens is a writer by nature and a mother by nurture. She shares honest, humorous perspectives on parenting at her blog, An Anchored Hope. With experience as both a working mom using daycare and a stay-at-home parent, Jackie brings first-hand insight to the realities of modern parenting decisions.
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