The Day Mommies

Speaking of procrastination, I’ve been putting off this post until I could come up with something witty and non-preachy. I don’t think that I’m all that ready to write this, but since it’s more appealing than writing my talks, here goes.

I’m a mom with a paycheck. My kids go to daycare. I’ve had professional daycare since Boo was about two months old when I got a freelance PR gig that required me to focus on work stuff longer than the duration of her naps. It’s been over four years now and I’ve had my share of great daycare teachers and my share of “oh-my-God-who-left-you-alone-in-a-room-with-kids” moments (fortunately, I haven’t encountered anything that I wasn’t able to resolve with a daycare director).

Boo and Doodle have been at their current daycare/preschool since Boo was two (Doodle joined the pack when he was three months). It’s close to home, the price was reasonable, and it came well-recommended from friends and acquaintances at church.

I get a lot of questions about why I don’t use the daycare at work. Well, I have one answer to that – the teachers. It’s not that my work daycare teachers are bad. it’s that the teachers they have now are so great.

Face it, my kids spend the majority of their waking hours under the care of someone outside of our family bonds. They have bonded with their teachers over the years and we consider them a part of our “parenting team.” I realize that they are one of the most important influences my kids will have in their early years. For some families, it takes a village to raise a child, I have a fleet of “day mommies” on my team. After all, they do everything that I do during my work day and I get the night shift.

It doesn’t bother me that my kids seem to love their teachers more than they love me (I am sure they think it’s the other way around.) Doodle practically leaps out of my arms for Day Mommy Amber. When Day Mommy Rosie scolds Boo for running out the front door of the school without me, she can bring the girl to tears. If I do chastise her, I get giggles from the girl.

I know that the day mommies get to see “firsts” before I do. I’m happy to forget that as I remember they get a lot of the “firsts” that I don’t want to be home with all day. (e.g., Doodle’s teething right now and I know he can make the paint peel, so I’m happy to be in my office all day listening to Pandora instead.) The first steps he takes will be the ones that I see. I can live with a little cognitive dissonance. It’s a good trade-off for my sanity.

So, for all you moms and dads with kids in daycare, preschool, or any school for that matter. Remember that next week is teacher appreciation week. Write your kids’ teacher a thank you note. Give them a gift card, send cookies or flowers to the teachers’ lounge. My friend Simply Caffeinated has some great ideas for simple, inexpensive, and adorable crafts you and your kids can make together.

Remember and love your day mommies. I sure do.