Persuasive Essay: Stay At Homecare Or Childcare

Stay-at-home-care or Daycare The decision between all forms of childcare has been long running. Depending on which parent talk to and at which point in the parenthood, the parent may get a different answer from people. For parents, choosing which direction to go can be an emotional decision. However, the options of childcare have grown drastically in the last ten years. With the economic times that exist today this decision can really alter how much money the family unit has, or how much time each parent gets to spend with the children. All of these things can factor into the parents decision in choosing which source of childcare they choose to go with. Two of the most compared options of childcare are staying home with the children and daycare. These two selections have both similarities and differences in their cost, structure, attention and financial support, and socialization. The main similarity between stay at home care and daycare is their cost. The average amount spent on a child from infant to 2 years old is $679 per month. The average amount of lost income for a stay at home parent, over the course of the child’s life peaks one million dollars. Each option comes with new costs that can add stress to the family unit, especially for parents who are pregnant
with the first child. These costs along with the costs that come with having a child can have an extreme effect on how the family can continue to spend money. When comparing stay-at-home care with daycare cost should not be the only sole justification that is taken into account. Another similarity between stay at home care and day care is the routine.
Some may argue that daycare presents more structure because children and parents must get up, get dressed and be there on time. However, the structure in each of these choices is quite parallel. The routine of daycare is actually very comparable to stay-at-home care. Each instigates the child and parent to wake up at a consistent time daily, eat a meal and get dressed for the day. Both have scheduled times like “snack time” and “play time” allowing for a variety of activities in between the reserved times. The routines that come out of each of these are structured and give children the uniform motions every day
life. One of the differences between the two types of childcare is attention and financial support. With stay-at-home care, it is easy to see that children get more attention than if they were at a daycare center with fifty other kids. One parent caring for two children is a better ratio than two adults caring for seventy-five children. However, when both parents work full-time, this gives the family unit as a whole more financial support and stability. This may allow parents to plan a big family vacation at Disney World. Their stay at home care counterparts may not be able to afford that kind of activity because of their one income. This is a basic difference of time being spent. Would the parent rather spend everyday all day with the child? Or have a nightly routine and then plan to take chunks of time together. This difference is somewhat emotional. Most parents worry about missing major milestones with their kids. Another major difference between the two types of childcare is socialization. This difference has been compared and contrasted in every which way with every social and economic status in America, the social aspect between stay-at-home care and daycare questions if stay-at-home care provides the same or equal amounts of socialization to the children. And most experts say it does, however it is a different kind of socialization. Stay-at-home care provides growth and learning with the siblings, typically ranging in age. Daycare providers typically separate children by age groups, keeping the toddlers with the toddlers and so on. Daycare allows the child to get a variety of different ethnicities and social and economical structures. Often being around different types of kids gives children a new or fresh perspective on their own lives. This difference again has been long compared and will continue to be in society. Overall, both stay-at-home care and daycares are effective and useful forms of childcare. They both are uncontrollably expensive and have parallel structures. However, the attentiveness children attain from stay at home care differs vastly to the financial support that daycare provides. In addition, the socialization of each option is still the major difference between the two choices. Both have wonderful advantages and unfortunate disadvantages. The need for both stay-at-home care and daycare is necessary for populations of married parents and single parents. No matter the choice a parent makes, there is currently no right answer for everyone.