Childcare

I agree. No one was being condescending in their suggestions. They're just stating the facts of the situation. The only condescension I'm seeing here is from those who thought they saw condescension. Time for more coffee.

abc40kids wrote:
Once again, only my opinion but never understood have kids and put them in day care all day?? We sure would have more $$$ if my wife worked all thru my kids growing up but not worth it to me.

For those who don't see the condescension must not be reading this post the same way.

For what it's worth, my wife is a stay at home mom and even I'm annoyed by comments like posted above that make general statements about day car and others decisions.

Don't like day care, fine- but that wasn't what the OP asked.

How long will your work assignment be in one locale? 3 months, 6 months or longer? I would network with nurse associations in the area you are going to for quality daycare. And yes certainly check w/ the hospitals/health organisations you are going to in advance re: this important question. I would also look at work assignments and choose places with Montessori daycare nearby. They did well by my kiddos when I worked internationally at 6 month to 1 year assignments. Given the scarcity of qualified RNs in this country employers tend to bend over backwards to keep you happy.
GL and HTH!

rolling_rhoda wrote:
You know your child best, and will make the right choice for your family. X2 on going where child care is available on site to make it less stressful for both of you. As a businesswoman and a mom, I get tired of the "why have kids if you're gonna put them in daycare?" condescension. We don't all have a choice. And many of us who work by choice, not necessity, have well-adjusted, happy kids. My cousin is a single mom, and raised her daughter while working as a traveling nurse. Her assignments were usually for six months or more.

Here here!
It's nice to live in a country where one lifestyle choice isn't mandatory.

There is nothing wrong with using daycare. However using daycare while traveling will be challenging.

Didn't realize this could be a heated topic. I have been a stay at home mom with the older 2. But it made our life more difficult. When they went to school, I went to work. But I continued to work after having the baby (10 year difference between middle child and baby). That being said, school is one of our biggest reasons for wanting to go full time. The older 2 have had a lacking education, tried homeschool with them but they were already indoctrinated to public school. With the baby, we want to give her a wealthy education. By that I mean to say, I don't want her to read about the Grand Canyon, I want her to be there, explore it. In order to do this, we both need to work.

We are still in the planning phase. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I had not considered a hospital that offers childcare.

I think it will be very hard to live in an RV, with both of you working full-time (with the added possibility of one parent being absent much of the time) and raising a very young child. It's hard to find excellent AND affordable daycare; doubly so, if you are working night shifts or 12hr shifts.

Another thought I had on this subject is this--what is your plan when the baby gets sick and you need to work? Will you have someone to back you up when the baby has chicken pox/flu/fever/vomiting and can't go to daycare for a week? Or will you just have to take that week off--not something a potential employer will be happy with AT ALL. Speaking as the mother of 3, this can be a HUGE problem for parents who do not have an adequate support system in the community. I think you need to have all that lined up before you proceed any further.

mahafae wrote:
Didn't realize this could be a heated topic. I have been a stay at home mom with the older 2. But it made our life more difficult. When they went to school, I went to work. But I continued to work after having the baby (10 year difference between middle child and baby). That being said, school is one of our biggest reasons for wanting to go full time. The older 2 have had a lacking education, tried homeschool with them but they were already indoctrinated to public school. With the baby, we want to give her a wealthy education. By that I mean to say, I don't want her to read about the Grand Canyon, I want her to be there, explore it. In order to do this, we both need to work.

We are still in the planning phase. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I had not considered a hospital that offers childcare.

I agree with your plan to homeschool. We did ours. There's a lot of great curricula out there too with better math and science instruction than you find in the school systems. Hope you're able to get a hospital with child-care because that'll make your life much easier.

How long are you planning on staying in the area? I know lots of nurses that extend their assignments and some stay as long as a year. Look for a facility that has daycare. There are less and less these days. If there is a local university some have daycares, but are typically open while the university is in session. Be careful because lot of daycares have a waiting list. It may be harder to find someone if you have to work a 12 hr shift.

mahafae wrote:
Didn't realize this could be a heated topic. I have been a stay at home mom with the older 2. But it made our life more difficult. When they went to school, I went to work. But I continued to work after having the baby (10 year difference between middle child and baby). That being said, school is one of our biggest reasons for wanting to go full time. The older 2 have had a lacking education, tried homeschool with them but they were already indoctrinated to public school. With the baby, we want to give her a wealthy education. By that I mean to say, I don't want her to read about the Grand Canyon, I want her to be there, explore it. In order to do this, we both need to work.

We are still in the planning phase. I appreciate all of the suggestions. I had not considered a hospital that offers childcare.

With two older kids over twelve, is there a possibility that you can work your schedule so that the oldest looks after the "youngers" when you're at work? I grew up in a family where both Mom and Dad worked, and that's the way we did it.

Not that I was always crazy about the arrangement when it was me doing the babysitting! ;)