7 reasons you shouldn’t feel guilty about putting your baby in daycare

One of the key skills your baby will learn in daycare is how to be sociable. ‘He’s spending all day interacting with other children as well as other adults, which is all beneficial for his social development,’ says life coach Jenny Garrett, author of Rocking Your Role (Ecademy Press, £12.99). ‘I’d say learning to socialise is as important as any developmental skills he picks up during this stage.’

A study by the U.S. National Institute of Health has found that children in high-quality childcare scored slightly better on measures of academic and cognitive achievement years later as teenagers. They were also slightly less likely to act up and be naughty, the researchers reported.

Ok, so it may feel like your baby is constantly ill from picking up bugs at nursery, but trust us, this will benefit in the long run. A study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found children who spent time in large daycare groups before two years of age had more respiratory and ear infections, then but were sick less often during elementary school than children who were cared for at home.

His little crumpled up face, as you walk out of the nursery door, may break your heart, but he won’t hold it against you.

Your baby isn’t going to remember when and how often you left him at daycare

‘Your baby isn’t going to remember when and how often you left him at daycare, or whether he got upset, so while it’s hard for you as a mum, he won’t mind,’ says Jenny.

If your baby is used to leaving you on a daily basis and spending it with other children, it can make him more independent. ‘Attending day care can help prevent your baby becoming too clingy as he grows up,’ says Jenny. And there’s plenty you can do to ease separation anxiety.

‘Daycare is great for creating routines for your child, that you may have difficulty doing yourself due to emotional attachment,’ says Jenny. ‘This could be getting your baby used to daytime naps or even getting the hang of potty training.’

Ask yourself where did this concept of daycare mama guilt come from? In most cases, it’s something that mums have unintentionally worked up.
he most important thing is that your baby is happy, healthy and well loved.

‘You need to rewrite this rule that working mums who put their child into daycare should feel guilty,’ says Jenny.

‘Step back and remind yourself what a good mum is and does. The most important thing is that your baby is happy, healthy and well loved, and putting your baby in daycare has no impact on this.’