If you work from home, you might figure that you don't need child care. You can just watch over your child while you also work, right? While this approach may work for some families, it is not for everyone. Indeed, there are some very real benefits of sending your child to daycare, even if it's just a few days per week when you work from home.

1. You'll be more productive.

As much as you might think you're a talented multi-tasker, humans are not that well adapted to focusing on more than one task at a time. Having to juggle between caring for your child and focusing on your work will result in you being less productive. If you take your child to daycare a few days a week, then you can be more productive with work during the hours that they are away. This should leave you more hours during which you can focus on your child later on. 

2. Your child will have a chance to socialize with kids their own age.

It is very important for kids to learn how to socialize with others their own age. Even if you have several kids, the age difference will result in them socializing differently. At a daycare center, kids of similar ages are often grouped together, so your child will get a chance to play with and interact with others. The skills they learn will benefit them down the road when they go to school and will continue to benefit them as adults when they enter the workplace. Social skills are best learned young!

3. Your child will learn how to respect other adults.

When your child does enter school, they will need to learn to listen to their teachers. This can be a tough adjustment if the only adults they've ever had to obey and respect before are their parents. At daycare, your child will learn how to listen to and respect the caregivers. Learning this skill in a less-demanding environment than school is really an asset and will give your child a chance to make mistakes without such a negative impact.

If you are home all day, even if working, you may be tempted to just keep your child home with you. But while having that extra time with them can be nice, there are still benefits of sending them to daycare, even if they only go two or three days a week.

 

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