Missing Day Care

It's been great for Jada to be home from day care since the beginning of the month.  Amy has done remarkably well, in terms of filling Jada's day with good food and fun activities, and even getting in some cleaning and cooking for me, too.  By and large, they've enjoyed their time together, and it's great to join the lovefest when I get home from work.  Jada's been healthy and thus so have we, which is a huge plus after a season of constantly being down for the count. 

I do, however, miss a couple of things about day care.  One is the social "reps" that it gives kids, in that the more they interact with other kids, the more they understand the nuances of social norms and human interactions.  Especially since she's the first, Jada will have less time around other kids than other kids we might have down the road.  So day care is a way for her to get those "reps" in early.

Believe it or not, the germs are also something that can be good for a kid.  Sure, their young immune systems are more susceptible to colds and viruses.  But it's that very exposure, even to the point of getting sick, that develops those immune systems.  If a kid is too sheltered, whether from lack of contact with other kids and/or from hypervigilance on his or her parents' part in terms of hand-washing and disinfecting, he or she can get hit later in life with stuff the body hasn't yet dealt with, and those illnesses can tend to be worse and last longer. Day care, then, is in a sense one big inoculation, and if the immunization gets you a little sick, maybe it might keep you from getting more sick later. 

I don't know that we'll put Jada back into day care just for these two reasons; after all, as stated above there are a lot of positives to her being home.  But if we do have another season of her being in day care, I'll try to remember these advantages.  Even if it means sucking up to a few more sick spells.