Lessons Learned from a Daycare Disaster

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Have you ever searched for a daycare? Man, it’s rough. The relief I felt when we finally made a decision was incomparable, but it didn’t last long. 

I’d just returned to work from maternity leave. I was starting in a new position and my brand new 12-week-old was starting at daycare (I won’t even go into the emotional roller-coaster that is leaving your first baby at daycare for the first time).

Three weeks later my husband got a call around 10am: “First of all, Margaux is fine,” the woman on the phone said. “However, we need you to come get her by 1pm. We’re closing.”

Closing. As in forever. In the middle of the day. On a Tuesday.

After a bit of panic, my husband picked up my daughter. What were we going to do? We both had to work (remember, I’d just started a new job a few weeks earlier) and had to find a new daycare for an infant. We’d also just paid for a full month of daycare and had no extra money! So, we did what parents do day-in and day-out; we figured it out. With help from family and a lot of luck, we found a new daycare that we absolutely love.

We never learned why the daycare closed, but we picked up a few lessons about dealing with disasters:

You can’t put a price on the value of friends and family.
So many people came to our aide that week to help with childcare. As cliche as it sounds, it really does take a village.

People are more understanding than you expect.
As a woman, I didn’t want to ask for special accommodations in general; especially my third week on the job. What I found out was that my boss was shocked that I was so calm and that I already had a plan in place. She was happy to let me work from home for a couple of days while we waited for my daughter to start at her new daycare. I just needed to ask.

Act quickly!
Within 24 hours, we’d toured three new daycares and signed my daughter up. This meant that I already had a plan in place when I spoke to my boss. It also meant that we were able to grab one of the few open spots for an infant in the area that all of the parents from our now defunct center were vying for.

It will be okay, because that’s the only option.
We have a tiny human depending on us now. When the unexpected happens, we can take a few minutes to freak out, but then we have to use the rest of the time to figure it out. There is no other option. Accepting that fact has actually been empowering.

When you’ve had a curveball thrown your way with kids what have you learned?
Any tips for dealing with disasters?

 

Looking for childcare for your little one?


And check out some other local mama perspectives:
To Daycare or Not to Daycare? –> READ HERE
Daycare Dilemma: A First-Timers Guide –> READ HERE

 

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Carrie Chambers
I’m the first-time momma of an awesome little girl. I grew up in Beavercreek, spent a good chunk of time living in Dayton, and currently live in Miamisburg with my husband, daughter, two cats and a dog. I love getting a good deal and “MacGuyvering” meals out of what I find in the kitchen. I’ve worked in higher education for 10+ years in various capacities, most of that at Miami University. I’m passionate about women’s leadership and helped establishe a women’s mentoring program at Miami (Miami RED Women). Becoming a mom has been amazing because it’s made me feel like there is little I can’t do since I have a little human counting on me (and because they cut that little human out of me and I was on my feet 12 hours later taking care of her!). I like to say that everything will be alright because that’s the only option. Thanks for stopping by!

1 COMMENT

  1. I love your last point! It will be ok- because there are no other options. It’s amazing what we do as mothers that I never would have been able to imagine doing before becoming a mother! I’m so sorry that this happened to you, but I’m so glad that you were able to learn through it!

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