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You are here: Home / Local Love / Play Local / Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too

November 5, 2019 By Kari 2 Comments

Why we chose to put our kid in occasional care even though I’m a stay-at-home mom.
Plus, all the details on the amazing daycare we chose.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-1My name is Kari, and I’m a stay-at-home mama who puts her kid in daycare. It may seem odd to some, but hear me out. It’s occasional – every so often at the amazing Kids & Company (more on them later) – and it’s proven to be one of the best moves we could have made (for a hundred different reasons). For one, running KariSkelton.com from our home is a lot of work! I’m a mom first, but I’m also managing a very busy business.

I need help in order for the ship to run smoothly (or at least not crash into the shore). That short time Wyatt’s in daycare makes a massive difference in the success of my business. It’s allowed me to get done in one day what would’ve otherwise taken me three or four. Wyatt has a blast learning and socializing, and I get to be creative and feel great about investing in KariSkelton.com. Win-win!

When Wyatt was born four years ago, I really wanted to stay home and raise our baby and run the household. With no immediate family in town, I initially struggled with accepting help. I even struggled with admitting I needed help, let alone reaching out. Well, I’m over that now. 🙂

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-2

The Parent Guilt

It seems stay-at-home parents are often reluctant to let others lend a hand. We run the household, and handle everything to do with our children’s activities, clothes, school, health, etc. We take care of our pets, organize the family calendar, date nights with spouses, sit on the PTA, volunteer at our kid’s school, squeeze in workouts, meal planning and groceries, maintain the yard, etc, but yet somehow we still feel like we shouldn’t accept help because it’s our duty as a stay-at-home parent to be at home 24/7 doing it all.

Lets cut that out! Whether you’re a stay at home parent, work from home parent, leave the house and go to work parent – surrendering to this notion that you have to do it all and keep it all together is ridiculous. Exhausting yourself to prove some sort of point is a mistake.  Say yes to the help, and don’t for one second feel guilty about it.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comment section below.

All of this being said I wanted to share the amazing daycare we’ve been sending Wyatt to!

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-3Kids & Company

  • Kids & Company is an award-winning company offering high-quality, flexible and unique childcare options to families with over 100 centres across Canada and the U.S. Each curriculum is designed to involve children (aged 0-6) in language, literacy, music, movement, art and socialization experiences. “Through play, all areas of development are fostered”. Read more on the company here.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-4 Top Reasons We Love It

Unique Programming

  • Kids & Company offers full and part-time programming as well as several enhanced literacy, arts, and science-focused programs. Read more on those here. If you’re a corporate linked employee, occasional backup care is available as well. It’s a nice option when your other childcare cancels or you need some extra time to get stuff done.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-5Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-6Chef-Prepared Meals

  • All meals and snacks provided to your little one throughout their day are made from scratch with no additives, preservatives, artificial flavours, or colours. The menu is designed by Chef Lisa Ruscica – Kids & Company’s Chief Food Ambassador and created by chef teams in each city. Obviously it’s great you didn’t have to prepare and pack the lunch for the day and your kid is developing important skills with Kids & Co’s focus on family-style dining. “The goal of family-style dining is for children to develop self-help skills and empower them to make their own food choices”. Read all about the Kidco Kitchen here.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-7Webcams

  • You can check in on your child throughout the day thanks to Kids & Co’s web-enabled cameras available on desktop or through the Kids & Co app. You can even hook up the grandparents with their own secure account to check-in. Every room in each location is equipped. Read more on the webcams here.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-8

Underground Parking

  • Kids & Co. Edmonton Ice District has free underground parking (for 30 minutes max) with several stalls specifically reserved for Kids & Co. families. It makes pick-up and drop-off super easy!

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-9

Daily Reports

  • You’ll get a summary of the day sent to your email (also available through the app) detailing everything from how much your little one ate and drank, to when they used the washroom and what activities they took part in. I like to read ours right before I pick Wyatt up so I can ask him specific questions about how his day was, instead of getting the standard kid answer of ‘I don’t know…’ when asked, ‘what did you do today?’.

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-10

Take-Home Snack

  • Each Kids & Co. location provides a healthy grab n’ go snack for your little one to enjoy on the way home. It’s a nice little buffer to hold them over until you’re home to make supper – and you didn’t have to prepare, pack, or stop in somewhere else to get it!

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-12

See where Kids & Company is located in your area.

In partnership with Kids & Company. Services were provided in exchange for this blog post. As always, thoughts and opinions are mine. 

 

Pin this to Your Parenting Tips and Childcare boards and follow me on Pinterest here

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too-13

 

Other Posts You’ll Like

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Five Fun Ways To Encourage Your Toddler To Become Independent

 

xx

Related

Filed Under: Motherhood, Parenting Chats, Play Local

Comments

  1. Jane McDade says

    November 5, 2019 at 11:56 am

    Totally agree Kari with this article. Wish there had been a Kids and Company when my kids were little. Sounds amazing.

    Reply
    • Kari says

      November 5, 2019 at 12:18 pm

      Thanks for chiming in, Jane! It’s such a great centre. 🙂

      Reply

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kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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