How long are your kids at daycare?

[scm1011]

I've accepted the new job (yay!), but I'm feeling a bit of guilt about DS being at daycare longer/having less time with him. Right not he goes from 7-4, but that will extend to 7-5:30 with my new position. We have been able to push his bedtime back a bit (it was 5:30pm until the last few months, we've managed to push it back to 6:30pm), but it will still leave little time after we get home (~20 minute walk) to fit in dinner/bath/bedtime routine. And 10.5 hours just seems like such a long day, although I know its not super uncommon. It will be an adjustment for everyone.

If you work full time, how long are your kids at daycare?  

[ohgillian]

Mine are there a long time. Drop off around 7:30 - 8, pick up around 5:30 - 6. Congrats on the new job!

[jenny1980]

The girls are in pre-k and 2nd grade but go to before and after care. They're generally there from 7:30am-ish to 4pm-ish. This was more or less how long they were in daycare as toddlers as well. My parents watch Ella on Fridays so they just are at school during the school day that day.

Lucy was always fine with longer days but Ella doesn't do well for more than eight hours or so.

[miamigirl]

Don't feel bad, they really get used to it.

When I was working full time in the office she was there 8-6 every day. I felt super guilty the first few months but then realized that she really liked it there.

Now I'm doing freelance so I have a little more flexibility. She goes 8:45-3:45 and when I pick her up she begs to stay and play with her friends. lol.

[vtdiamond]

Congrats on the new job scm1011!

We've got you beat on the amount of time the kids are in daycare, due to both of our commutes. Kids are dropped off at 6:30am and are there until 5-5:30pm. Thankfully they are able to stay up longer now that they are older. They go to bed at around 8pm.

[Mrs.flang]

815-515, sometimes a little less bc DH does pickup and is able to leave early pretty frequently. It does feel like such a long day though!

Congrats on the new job!

[gt7301b]

DS is at daycare from between 7:30/8:00 to between 5:30/6:00. Honestly, he seems to enjoy daycare more than handing out with us all day. I'm sure your son will adjust just fine.

[Susie]

8:45-5:30 most days, so just shy of 9 hours.  Our daycare is open 7:30-5:30, but kids are only allowed to be there for 9 hours/day.

She is used to a certain classroom routine, so it throws her off if I drop her off early.  Other than that, I don't think she notices the difference in the actual amount of time she's there.

[tigress]

My kids are there 7:15-7:30 until 4-4:30pm normally. In the fall when I'm coaching they are sometimes there from 7:15am-5:30pm. Its the best I can do.

[Velar Fricative]

8:30 to 5:30, sometimes shorter depending from where I'm commuting since I travel around the area for my job. This is the shortest amount of hours per day that DD1 has been at this center (I switched jobs shortly after DD2 started there). Before, they were there 7:30 to 5:30 and when DD1 was really little (3 months to 1.5 years old), she was there 6:45 to 5:45. I remember feeling horrible about those first hours while reading a thread here because some people were clutching pearls and being like "I would never leave my child at daycare for that long!!!" but they were also people who don't live in big cities and/or have long commutes. So try not to feel bad, we all have different job and commute situations.

[raangoli]

A long time? I drop her off around 7:30 AM and MH picks her up between 5:10 and 5:20. Pretty close to a 10 hour day. But she does seem to like it, there are days we have to chase her around to put her jacket on and come home. Now that I think about it, I feel bad, but we will move her to a closer daycare this summer. Hopefully she will be able to come home 30 minutes earlier, which will be good for everyone.

Congratulations on the new job though!

[mbcdefg]

I drop her off every morning at 8 a.m.

MH picks her up three times a week around 3:45 p.m.

I pick her up two days a week around 5:30 p.m. 

Congratulations on the new job

[galaxy8227]

7:30 to either 4 or 530 depending on the kid (DS likes to stay longer at aftercare for art class so DH picks up him and I get DD at 4 when her school closes). They both have had these hours since they were babies so they don't know anything else and are find with it.

Congrats on the new job!

[ellipsis]

I drop her off just before 8 and H picks her up a little after 5. If we couldn't flex our time at both of our jobs she would be there later. Unless you have a super short commute I don't see how anything shorter than 9 hours is really possible.

[pinotgrig]

Congrats on the new job!

Mine are there from 7:30-5. Ds2 never wants to leave when I get there, lol.

[loira]

Mine is there from 9-4, which is optimal to me. But I also work freelance and have a flexible schedule. If I ever manage to land a permanent position here, she'll probably go from 7 hour days to 9 hour days. Her (in-home) daycare is only open 8-5 and there are restrictions here that prevent putting your kid in childcare for more than 9 hours a day - although I don't know how I feel about that since this puts a burden on parents who work longer hours but can't afford a nanny.

[pinkdutchtulips]

Daycare 7:30a-4:45p until she started kinder - 9 hrs

Currently (she's in 3rd grade now) she's dropped off at before school care at 7:15-7:30a and I pick her up from afterschool care at 6p. (Approx 11 hrs - between beforeschool care, school and afterschool care)

[kath16]

7ish to 4ish, so 9 hours. They're allowed to be there up to 10 I think

[minniemouse]

Dh drops dd2 off between 8:30-9; I pick up around 4:30, so 7.5-8 hours total. Since I work from home dd1 gets on the school bus at 7:40 and off the bus at 2:30.
ETA- when I worked in an office, they were in daycare about 9 hrs/day.

[lauralala]

So DS is older, but I drop him at school at 7:10 (we are waiting when the building opens) and DH picks him up about 5:30 from aftercare. If I could drop him off 15 minutes earlier, I would - my morning commute is always a crazy rush. If DH is at a jobsite further away and cannot do pick up, it is closer to 6:00 before I can get there. This has been his schedule for most of his life at this point, and it does not bother him. That is just the way it is.

[dcn]

I drop them off around 7:45 and H picks them up around 5. If I pick them Up it’s closer to 5:30. There are occasional days I have a meeting out of town and have to drop them off at 6:30.

[linz]

730-530 but it has been 7 am drop off before. Kids will be fine that long. Try to just meal prep and make dinner easier. My twins are 3.5 and for awhile they loved to watch me cook. Now I put a tv show on so I can get dinner done. They go to bed at 8.

[hbomdiggity]

he is pretty much there 10 hours - from about 8 to 6 (when they close).

bedtime is now around 8:15pm (2.75yo)

[kdubs923]

Congratulations on the new job!

Mine are there 7:30-5:30ish most days. I have half day Fridays, but use that time for appointments, get groceries, etc. So I do pick them up early on Fridays, but it's not usually before 3:30-4ish. If I go too early, they get mad they're missing snack or afternoon outside time, lol

We have about 1.5-2 hours of awake time at home in the evenings. Your DS will hopefully get used to going to bed a little later as he gets older. It's definitely a crunch to make/eat dinner, play, take baths & get to bed in that time, but it's the best we can do. Dinners are really basic because they're starving the second I walk in the door. After we eat, we go upstairs so they can play and I can get the bath started and prep anything we need for the next day. Bathtime is really just an extension of playtime. I really enjoy the books & snuggles when putting them to bed. That's when I really feel I get to reconnect with them each day. I generally hope the quality of the time we spent together makes up for the quantity.

[thebreakfastclub]

Mine goes from 7:10-5:45. But he's 5 and with a 9pm bedtime, we have a little too much time together in the evenings, lol. He loves it there though.

[spk926]

I'm a teacher and I bring my kids to the town where I teach, which is about a 10-15 minute drive. They're currently at daycare 7:40-3:50 daily. Next year when DD starts Kindergarten she'll be there 7:15/7:20 when I drop her off until 3:45 when H picks her up.

[ssmjlm]

Congrats on the new job! I bet you're excited to be away from the cardboard cheeto.

E is at daycare from basically 7am to 4:30pm. Those hours will stay the same in elementary school next year.

[tiki]

I'm also about to start a new job, and will be working hours much more similar to my H's and have much less flexibility to work from home. I've always been able to pick up DD by 5pm, so she's usually only at daycare between 8 and 8.5 hours per day. With my job change that will become at least 9 hours, probably more (with the increase in cost that entails). For a second I considered hiring someone to pick her up, take her home, feed her, and get her down for a nap in her own bed, but then I realized most of those things are what I already pay daycare to do :-)

I am stressing about it, but there's also a baby 3 months younger than mine who is always there before we drop off and always there when we pick up and clearly doing fine. I try to remind myself that a longer day will probably be harder on me than on my kid.

[rt2008]

My kids are there from 7-5. DS (10 months) usually goes to bed at 6 every day, especially after being at daycare because he doesn't nap well there) so we don't get much time with him during the week.

[clseale]

Typically her day is 8-4:30. This is mostly driven my DH's job being really flexible & me being able to WFH some.

Congrats on the new position!