Childcare Advice Needed!
Looking for some perspective from other parents because I’ve been going back and forth on this.
My 3-year-old was accepted into a preschool/daycare program that we’d really like her to attend. She’ll be enrolled in the full-day program, and we’ll be paying full-day tuition because they’ll be holding her spot all day.
The part I’m struggling with is that they only want her to attend until 11:30 at first, so she’d be there for about 3 hours instead of the full 7-hour day. I asked what the transition to full days typically looks like, and they said it depends on how she does. They said they hope she’ll be ready for full days by the beginning of next year, but that was just a guess and there’s no set timeline.
I’m trying to coordinate returning to work, speech therapy, and afternoon childcare, so the uncertainty is making me nervous. If this is a few weeks, I can absolutely make it work. If it’s potentially several months, that’s a much bigger commitment—especially since we’d still be paying for the full-day spot.
I also tend to be someone who hates inconveniencing people or making things difficult, so I keep wondering if I’m making this more difficult than it needs to be. At the same time, this would be a significant adjustment for our family, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether we can make it work.
I’m not upset with the school, and I understand they’re trying to do what’s best for her. I’m just wondering:
Is this a common transition policy?
Have any of you had a child start on half days and gradually work up to full days?
How long did it actually take?
Would this timeline give you pause?
I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences.