[MLWKN]

This question may seem premature considering we are just now thinking about adoption but here it goes. I currently work outside the home--I work a school schedule (off in summer and holidays). When I mentioned to my sister that we were thinking about adoption she couldn't believe I was considering childcare and not quiting my job (not an option at this point). I would like some input whether this should keep us from adopting and do agencies look at this?

[smedf]

It is perfectly fine for your child to be in daycare. What the agency will look at is that you have a plan to have your child taken care of. Some people have it all worked out or atleast have a few options you have looked at. Hope that helps.

Sherry

[ahnasmom]

....no, it is not frowned upon. We adopted our daughter in 2002 at 11 months and she started daycare at 16 months. She loves it! In 2004, we adopted our son at 8 months and sent him to daycare at 13 months. He has benefited greatly as he was a bit delayed overall and quite delayed for speech. He too loves it.

I say do not let the fact that your child will have to go to day care deter you.

Congrats on your decision to adopt!!

[kelleymac]

Nope, not frowned upon. We adopted our son last year and given that we both worked full-time, our homestudy SW asked what our plan for daycare was. Our little guy is in daycare four days per week, and absolutely loves it. He loves other kids and the constant playtime. We were also lucky to find a Peruvian daycare provider as our son is from Guatemala.

I think this will be just fine. Just be sure you and your spouse are on the same page about daycare expectations so you can answer questions when asked by your SW.

Best,
Kelley

[Lissa]

I am adopting from China. I am a very serious career minded woman who makes over double my husband's salary. China has no problems with that arrangement. They just want to know we have a child care plan.

[Jim_in_PA]

For the vast majority of us, it would be pretty unrealistic to bring children into our lives without some form of child care/day care being involved. Careers are what they are and it's not financially possible in most cases for one parent to become a stay-at-home mom/dad. (Without dramatically changing their demographics including moving away from their communities, etc.) And of course, single parents have to leverage child care to make a living no matter what.

My wife and I are fortunate that we both have the ability to work from home; me as a normal work arrangement when I'm not traveling and her due to the nature of her work that includes a lot of writing, etc. That will help temper our need for child care, especially initially, but it will not eliminate it. There will always be times that both of us will not be able to avoid being away traveling or needing to be at a company/customer facility and child care will be the solution. Further, there are educational advantages when kids get at least some time with other kids and in other situations, IMHO.

I will say that it would be nice if one of us could be a full-time, stay-at-home parent. I grew up in such an wonderful environment, but that was long ago...and there was no kindergarden, either!

I think that the agencies and countries realize all these things and will not have any issue with child care. As has previously stated, having a plan is what is most important.

[meimaemomma]

I'm on a school schedule too. My bio ds (3) is in preschool/day care half the day and it has been a fabulous situation for him - he loves school. We are already on the waiting list there for the little one we plan to bring home next year. The students in the center we've chosen are ethnically diverse, and there are many multicultural families there, as well as families made in many different ways. As a result, I feel confident that ds and dd to be will get more by going to preschool/day care and not less, though I am blessed to have so much time at home as well.

[jasonsmom]

I'm taking about 2 months off depending on when we travel (we're not DTC yet). I'm a teacher so I have summers and holidays off as well. One of my neighbors is interested in watching the baby but if that doesn't work out (a lot can happen in a year), the baby will go to daycare. Our SW knows this and didn't see anything wrong with it. One of us is required to stay home at least 2 months but that's an agency policy. I ran into one agency that required its clients to stay home for a year but that's just not an option for us.

Paula