Would you send a 6 week old to head start while you stayed at home and didn't work?

[Anonymous]

More of a confession of what I saw.............

Before I had kids I worked as a head start teacher for migrant children.  I worked with infants and also toddlelrs some.

I cared for babies as young as six weeks of age while their moms (and dads too sometimes) stayed at home. Lots of them had moms who did not work.   They would send their kids on the bus at about 6:45 ish in the morning and then  pick them up off the bus at 4:00 to 5:00ish. 

No idea what they did during the day.  

100% of the care was free. THey also free diapers, formula and even free clothes sometimes.   ANd of course free food as well.  And the mom would just stay at home!

Even though it was free, they would still lyell and complain over things like if their kid had a few mosquito bites from the playground.

Would you send your baby to head start?

And for the record ------------------------------------ I felt they would definitely get better care at home.  Sometimes we had to let them cry and scream - had no choice really because I only had 2 arms.

The thing htat bothered me the most is that they caseworkers for head start woullld go out and try to recruit them and tell the parents it was better for the babies to be there!!!! I remember one who had a 4 year old in the program, had a newborn, and the caseworkers kept asking and asking to enroll the baby too. She didn't want to. And, yes, we got more funding with more kids.

[Anonymous]

This is new stuff for me. My cousin put her twins in Head Start (she's not a SAHM though) and I was under the impression is was essentially, like, pre-pre-k? Lol. Like to give them a literal head start for when they do start school. Her caseworker is the one that recommended it though, but the twins are still behind and may not get into kindergarten when they're supposed to (the school wants to take one but not the other, because the other has a slight speech impediment :\).

[celestegood]

 Wow, that's messed up all around.  No, I would not send even my four year old to head start, or daycare.

[mantyangel]

I have never heard of this. I thought headstart was for 3 and up. No I would not send a newborn to headstart if I was home.

[KlingyMomma]

I wont even take my 2 month old to daycare for a few hours to get a break. LOL. I stay at home all day every day with my 5 yo, 3 yo, 1 yo, and newborn. DD does go to pre-k for 3 hours Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fri though.

[Cpdsptchgrl]

Our head start won't even take them until they are 3. Even if they did take them at 6 weeks I think they should be home if there is an able bodied person to care for them there.

[3boys1girl32]

Why do they have head start for 6 wk old babies?Seems like a waste to me.

[Devious333]

? Since when do infants go to head start? I thought that was a 3-4 year old thing. Ds went to head start, he was 4, and loved it.

[Melissa_4]

Absolutely not!  The only one of our children that was in any kind of daycare was the oldest as I was a single mother with him for the first two years and worked full-time.  Even then, he was at home with me til he was 3 and a half months old.  

[Michellina11234]

I sent my 4yr old while I was working but I would never send a baby

[km1970]

 I didn't even know headstart took babies...anyway, never would I do that:(