How is it terrible exactly? It's standard practice where I live. My niece went to child care shortly after 1 year and she loves it. I'm sure she would be immensely bored just being home with mommy all day, every day.
Leaving a 1-year-old is typically a very different thing from leaving a 3-year-old to day care. And, even at the same age, children are different from each other.
My own kids are now all adults, but I remember how heart-breaking it was to leave a two-year-old to a day-care place where she did not want to stay. She'd cry all the way when going there, and stick to hug my legs "please don't go" though she could barely speak. It wasn't good.
Later on, she and younger brother were perfectly happy in another day-care place when they were a bit older.
Also, my daughter was all the time sick in her first day care place. She'd pick every infection there ever was around and we had horrible days with day care, horrible evenings queuing in the health center, and horrible nights without sleep. The daughter just had weak resistance as a 18-month-old, but was much stronger when she was 5 years.
My younger son on the other hand enjoyed day care tremendously from the very start, but he only went there at age of 4.
I would say that
1) there is variance in children, as individuals (some of them are naturally more dependent on their parents)
2) there is variance in day-care places (the first one we had was run by the council, the staff was inexperienced and they compensated for their insecurity by being rude; the other was a private one subsidised by the council, and the staff was really nice -- others have reported things being the other way round with very nice council-run places, so I conclude just that the human factor has a big impact).
3) there is variance in parents
(These experiences from the Finnish system which provides very extensive and affordable public service by North American standards).
I can echo that experience. We've been lucky in that our kids have generally really enjoyed going to childcare.
There was one place that my daughter was never really happy to go to. It was fine, and she was safe - she was just never happy there. We moved her to a new place and she loved it from the moment she walked in (though she knew some of the other kids from her first nursery).
I think sickness and childcare just go hand in hand. It flowed on to the rest of the family too. I've been sick so many times in the last few years - though I think we're through the worst of it now. Nothing like the happy embrace of a snotty child to make you ill.
This is exactly what i see, we have two in daycare. They are immensely more engaged, and do more activities at daycare. They have a gang of peers to play with all day, they sing and dance. It really quite delightful when our burst into a song we've never heard and starts jumping around to some rythm.
After 1 year its a bit less terrible, I'll give you that. But still: Your kid isn't able yet to talk. If someone touches her/him you'll never know.
But in Holland, its even more worse. The Dutch send them into Day Care after 3 month. Some kids can't even roll around at that time. Then you have a day-care-mommy/kid ratio of 6:1. If you are lucky. Can't see them changing all diapers in time.
And about being bored: Well, if more mommies would be at home, they would eventually socialise more during the day and therefore the kids would have all the social interaction. But at least under the supervision of their own blood. Which loves them and doesn't see them as 'products' for their 'customers'.
My own kids are now all adults, but I remember how heart-breaking it was to leave a two-year-old to a day-care place where she did not want to stay. She'd cry all the way when going there, and stick to hug my legs "please don't go" though she could barely speak. It wasn't good.
Later on, she and younger brother were perfectly happy in another day-care place when they were a bit older.
Also, my daughter was all the time sick in her first day care place. She'd pick every infection there ever was around and we had horrible days with day care, horrible evenings queuing in the health center, and horrible nights without sleep. The daughter just had weak resistance as a 18-month-old, but was much stronger when she was 5 years.
My younger son on the other hand enjoyed day care tremendously from the very start, but he only went there at age of 4.
I would say that
1) there is variance in children, as individuals (some of them are naturally more dependent on their parents)
2) there is variance in day-care places (the first one we had was run by the council, the staff was inexperienced and they compensated for their insecurity by being rude; the other was a private one subsidised by the council, and the staff was really nice -- others have reported things being the other way round with very nice council-run places, so I conclude just that the human factor has a big impact).
3) there is variance in parents
(These experiences from the Finnish system which provides very extensive and affordable public service by North American standards).