Welcome to Monday Mornings with Dr. Mona, where each week I answer your questions.

To leave a message call 954-526-2641 and I may pick your question for a future episode.

Let's get to our first caller.

Hi Dr. Mona, my name is Aksa. I was wondering if you could talk about the benefits of starting day

care at an early age when you're a child. Thanks.

Hello and thank you for your question. So it's really important to remember that child care

is truly about the resources we have. So maybe you're asking this question because you need to put

your child into daycare earlier than maybe your friend or a family member. So I think it's really

important to remember why we're doing the things that we're doing and how every one of us has

different resources at our availability. I want to reassure you that you need someone loving

to take care of your child when you cannot. So for this, let's focus on the benefits of early

child care. So for socialization, although this is very important to me after 18 months of age,

I believe that after 18 months of age, every child should be around another child in some capacity,

whether that's consistent play dates, whether that's a child care facility a few days a week full

time. It really is beneficial for them at the age of 18 months and beyond. But of course,

it's going to be beneficial earlier on as well. It definitely has benefits for development, right?

Fellow babies being around that child will be rolling, will be sitting, will be doing tummy time,

will be starting to babble and talk and your baby can learn from that as well. So I do believe that

there is a benefit of development from an early age and I think it's beneficial for the socialization.

But also to get to how it can benefit us as mothers and as parents. Someone to watch your

child that is responsible, I mean we can't deny how important that is and in that it is a benefit

to send your child to daycare if you need that help. Whether you are working, whether you need a

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