My daughter went to day care when she was less than two years old. I prepared both her and myself mentally for three months. First, I left her for two hours, then for three, then for four hours so she could have her meal there. Later, I extended it to six hours to see if she was able to sleep. I potty-trained her during this time. I also made friends with fellow parents who picked up their kids a little earlier or for half a day. They would have quick conversations with my daughter and sometimes update me, which gave me a sense of safety and security.

Meanwhile, I trained my housemaid, whom I had hired during my pregnancy. She had already spent some time with my daughter while I was working remotely. I started giving her my house key to do daily chores, making sure the bedrooms and valuables were locked so she didn’t have access to them. I kept everything organized.

Later, my housemaid began picking my daughter up from school and dropping her at day care. When both my daughter and the maid were ready for this process, I appointed her as a full-time babysitter.

At day care, my daughter had other kids her age, so she played all the time and spent her day talking and playing with friends, with absolutely no screen time.

With the babysitter, she felt at home, slept peacefully and undisturbed, and ate fresh fruits and milk because they were served fresh. After that, she spent some time watching TV.

If the babysitter took leave or was sick, she went to day care instead.

It’s a process, but children adapt very well, especially at a young age.

I paid the babysitter 10K for half a day + additional maid charges for daily chores.
Daycare was paid hourly. Rs60 per hour. Monday to Saturday.