Day care dilemma Choosing quality child care for your bundle of joy.(Special Section)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), February, 2004 | by Bianchi, Laura

Byline: Laura Bianchi Daily Herald Correspondent Alessandra Kennedy of East Dundee says that when she had to find day care last summer for her daughter, Alexa, now 13 months old, "it was painful." Kennedy's mother had taken care of Alexa for the first 12 months of her life while Kennedy worked as the building assistant at Thomas Jefferson School in Hoffman Estates.

But when grandma could no longer continue to provide care Kennedy began the difficult process of choosing a day care facility. Kennedy, a former teacher and now school administrator, is far from alone in facing this traumatic decision. Statistics show that the number of working mothers who have children under six years old grew from 18 percent in 1955 to 65 percent in the year 2000....