You have a place to pay bills and make doctor appointments. You can eat lunch relatively slowly. You get one meal a day where you don’t have to clean up yogurt and purees. You have your own chair, with your own cardigan sweater on the back, your own drawer, a small bottle of Advil nestled within sharpened pencils and pens that work. You have coworkers — other adults! And working mothers, now there’s another reason for you to rejoice: two new studies confirm that sending your child to day care can be just fine and actually be good for his or her health.

Researchers have found that attending daycare or even playgroups can decrease the risk of a child developing the most common type of childhood leukemia by a very dramatic 30%. As the BBC reports:

…it is also thought that contracting some childhood infections - which are often readily spread in environments such as playgroups where children are in close contact with each other - may prime the immune system against leukemia.

So remember that the next time you’re madly and desperately trying to work from home while taking care of a sick baby who’s on his fourth ear infection of the season and you’ve used all your sick days, are behind on your projects, are worried about ear tubes, and are thinking that you might as well have been issued a vat of amoxicillin last November to last you through April.

Meanwhile, authors from the Work and Family Institute find that very few children in day care wish that they could have more time with their parents; rather, when asked what they would change about their parents’ work, children wished that their parents were less stressed out and tired. Score! for the quality-not-quantity camp!

I’ve been both a working mom and a stay-at-home mom. And from personal experience, I can confirm the no-brainer that indeed, working or not, parenting young children can be exhausting and stressful. But oh, the unparalleled joys.

Use Your Words
What are some of the benefits of daycare your family has experienced?

Suburban bliss does require a few pieces of equipment, and in that spirit, Slate offers a defense of the ugly plastic toys and giant swing-sets that populate so many exurb lawns. Hear Hear! My Coupe Car may have bird poop on it this morning, but by 10am, it’s guaranteed to bring a sunshiney smile to the face of my 16-month-old daughter, pleased as punch that she can scoot around in it saying “vroom vroom!” and “beep beep!”

In an earlier article decrying the ugliness of the Lawn Pox, Slate’s Tom Vanderbilt complains that these colorful plastic eyesores, with their somewhat short lifespans, they are simply so much fodder for the landfill. Perhaps he’s never heard of Freecycle, a very cool way of getting rid of good stuff you no longer want or need. Whether it’s old furniture, a fax machine, weights — you name it — there’s someone in your community who could put it to good use. And that, my friends, is how we came to own a delightful, colorful, and plastic, sand and water table.

For your favorite readers and readers-to-be, Isis has assembled books of all kinds, from the chunkiest board book to the thickest manifesto, as gifts for grandmothers, new-mom friends, or those cute little ones who made us moms.

We have books that celebrate the love between a mom and her baby, the bond of a grandmother and grandchild, the contributions and support of dads, and even a book that posits the age-old question: Is your Mama a Llama?

Stop by and browse, and stock up, because books always do make the best gifts.

On Thursday, May 8, join Boston’s finest chefs and celebrities as they honor life’s greatest role models, mothers, at Models of Excellence, a fabulous event to benefit Room to Grow and their community of dedicated moms.

Room to Grow is dedicated to enriching the lives of babies born into poverty, providing one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items throughout their critical first three years of development. You may recognize Room to Grow as valued Isis partners; we serve as a collection center for new and gently used baby items.

Get all gussied up and let someone else cook at this gala evening of fashion, jewels, and fun, hosted by Persona Jewelry and Lola, with cuisine from Clink, Max Ultimate Food, the Port Tavern & Grille, 51 Lincoln, Petit Robert Bistro, and Sixty2 on Wharf. It’s a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day and an organization that gives mothers — and their kids — truly meaningful support.

On Sunday, May 4, just in time for Mother’s Day shopping, Isis is transforming one of our Brookline classrooms into a vendors fair, replete with products, hands-on samples, information, door prizes and giveaways. Join us as we shine the light on some of our most popular, chic and special products.

Vendors
From 10am-3pm, we’re featuring the pregnancy glow enhancing Basq skin care line, and hosting the good people from Baby Legs, Momma’s Jewels (three-ring sterling silver necklace, pictured), Petunia Pickle Bottom, Scandinavian Child, and See Kai Run. They can answer your burning questions such as: What are the cleaning recommendations for my Petunia Pickle Bottom bag? Why are baby legs even more chubby and delicious when clad in leg warmers? Is sterling silver safe for my baby to teethe and play? How is the Svan eco-friendly and eco-safe? Just who is Kai, anyway?

Sidewalk Sale
As an added incentive, we’re moving all of our sale merchandise over to Brookline and throwing a sidewalk sale, with products from Robeez, Crocs, See Kai Run, Woobee, Earth Angel*Baby Mama, Baby’s Own, assorted books, and more, all at amazing discounts! Members can take an extra 60% off of select markdowns, and non-members can take 50% off. Even our sale strollers and carseats will make the trip, though the above additional discounts will not apply.

As with any other day at an Isis center, it’s guaranteed to be fun and informative, so make sure to stop by!