Group Discussions
How did you make a decision between nanny and daycare?
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For us it was the hours and convenience -- I was working a lot and sometimes needed the nanny to stay late. We also found someone we really loved. When our daughter turned 3 we switched to daycare.Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 17th March 2008 -
For us, the market made the decision for us. We live in an area that has a high number of SAHMs and a low rate of incoming population, therefore the nanny candidates we were presented with were either out of our price range (b/c the only families with nannies are very well-to-do) or underqualified. We actually hired a nanny for a short while and were very disappointed with her performance. She quickly demostrated that she was only looking for a couch to sit on and watch TV from all day while our son sat in his seat.
So ultimately we went with a highly recommended daycare that focuses on early childhood education and development and are very happy with that choice (except for the constant stream of germs).Flag as inappropriate Posted by BrendaG on 18th March 2008 -
We were on the fence about nanny vs. daycare for some time, but opted to go the daycare route. We felt our kids could really benefit from the socialization of daycare, and we wanted them to be in a slightly academic environment (the place we chose has a great early literacy program) because our then 2 1/2-year-old seemed very ready for school, even though she was much too young for a traditional "school" environment...Flag as inappropriate Posted by Lylah M. Alphonse on 18th March 2008 -
We opted for a daycare to ensure there was some structure to the day, no worries about a nanny calling in sick, no worries about a nanny having a bad day and taking it out on your child (at daycare there were always at least 2 teachers and people popping in and out). The convenience of a nanny would have been great though
Now I am home with them and I do think they missing the "social" side of daycare!!Flag as inappropriate Posted by Linda on 18th March 2008 -
My son will start day care on Monday when I start work fulltime. He is only 3 months old. This , by far, is the toughest thing that I have ever had to do. In an ideal world I would love to have a dedicated full-time nanny that i can trust and perhaps some help at night as well but alas, we live in a world constrained by resources and limited in our trust of others. I started exploring child care options a couple of months before my due date and after a very exhaustive analysis I decided to go with a group day care. As I see it, I have three options -
1. Group day care and private preschool run by a corporations and accountable by law (licensed and registered with the state of Texas). This kind of facility offers a very high level of accountability and an opportunity for my child to be under the care of 2 fulltime teachers as well as 6 other adults ( eg. the 2 asst. directors, director, 2 teachers from the second infant room and receptionisi). I have been making surprise visits to the facility and the infant room wher my son will be going to has 5 infants and at least 2 teachers at all times. There is, also, state issued minium standard guideline that must be followed and sanitation procedures adhered to. For example, disposable gloves to be worn and discarded at each diaper change. If I see anything I don't like I can report it to the Texas child and family Protective Services and an inspection will be arranged immediately. The facility is inspected every quarter (4 times a year) by Govt. officials and I can read the reports which are public records. These are all pros, now the cons are equally compelling. The biggest downside in a group day care is GERMS. No amount of sanitation can prevent infections in a building with 200 young children and circulating air. The second negative, compared to nanny, is the lack of individual attention. The state requirement is 4:1. 4 infants for every teacher. The day care that my son will be going to will have 6:2.
2. Family run day care with children of all ages. . These are small setups. At least the ones that I investigated are run in peoples' homes with a maximum of 7 kids. Usually they only take 1 infant and the others are toddlers and preschoolers. I know that some of these are registered with the state but teh majority are sorta ... well... not regulated in any way. If I knew the ladies running these personally ( like a neighbour or something) I might think about them because unfortunately I don't and I find number #1 above to be more appealing because of teh accountability and professionalism.
3. NANNY I have gone through an agency to find out about this. The profiles that they sent me were for nannies who charge $600-800/ week. This is more than twice of what a group day care costs. Well we could make it work if we found a nanny who came with recommendations from our acquaintances. Anyway, I found a fulltime nanny who came in for a couple of days when my son was about 1 month old. I think I didn't really let her do anything and she got upset. I was so paranoid the first 6 weeks after delivery that I didn't let anyone touch my baby. I think, in retrospect, it must have been the hormones !! anyway, that nanny just disappeared and never called to collect her check for the three days that she was here. I gave up on the nanny search since then. There is absolutely no way I can leave my son with a stranger with no real accountability. In other words, I can't pick a nanny from teh yellow pages for my son.
Honestly, If I can find a nanny who comes with tons of great refrences and at least few of them from people i know i would go with a nanny till my son is at least a year old. I have restatred my nanny search. Letsee what happens. Till then my lil one will be in the day care.
I am sorry about teh long rant ...... this has been such a dilemma for me for sooooo long that i just can't stop writing ..........Flag as inappropriate Posted by megha on 20th March 2008 -
I went through a similar exercise to the one megha describes - what an emotional roller-coaster. Ultimately we decided to hire an AuPair because we wanted to have some of the flexibility of having someone live-in and not worry about whether we were running late to leave the office and relieve the nanny. Live-out nannies were very expensive, but we really wanted the one-on-one care that is provided particularly since our daughter will be 4 months old when I go back to work. One of the things we learned is that it is very difficult to interview for laziness...we had someone come and do a 'working' interview - she stayed with us for 4 days and thought she was on vacation. She changed one diaper, read an entire book and every time she held our daughter, addison became very agitated...it was painstaking. Our AuPair is from Brazil and she seems tender, warm and loving - the price is right and she is dedicated to the program (she had to pay to apply). The program is regulated and managed by an agency who has local area directors to help support the host family as well as the AuPair to bridge cultural barriers - if the arrangement isn't working for the host or the AuPair, the agency/area director is responsible to help find a replacement. We're keeping our fingers crossed and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest family member and employee...Flag as inappropriate Posted by hbgwiz on 21st March 2008 -
A huge advantage of having a nanny over childcare is that despite having a busy schedule, maybe its not enough time that you want full time childcare or can afford it. Nanny can watch your children in your own house, in familiar settings, which can be of comfort to both you and your kids by keeping everyone in a friendly and familiar environment.
http://www.daycaresurvey.comFlag as inappropriate Posted by businescares on 2nd April 2008 -
Choosing an au pair is the most economical choice, especially if you have more than one child. The cost is around $330 per family, not per child. Not only is it less expensive, but some of your chores related to the children will be taken care of by the au pair so you can spend more quality time with your children. If you would like more information please check out my website URL and give me a call.Flag as inappropriate Posted by Elysha on 19th May 2008
