In my community, the primary child care choice a newly pregnant couple makes is a nanny versus a daycare center. I'm always surprised by people who assume that a nanny is better, without looking at the many advantages of daycare. For us, the multiple adults supervising each other sealed the deal. We didn't want to worry about how a nanny behaved with our infant when we weren't there.
Of course, every family has different considerations, and the right choice for you will likely be based on household budget, work schedules and the options available in your community. Please weigh in on the relative advantages of the different child care choices out there! And feel free to share your personal experiences.
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Deciding between a daycare and a nanny is a difficult decision. Two deciding factors for us was giving the children a chance to be raised in their home and being able to go to places like the neighborhood park, library and such. The second was the cost of having two or more kids in daycare vs having a nanny watch two kids. Often times daycare costs for two or more kids is more expensive than having a nanny.
In today’s society, there are many benefits of hiring a nanny:
1. COST. If you have two or more children, it may be cost effective for you to hire a nanny as many daycare centers can cost you more. Also, many families are using “nanny share”. This is an arrangement in which two families share one nanny. This cuts down on costs but you still experience the benefits of having a nanny.
2. HEALTH OF THE CHILDREN. You may have healthier children by keeping them away from the large groups of children typically found in daycare. Germs are easily spread from child to child, so daycare centers can be breeding grounds for every cold and flu of the season. When your children contract illnesses, it takes an emotional toll on both you and your children. Further, they may miss school, you may miss work, and you may incur expenses associated with doctor’s visits and medications. Your children’s exposure to germs, and thus the risks discussed here, can be dramatically diminished by simply using the services of a nanny.
3. WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY. If your children are sick, many daycare centers will not accept your children. However, if you have a nanny, you can still go to work as the nanny will stay home with the children. Further, if you have an attentive nanny at home with your children, you will be less likely to feel like you just can’t concentrate at work due to concern for your children. By staying focused at work, your workplace productivity remains high.
4. HOME WORKLOAD DELEGATION. A nanny can help you maintain work/life balance.
We felt the same way you did. I preferred the checks and balances of a child care center over a nanny. Also, I didn’t relish the managerial role of supervising a nanny.