nanny vs. daycare

I am going to be working for about a year to help pay off our debt and put back money for a down payment. Well I called the daycare that I want to send the boys to and it is going to be $185/week for each of them. SO that is almost $400 a week for daycare and I am thinking that it might be better to just find a nanny.

I will be going back to work in August so the boys will be just over a year old. The job will only be for about 9 months so I don't know if would be better for the boys to have a nanny or go to daycare.

WWYD?

 

If its a similar amount of money, I might choose nanny... but I'm sure there are pitfalls with any choice you make. like what happens if the nanny can't show up? but I know I've hired someone to help me on and off and when they were here all day, they did end up cleaning up around the house and keeping the kitchen cleaned and doing the kids laundry... so make sure to factor those niceties into the equation!

 

This is the million dollar question! I think both have their ups and downs.
Daycare -
exposure to more children - good for interaction, bad for GERMS!
Accountability - older children who can see and "report" any misdoings
Getting your children out of the house and into a different setting - different toys/experiences
depending on the setting is this an inhome daycare or facility (what if provider is sick?)

Nanny -
Maybe someone to do housework too?
A better provider:children ratio?
downside- no one watching what goes on when you aren't there - your valuables (babies and monetary things)
what if she is sick?

I'm just thinking out loud, and I'm sure you could add pros and cons to each side here..

I'll say this much, we had our boys in an in-home daycare (we don't live in a big enough area to have daycare facilities). I pulled them out because everytime they went there, they were sick within 2-3 days. Pink eye, H1N1, colds, ear infections, ughhh. I also had concerns about how many children there were. So we are now looking for a nanny/in our home sitter.... Nervous but excited about it.

Best of luck, and I'm looking forward to what others have to say!

 

$185 per week for 1 is a great price. I pay $242 per week for one.

It's definitely a personal decision. Good luck with that...I'm sure you'll do the best for babies and you.

 

If the cost of a nanny is comparable, I would go with a nanny.

I had a nanny from the time my twin girls were 3 month old until they were 3 years old. From 3 years old to 4 years old, they went to a preschool/daycare setting. Now we have an au pair (the girls still go to preschool, but it's only 2.5 hours), since I have a little one again.

So I've experienced both settings. I think the girls did great in daycare at an older age. But at a younger age, I think javing a good nanny provides many more advantages. Avoiding illness is a HUGE bonus. I also thought it quite convenient to not have to pack up diapers, bottles, extra clothing etc every day to bring to daycare. I didn't have to get the girls dressed or ready for the day before I went to work. The nanny just did all of that. She also helped clean up their toy area, wash their laundry and their bed linens. They also received her undivided attention, so there was a lot of learning and loving.

Of course, finding the right person is hard. You have to really make sure your babies are in good hands. I was very fortunate to have found an awesome nanny. The girls still ask about her all the time. We still visit with her and invite her over.

Good luck with your decision~

 

Ditto this (but I am biased ). I think that for young children (babies/toddlers) nanny beats daycare hands down.
A good nanny will provide educational play and activites, the same as teachers at daycare do, and be happy to take children out to playgroups/classes so they can mix with other children. It's true that if the nanny is sick you'll have to find emergency childcare or miss work, but that should be balanced out with the times when your children are sick and wouldn't be allowed in daycare and the nanny will still look after them. Also you should be able to find out from references how many sick days a person generally takes.

Good luck with your decision.

 

I have a nanny and love it. LOVE it. Love her! She does a ton around the house as well. She is a really sweet and loving person and I totally trust her with everything. But, I am also a trusting person. If you are not, you might have an issue because I think if you can't trust your nanny, it would be too hard. The daycares have regulations etc, and while you hear about the occasional horror story, I think for the most part you can feel pretty comfortable that your child will be safe there. With a nanny, it 100% depends on who you can find and the available labor force in your area. In my case, we were lucky enough to stumble upon someone who is a grandma, completely sweet and honest, and is working for us because she loves babies. Those type of people may not be available in your area.

I agree about someone else's point about the sick days - yes your nanny might get sick, but if your kids are sick they won't let them into daycare. Who will be sick more often - your nanny or your twins? My guess is, the twins.

I pay my nanny $450 per week. We also have her as a built-in babysitter when we need (of course we pay her extra for that). For us, it was worth paying a little extra to have all the convenience of having someone at home and the personal, reliable care.

So if you can afford the extra AND you can find the right person - my advice is, go nanny!!

 

Wow daycare is HIGH were you live! We live in a small town in Ark. and our daycare runs about 100.00 per week! But anyway, If I had to make the choice I would choose nanny. Your children get more 1 on 1 and you only have to get yourself ready for work....don't have to take them anywhere. I guess the germs are also a big factor for me. Good luck!

 

We have a nanny and we love it!! I don't have to get the boys ready every day because it is taken care of. I am not worried about interaction with other kids because they play with each other and learn the sharing ordeal! She takes them out of the house when the weather is good. When they are 3, we will put them in a preschool, but right now they have her attention 100% of the time.

I found her on sittercity.com. She is a college girl and is really good with the boys.

We pay her $10/hr and she is at the house between 25-30 hours a week.

 

We had a FT nanny (here M-F 7-4) until the girls were 22 months. I worked from home FT. After that, we went to 2 days nanny, 3 days daycare. I paid the nanny $400/week and the combo thing we switched to worked out to about $400/week as well.

A nanny is nice because you don't have to do the morning shuffle, but if the nanny is sick (or unreliable) then it can affect your work. Thankfully I worked from home so I could swing it, but if you have to be in an office I'd be a little cautious about a nanny.

 

Not sure how big your area is...from a financial perspective, in my area a full-time nanny would be as much if not a little more for two - speaking of true 8-9 hours a day.

 

The nanny vs daycare cost for me is about the same here in CA. I went back to work two months ago (love it by the way) and I found two great nannies from Care.com. The best advice I got to avoid the sick nanny or nanny on vacation issue was to have one come in M-W-F and the other T/TH, and they are both flexible on their off days in case something happens with the other (this was a must during the interviewing process). My girls will be two in May and we've decided to have them in preschool two half days a week (8-12). Apparently this is pretty common (nanny and pre-school) and a great way for the kids to experience other things.