Finding someone to care for your child can be tedious, worrisome and confusing. As a parent, you must be as selective as possible in determining the best care option for your child. Finding someone you trust implicitly can be a difficult endeavor. Weighing your options--daycare or nanny care--involves a range of considerations.
Cost
Cost is usually a key aspect of determining childcare. Hiring a nanny is significantly more expensive than using a childcare facility. Prices for nannies vary considerably, depending on the region of the country and the availability of competent applicants. However, the rate for a single child in nanny care is generally twice as much as at a daycare facility, according to the International Nanny Association. Hiring a qualified and committed nanny often includes paying for her health insurance. In addition, a nanny works as your employee; as an employer, you are accountable for filing and paying payroll taxes on your nanny.
Convenience
The convenience of nanny care can outweigh that of a childcare facility. You don't have to spend time packing bags, making bottles, dropping off or picking up your child. It is likely that your child will get sick more often in daycare than with nanny care, because of exposure to other children and adults. If your child becomes sick at daycare, you usually must leave work to take your child home. Having a nanny could allow you to stay at work later or work weekends. Some nannies will accompany you on travel and stay overnight when need be. Still, nanny care has its down sides. You would need to deal with childcare if the nanny needed to take a day off, for example. With a daycare facility, finding a substitute teacher would be the center's obligation.
Interaction
A good nanny can offer nurturing, individual attention to your child in the comfort of a familiar environment. On the other hand, daycare facilities offer multiple adults in an observable area, thus diminishing the chance of inappropriate behavior. Another benefit of daycare is the ability for your child to interact and bond with other children on a daily basis. With a nanny, your child could interact with other children through playgroups or at playground facilities.
Control
Nanny care provides you with greater control of the boundaries and rules for how your child should be reared; for example, you make decisions on potty training, bottle feeding and nap times. Daycare facilities usually have policies that stipulate what they require of your child at certain ages. Some parents welcome this, finding it easier to delegate the challenges of initiating and enforcing behaviors.
Compromise
The childcare decision doesn't have to be unequivocal; you can combine the positive aspects of nanny care and daycare to achieve other options. For instance, sharing a nanny is a viable alternative for some families. One benefit is lower costs, since the families would share the cost of the nanny. Other pluses would include daily interaction with children you know and like, along with focused attention from the nanny. Another possibility is to divide your child's week between a nanny and a childcare facility.
