How to solve childcare

[Anonymous]

How would you set up your childcare in this situation?

We have a newborn and will need care starting in Dec. when she is 6 months old. We also have a 5.5 year old who will be in K. DH and I are WFH-hybrid and the days shift. Our older DD was always in daycare so the nanny thing is new to us and I am finding it overwhelming.

We could:

A. Hire a nanny who is with baby during the day, and picks up DD from K at 2:30 and has hours from 9am-6pm. This seems simplest and the nanny could handle some light housework / meals related to the kids but I feel overwhelmed by finding/managing someone + having someone in my house all day while I am working from home. Cost would be about 4k a month not including incidentals for meals, classes etc. + nanny bonus at Christmas and other perks/raises like Metrocard etc.

B. Put baby in a daycare and hire a babysitter to pick up DD from K, bring her home and keep her occupied until 6pm. DH or I would pick up baby from daycare. This is more moving parts but we could hire a less experienced babysitter to cover afternoons vs. a full-time employee. Cost would be $3500 for daycare + $300 for afternoon babysitter, fewer incidentals.

What would you do? (We are in NYC btw)

[Anonymous]

I would probably do nanny in this case if you can afford. Just have a backup plan in place for when nanny gets sick or calls in

[Anonymous]

I'd probably hire a nanny but ask for recommendations/referrals from friends/local parent listserves. I'm a daycare parent so I get where you're coming from with the stress of having an employee/management perspective but I feel like both these scenarios have that, scenario B just has that PLUS the irritants of daycare. If you want to avoid having to deal with employee management, I think the solution is daycare for baby + aftercare for your K child.

[Anonymous]

SAHM

[Anonymous]

You won't be able to find an afternoon babysitter for your oldest.

I put my DD in CASA (I assume you're in Loudoun with that early ending time?) and then picked up from the daycare and CASA on my way home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd probably hire a nanny but ask for recommendations/referrals from friends/local parent listserves. I'm a daycare parent so I get where you're coming from with the stress of having an employee/management perspective but I feel like both these scenarios have that, scenario B just has that PLUS the irritants of daycare. If you want to avoid having to deal with employee management, I think the solution is daycare for baby + aftercare for your K child.

Yeah I think you're right. Unfortunately aftercare at her school won't go late enough for it to be an option for us, so we can't avoid having a nanny/babysitter all together.

[Anonymous]

Why not daycare plus after care for your kindergartner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won't be able to find an afternoon babysitter for your oldest.

I put my DD in CASA (I assume you're in Loudoun with that early ending time?) and then picked up from the daycare and CASA on my way home.

She said she is in NYC

[Anonymous]

A.

You will have to manage someone either way, so it light as well be a professional. The after school sitter will be harder to manage, most likely.

[Anonymous]

Nanny.

[Anonymous]

Nanny. You have a lot of moving parts and need something really reliable, and after school sitters are not reliable, and daycares are a lot less reliable than they used to be due to Covid. Nanny simplifies all of it. Your older DD will need different things as she ages and your younger child is not that far from preschool already. You just need to get through the next couple years, and even if a nanny winds up being 5-6k more of the course of that time, I'd consider it worth it for the reliability, assuming you can swing it.

We've done part-time care for our DD and it's always very challenging. People quit or circumstances change because you are not providing them with full time employment so they have to piece it together a different way. Or they are a student and students just have more stuff going on and things change.

Full time nanny is your best shot at not having to be constantly adjusting your childcare situation. Get the little one to preschool age and then you'll be able to drop the nanny and do a combo of activities and aftercare, and you'll feel rich all of a sudden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny. You have a lot of moving parts and need something really reliable, and after school sitters are not reliable, and daycares are a lot less reliable than they used to be due to Covid. Nanny simplifies all of it. Your older DD will need different things as she ages and your younger child is not that far from preschool already. You just need to get through the next couple years, and even if a nanny winds up being 5-6k more of the course of that time, I'd consider it worth it for the reliability, assuming you can swing it.

We've done part-time care for our DD and it's always very challenging. People quit or circumstances change because you are not providing them with full time employment so they have to piece it together a different way. Or they are a student and students just have more stuff going on and things change.

Full time nanny is your best shot at not having to be constantly adjusting your childcare situation. Get the little one to preschool age and then you'll be able to drop the nanny and do a combo of activities and aftercare, and you'll feel rich all of a sudden.

OP: Thanks I think this is the confirmation I needed just to go ahead with a nanny. Once I can get over the hurdle of hiring / figuring out a work agreement etc. I am sure it will make our lives simpler in the long run and not cost us significantly more than the other option. I know baby will start preschool in Sept 2023 so we only need to solve for about a year.

[Anonymous]

Nanny or nanny share, no question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not daycare plus after care for your kindergartner?

I agree with this one.

[Anonymous]

Do a nanny for a year, then put your baby in daycare and find an aftercare program for you oldest.