After 7 years, considering switching out of daycare for nanny - pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Not sure the issue but I strongly disagree - having a nanny is a lot less work - less driving kids around, more flexibility (which you pay for but still) for days off etc.

And having someone that can juggle all 3 kids when school is out is amazing.

[Anonymous]

We went from nanny to daycare. I completely understand the problem you are facing. But as pp noted, nannies will also need days off, won’t want to come in if your child is truly sick, and call out last minute. Au pairs are going to be your most dependable bet in terms of showing up every day, since they literally live with you, are young and typically healthy, and have no familial obligations of their own here in the states. They are also likely going to cost way less than a nanny. But, that’s only an option if you have the space and want to open your home - it’s very much imposing.

[Anonymous]

There are Nannies out there who don’t take a lot of sick days or time off and who are outstanding employees for years on end. Someone like that would be very helpful in your situation. It’s just hard to find them. Word of mouth is probably the best way.

[Anonymous]

You will be looking at $30-35/hr for 3 kids
1.5x OT pay
10% of nanny’s gross annual income in taxes
$1500/yr for payroll and workers comp policy
Reimbursement for mileage

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have three children - 7, 4, and 18 months. For the last seven years, we've used the same wonderful daycare, managing our work schedules with a few hiccups, but overall fine. Our two oldest are at the same DCPS school.

This year, with our third and so many viruses going around, we're having to miss so much work due to sicknesses and frankly at our breaking point. We're seriously considering a nanny for the first time. The cost difference is not insignificant - it's almost $20K more, assuming $27/hour, 45 hours a week, including all the payroll taxes, etc. And that's after subtracting all the extra childcare expenses we'd be saving like no school camps and aftercare. We'd keep our house cleaner who comes 1Xweek, but would love the nanny to help keep the house organized, maybe help us with laundry while the toddler sleeps. At the core of what we're trying to solve for is a lack of safety net - day to day we manage fine, but when work travel or kids sickness interfere with our routines, it's chaos.

Struggling to make this decision and would love to hear from any daycare families who have made the switch. What are the pros and cons? Are you happy with your decision? Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

I understand that you'd like to keep costs down. If you advertise for a nanny, they will likely be willing to do kids' laundry, pack lunches, make and feed kids dinner before you get home, etc. They will likely have a sick policy that covers more than daycare, but if your child is feverish, vomiting or has diarrhea, you should expect to stay home with them.

If you advertise for a nanny/housekeeper, you can have them do errands, all laundry, have dinner ready for the family to eat when you get home or have your children in afterschool activities, vacuum, etc. The trade off is that your 18 month old won't get a teacher-type nanny who will engage. Also, when all the kids are home, there will be a lot less housekeeping done.

$27/hour might get a nanny for 3 kids, but only if the older two are in camps if they're not in school or if you find a gem who likes going various places with kids all summer. You'll be responsible for all tolls and parking, plus mileage cost or wear/tear on your vehicle plus gas, even if the activities are all free, or you'll need to provide 4 passes for metro. Even if they stick to the Smithsonian (including the zoo), Clemijontri, nature centers, splash pads, trails for bikes/walking, and libraries, the sheer amount of travel adds up.

I'm a nanny who skates the line between teacher-nanny and taking on a bit more housekeeping when I have time. I've had several fabulous summers, rotating between traveling adventure days and summer review at the park days. My charges never experience summer slide, and we have a blast, but although I seek out fun, inexpensive or free things to do, there is a cost to traveling around. And during those summers, there's rarely any housework done. Kids vacation days revolve around getting the kids and the cooler packed into the car and going, then unloading kids and cooler, bathing and feeding dinner (order varies by family). Maybe there's time for a load of clean dishes after they're done eating dinner, maybe I have time to throw in a load of laundry after bathing, but likely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went from nanny to daycare. I completely understand the problem you are facing. But as pp noted, nannies will also need days off, won’t want to come in if your child is truly sick, and call out last minute. Au pairs are going to be your most dependable bet in terms of showing up every day, since they literally live with you, are young and typically healthy, and have no familial obligations of their own here in the states. They are also likely going to cost way less than a nanny. But, that’s only an option if you have the space and want to open your home - it’s very much imposing.

Au pairs are younger and less experienced than nannies though, amd you may have to parent a young adult or teen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the issue but I strongly disagree - having a nanny is a lot less work - less driving kids around, more flexibility (which you pay for but still) for days off etc.

And having someone that can juggle all 3 kids when school is out is amazing.

I don’t think op can find an amazing nanny to juggle 3 kids when school is out at the rate she mentioned

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the issue but I strongly disagree - having a nanny is a lot less work - less driving kids around, more flexibility (which you pay for but still) for days off etc.

And having someone that can juggle all 3 kids when school is out is amazing.

I don’t think op can find an amazing nanny to juggle 3 kids when school is out at the rate she mentioned

Agree, and the amount of time the nanny would have with all 3 kids would be significant. Someone (OP?) upthread mentioned "Even if older kids are in school until 3:15?"
OP didn't say what time the nanny's workday would end, just that the workweek would be 45 hours. Assuming each day is equal (9 hours) and it ends at 5 pm, that is still 1.75 hours each day of 3 kids--just under 20% of each day. Obviously if the nanny's day ends at 5:30 or 6 it's an even greater percentage.

DC public schools have many "no school" days that are not standard holidays, so all 3 kids would be home.
https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/school-year-2022-2023-calendar

Not to mention unexpected days off for weather

[Anonymous]

Op

You’ll also need to remember with your cost comes yearly raises, mileage reimbursements, any outings and meals, classes and educational supplies in the home. Also will the nanny have a car large enough for 3 kids and car seats? If not will you provide one?

A nanny isn’t the same pricewise or less than a nanny. A nanny is a luxury not a necessity. If daycare isn’t in your financial portfolio then a nanny is way way outside your means. You can look at an in home care. That will be less kids than a daycare and costs will be lower than a nanny. I would say a nanny share but already with 3 kids that will make a share tough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need an au pair - they work more flexible hours to cover work travel and stuff. A nanny work 9 am - 6 pm but can’t cover it one parent has a late meeting and one is out of town.

Op needs 45 hours a week, that’s more than an au pair can provide legally I think.

Nope - we are switching from nanny to au pair b/c now that kids are older we need more evening & weekend hours and not middle of the day hours. We signed w/ an au pair agency and it is 45 hours/week.

OP some benefits of nanny or au pair that we have found are they rarely, rarely miss work for being sick. We have had 3 nannies and I think have had less than 5 sick days in 13 years. Our nanny has always done all of the kids laundry, prepped dinner and whatever toddler meals for the kids b/f they were in full time school. In our nanny contracts we have light house keeping and have specified that when she comes in she will do the breakfast dishes from the kids, unload the dishwasher from the night before, help tidy their rooms, etc. During the day she runs all errands related to the kids so pick things up for school, organize valentines, etc. It doesn't sound like a lot, but with 4 children it is amazing. She can take the kids to/from any after school activities, they can have friends over for playdates, etc. If I am not working she can be with one or 2 of the kids while I do other things so all of the kids are not spending hours in the car going to activities, dr appts, etc for siblings. Sick days for the kids are no issue. With 4 kids who do not seem to get sick at the same time, I can't imagine how many days off I would need to take. Plus when mine were younger they rarely got sick b/c they were not in daycare. The difference is shocking. I could go on and on but after having experienced day care briefly, the difference is life changing for our household.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need an au pair - they work more flexible hours to cover work travel and stuff. A nanny work 9 am - 6 pm but can’t cover it one parent has a late meeting and one is out of town.

Op needs 45 hours a week, that’s more than an au pair can provide legally I think.

Nope - we are switching from nanny to au pair b/c now that kids are older we need more evening & weekend hours and not middle of the day hours. We signed w/ an au pair agency and it is 45 hours/week.

OP some benefits of nanny or au pair that we have found are they rarely, rarely miss work for being sick. We have had 3 nannies and I think have had less than 5 sick days in 13 years. Our nanny has always done all of the kids laundry, prepped dinner and whatever toddler meals for the kids b/f they were in full time school. In our nanny contracts we have light house keeping and have specified that when she comes in she will do the breakfast dishes from the kids, unload the dishwasher from the night before, help tidy their rooms, etc. During the day she runs all errands related to the kids so pick things up for school, organize valentines, etc. It doesn't sound like a lot, but with 4 children it is amazing. She can take the kids to/from any after school activities, they can have friends over for playdates, etc. If I am not working she can be with one or 2 of the kids while I do other things so all of the kids are not spending hours in the car going to activities, dr appts, etc for siblings. Sick days for the kids are no issue. With 4 kids who do not seem to get sick at the same time, I can't imagine how many days off I would need to take. Plus when mine were younger they rarely got sick b/c they were not in daycare. The difference is shocking. I could go on and on but after having experienced day care briefly, the difference is life changing for our household.

I'm not OP.
It sounds great, but what is her rate? And are you in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not really a safety net to have a nanny, they get sick, they have family emergencies, they need days off too. Daycare at least guarantees in advance what days they’ll be open and can have substitute teachers

I'm sure everyone's experience differs, but it's been a safety net for us. We did daycare for 2 years with our first child and then got a nanny after our second was born. Kids still get sick, but definitely less than we experienced with daycare. Nanny takes vacations, but they are planned well in advance and we can arrange time off, grandparent visits, etc. to cover nanny's time off. The nanny occasionally has unplanned sick days, but they are far, far fewer than daycare sick days were for us. Also, with two or more kids, the kids may not be sick at the same time, which can increase the number of sick kid days you need to cover with multiple kids. We just had one kid sick and out of school for a week, and then our second kid caught the illness just as our first kid was getting better. It would have been two weeks with a kid out of school/daycare, but our nanny covered all of it.

You need to make expectations clear with any nanny you hire, including whether you expect them to work when your kids are home sick. If our kids are super sick (e.g., vomiting), we don't ask our nanny to come, but fevers, colds, etc. she still comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have three children - 7, 4, and 18 months. For the last seven years, we've used the same wonderful daycare, managing our work schedules with a few hiccups, but overall fine. Our two oldest are at the same DCPS school.

This year, with our third and so many viruses going around, we're having to miss so much work due to sicknesses and frankly at our breaking point. We're seriously considering a nanny for the first time. The cost difference is not insignificant - it's almost $20K more, assuming $27/hour, 45 hours a week, including all the payroll taxes, etc. And that's after subtracting all the extra childcare expenses we'd be saving like no school camps and aftercare. We'd keep our house cleaner who comes 1Xweek, but would love the nanny to help keep the house organized, maybe help us with laundry while the toddler sleeps. At the core of what we're trying to solve for is a lack of safety net - day to day we manage fine, but when work travel or kids sickness interfere with our routines, it's chaos.

Struggling to make this decision and would love to hear from any daycare families who have made the switch. What are the pros and cons? Are you happy with your decision? Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

For the 10th million time, nannies only do children's laundry and only housework connected to children. If you want/need a maid, hire a maid 10,000,001 Nannies take care of children not your laundry, cook dinner for you, or clean your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if older kids are in school until 3:15?

Do the kids look after themselves and feed themselves and wash their laundry and clean their toys? Do they stay in a box during school breaks? Or will the nanny be responsible for their care? $30/hr minimum for 3 kids, laundry, and tidying. The parents can wash their own clothes!