Live-In Nanny or Two Separate Daycares

[Anonymous]

We're expecting our 2nd child this summer and will have 26 month old at that point. Our toddler is currently in an all day daycare that we're not crazy about and currently have him on a waitlist at some other places. If he were to get in, we'd feel like we should move him. None of the prospective places have great infant rooms and the daycare he's in now has an awful infant room. So, we're facing the prospect of two separate daycares. Because of my hours, my husband does the morning drop off and I pick our son up. If we had two kids at two different places, we'd have to either split morning drop-offs (which would be hard since I have a 45 minute commute and need to be work at 7:45). So, it occurred to us that maybe we should consider a live-in nanny. The cost would be just about equivalent (around $2500/month) but I cannot help but think it would be a lot more convenient and stress-free for everyone and would benefit an infant (who would escape a lot of the illnesses that caused us huge stress in our son's first year of life). I have two hesitations - 1) the intrusion in our privacy (we don't have a big house), and 2) that my son wouldn't have as much social interaction (we'd try to put him in a part-time pre-school program).

I would love any experiences people have with live-ins or with this choice and how they figured it all out. Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

I would go the nanny route. It sounds too difficult to manage 2 drop-offs to different centers when your commute is already long. And as you pointed out, the cost of a nanny would be about the same as paying for 2 daycare slots. Have you considered having a live-out nanny, since you are worried about the intrusion of privacy with a live-in nanny? Eventually, you could enroll the older son in a part-time, neighborhood preschool and then, it's the best of both worlds.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for your thoughts. A live-out nanny, based on our experience, would be at least $3200-3600/month for the hours we need. We canniot afford a live-out nanny, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

You may be able to find a good l/o nanny for less than you think. We hired someone for 2 kids for $600 a week and she's legal and native-english speaker and has 25 yrs experience.

There are a lot of good candidates looking out there and given the circumstances, maybe you could even hire someone who could bring her 2-3 yr old. That would give your toddler a playmate and cut costs for you.

[Anonymous]

We have two children a bit closer in age. We've had live-in and live-out nanny. Live-in definitely is more intrusive in your everyday life but you get used to it and even though you pay a bit less in terms of salary, you pay in other ways - we lost our home office, bought new furniture, pay for all food, toiletries, utilities, cell phone, etc. These are costs to consider when comparing the two.

[Anonymous]

We went from having two in daycare to an Au Pair two years ago. Haven't regretted it for a single moment. Only wish we had done it sooner!

The little one is signed up for all kinds of programs (art, music, sports) to make up for the lack of social interaction while the older one is in school.

GL!

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest an au pair, as well, which is cheaper.