I don’t get a good feeling from daycare.

[Anonymous]

Are people really using fire pits on decks? Yikes.

[Anonymous]

If you feel worried about hiring a nanny, hire her while you're still on maternity leave so you can observe her while you're still home. Or, team up with a nanny share family where at least one parent works from home.

I've only toured the toddler rooms of daycares so I can't comment on how to evaluate a daycare for infant care.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I worked in three outstanding daycare centers before I had children. I knew I would never put my child in daycare. When you see behind the curtain, it’s hard to unsee.

Why would a nanny be any different? There’s literally zero oversight, i.e., they’re alone with your child the entire day.

OP, our kids didn’t start childcare until they were one (DH and I did a mix of WFH/baby-watching, and flexed the crap out of our schedules to do so). But, once we found one we liked and they started, we were very comfortable with it. You have to find one you’re comfortable with, and there are plenty of bad ones out there.

Sure there is oversight for a nanny. First, you check her references from other parents (not possible with daycare teachers). Then you install inexpensive cameras (not possible in daycare). Third, she is in your home and you or partner can drop in at any time (not really possible in most daycares). Fourth, your neighbors will tell you about how your nanny interacts with your child (never, ever happen in daycare - the teachers are forbidden from ratting on each other). And lastly, you run a background check on your nanny (which you can’t do with daycare workers).

Nannies earn double what daycare teachers make. Nannies bond with your child and will love your baby solely. As loving as daycare teachers can be, the bonds simply aren’t the same. My nanny would take a bullet for my kids.

LOL - man, you are working *hard* to convince yourself that your nanny >>> daycare. Of course you can check references with other parents at the daycare (BTDT). Many daycares have cameras. Good daycares allow parents to drop in at anytime (again, BTDT). If your nanny rarely leaves the house, your neighbors will have no clue how she interacts with your kid, moreover, one teacher at our daycare absolutely did rat out another, who was promptly fired. Finally, yes you absolutely can run background checks on people employed at daycares, including the directors and admins.

Good lord, lady. Rarely is cognitive dissonance so beautifully on display!

NP here. You live in a dream world, PP. I worked in daycares and you have no fricking clue what goes on outside the camera range or who the “teachers” are or how much they lie to parents. The smiles you see aren’t real.

And the teachers have nicknames for you too.

I'm sure they do.

I'm also sure that nannies aren't the childcare utopia some people, like this PP, think they are. My point wasn't that daycares don't have problems, it was that nannies have problems, too. Every point she made to imply that nannies are better than daycares is flat out wrong.

I think that poster's points are not very well thought out. Nannies are preferable to daycares for the vast majority of people but I don't think those are the reasons why.

Benefits of a nanny:
1) They are supposed to focus on taking care of your child and not other kids, 2) it helps prevents exposures to daycare illnesses because it's only 1 extra person that your child needs to be around everyday, and 3) convenience - no drop offs and pick ups.

I don't have any problem with daycares, but the illnesses is definitely a big issue. It's not just Covid, although that is the big thing right now. I quit my job after my kid bought home something that got everyone in the family sick for weeks. It's something you have to accept when you send your child to a daycare/school. I don't have a nanny but if I could afford it, I would hire one just for this reason alone.

OP - If I were you, I would avoid daycares for a child that young. Not because they're bad or you shouldn't trust daycares, because no choice is 100% perfect, but to protect the child from getting sick.