Daycare vs. Nanny Share
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Anonymous
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FTM here looking for advice. My LO is scheduled to start daycare in September (she will be about 7 months old). She has been at home with a nanny since about 3 months old. My nanny has another position starting in September (at the time we hired her, we knew we had a spot in the daycare starting in September). Recently we met another couple with an infant a month or so younger than LO (who live about 5 mins away from us), who were looking to start a nanny share and asked if we were interested. We would jointly have to hire a new nanny to care for our LOs. Now I am undecided about what to do - I really like the daycare that LO is signed up for, but also like the idea of being able to keep her home for a few more months. I am wondering if it will be better for her to go to daycare (more activities, more social interaction) or better for her to stay home (less exposure to germs, more personal attention).
I am open to any advice - pros and cons from parents who choose one over the other... |
Anonymous
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This is just our experience and by no means am I trying to speak for all nannies or all daycares. We did a nanny share from 12-18 mo because I wanted something more personal for our son. I had stayed home part time up until then. We interviewed ~5 nannies and lucked out finding someone we really liked and connected with. The other 4 were all very nice women, but they just didn't feel *right* for us. You really need to dedicate yourself to the nanny search and be willing to say no if you don't find anyone you like.
We switched to daycare at 18 mo. The nanny moved out of the area, and we wanted our son to be with other children more. We LOVE our daycare. I feel like the directors have it together, and it trickles down and shows in the teachers they hire. Now that I see what a great place it is, I would have no problem sending an infant there. The ratio in MD is 3 to 1 for infants, and often there are floaters to help. Whether you decide on nanny or daycare, I think it's important that you don't settle. And as for germs, they're going to be exposed eventually. My MIL is a kindergarten teacher, and she says she can tell which kids didn't go to daycare because they have no immunities built up. |
Anonymous
| Honestly, I'd take the daycare spot because those are like unicorns around here. |
Anonymous
lol |
Anonymous
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Having had a child in daycare and a child in a nanny share, I would go with the daycare.
As the previous poster said, daycare spots are like unicorns, almost impossible to get. If it doesn't work out, or you don't like it after a couple of months, it ls very easy to find a good nanny. I hated the logistics of a nanny share, stuff turning up missing, managing the nanny, etc. My son that was in daycare from 4 months until pre k rarely got sick in daycare and as a rising 7th grader rarely missed school in elementary school for illness. We couldn't get our second child into the daycare the first child attended and that's why we went with the nanny share. |
Anonymous
| OP here - thanks for the advice. I think we were leaning towards the daycare too. And thanks for reminding me how hard daycare spots are in the area! |