Reply to Hire A Nanny or Daycare?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. The issue with nannies is they want to be paid in cash, but we will only do taxes. We talked with a handful of nannies that didn’t want to do taxes. That is not an option for us unless it’s only for a couple of months. I forgot to add that i’m only going back to work 3 days a week. [/quote]
Is one of you a gov't employee?[/quote]

OP here. No but we both hold medical degrees. I’m a nurse practitioner and my husband is an MD. We need to do everything above board. We’re not willing to risk losing our licenses, tax evasion by not paying taxes [/quote]

You aren’t going to lose your nursing license for paying a household employee under the table.  I am not saying that you should do it, but that’s not a realistic consequence.  
I wouldn’t do it because you know that you are only hiring her for a year, and she is going to want to collect unemployment while she looks for a new job.

Anyway, if you are an NP working PT, and your husband is an MD working full time, probably 90% of the issues that come up with childcare are going to fall on you.  A HUGE con of daycare is that if your kid gets sick (fever, diarrhea, etc), then they will call you to come and get him immediately.  And in daycare settings, this happens all of the time.  If you have an outpatient clinic with patients waiting in the lobby, it really sucks to have to tell them to go home.  Now, if you have grandma nearby or something like that, then this might not be a big deal.

The biggest con of hiring a nanny (besides finding a good nanny who wants to work three days a week) is going to be managing the nanny.  You have likely never managed anyone other than NP students.  You have to recognize that this is a skill set that you don’t have and need to learn, or you will be in trouble.

Finally, a pro for daycare in your situation is that it’s five days a week.  Which means that if you have an outpatient clinic, and you are only working three days a week, then you can shift the days that you are working if something comes up.  If your child is sick or if there is a snowstorm and you can’t make it in to work or whatever, you can cancel your clinic and reschedule most of your patients for the following day or one day next week.  And that’s a really nice luxury to have.  It makes things a lot less stressful.

Anyway, my two cents from one medical professional to another.

Oh, and last thing that’s pro nanny...I am a child psychiatrist, so I know a bit about infant development.  The problem I have with most daycares is not that they don’t provide 1:1 care.  The problem is that it is very difficult for the kids to attach to a caregiver, and that’s so important for infants.  Daycares usually have a high turnover of childcare providers, and they are often staffed to meet ratios rather than having particular caregivers paired with particular children.  I would look for a daycare that has a lot of employees who have been there for years, and that they pair specific caregivers with specific children.  Like, “this is Claire, and her kids are Larla, Larlo, and Oliver...and this is Emily, and her kids are sarah, Jack, and Eli...and this is Allison...”. Instead of “These are Claire, Emily, and Allison, and they have the 9 babies in the infant room.”

Alright..this is long enough!  Good luck!

[/quote]

OP here. Thank you for this. I still want to make sure we do everything above board if we go the nanny route. I was actually a nanny for many years in my 20’s, and I do understand the importance of a young infant having a nanny in the home. I also know many babies that thrive in daycare. The daycare is highly recommended. It also allows for 2 days, 3 days, and 5 days of care. It’s a mile from my home, and my mother-in-law ( retired) will be our backup care if he gets sick, etc. My friend who stays home can also help out if needed. Both live with 15-20 minutes of us.

The daycare we have chose keeps their employees. Almost all have been there for years. A co-worker has had her son in their since he was 3 months old       ( now in kindergarten), and a younger child who started months ago. They had the same caregivers throughout the whole time her son was there. [/quote]

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