Reply to I need to make my life significantly easier -- "hacks" to make life, and parenting life, easier?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Pffffft to "hacks".  The [b]things that have made my life easier[/b] are:

1) [b]Nanny instead of daycare[/b]
2) Cleaning lady
3) Grocery delivery
4) DH who does his fair share
5) Short commute (this meant giving up space, paying more $$$ for our home)

The only "hack" type thing I'd say is dry shampoo, ha![/quote]

I have not found this to be the case at all. We’ve had to switch to a nanny b/c the pandemic and I really miss my kids’ preschool. Now I’ve got extra people in my home all day generating extra commotion and wear and tear on my house, plus I have to provide paid leave/deal with taxes/pay for a workers comp policy, etc. We’ve gone through a couple in-home providers now and they each have their own issues (poor time management, not carrying out the activities I asked them to do, etc.). Maybe I haven’t found the perfect match, but I’ve talked to friends with similar issues. Honestly I find managing an employee to be a headache I don’t want. This has made me realize how much I never want to move into management!

Before covid we had a really nice montessori school a mile down the road that offered a nice meal plan. I could drop my kids for the day and they’d do really cool activities and crafts that I didn’t have to prepare for. It cost about as much as a nanny, but I think quality out of home care (esp if you work at home) is GOLDEN. [/quote]

I think working at home with kids at home has changed this calculation for sure. But pre-pandemic, my kids' nanny would show up in the morning and my husband could just walk out the door, no matter what state they were in (I left for work before he did). After work I only had to get myself home and then there we were. No drive from our house somewhere else before or after work. No unpacking baby bag and doing laundry and washing bottles. No having to get kids dressed and fed in the morning. My best friend used a daycare and I used a nanny and I had it considerably easier than she did during those years. Yes, I had to manage someone (and I am also someone who hates being in charge of people), but a good nanny means you don't have to micromanage them, you certainly should not be cleaning up after them, and you don't ever have to worry when your kids are sick. [/quote]

I could see how if you have a commute and weren’t at home all day then this could be convenient, especially for the baby years. But I’ve found my 3 and 4 year old just have so much energy and aren’t doing well at home. I realize the pandemic again changes the calculation b/c they can’t really go anywhere the way a nanny could arrange in normal times. But I also imagine the nanny’s ability to do laundry and various other kid-related chores gets harder as the kids get older and drop nap. So I think the advice to simplify by getting a nanny really applies to people working out of the home and who have kids under 3.

Personally I didn’t find daycare starting around 8 months to be that hard. We’ve always used a center-based meal plan though so I wasn’t dealing with packing anything except bottles and a spare set of clothes. Sure there are sick days to deal with, but nannies also get sick unexpectedly and require paid holidays. I find it stressful now having my entire childcare situation dependent upon one person. [/quote]

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