Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience with daycare has been fantastic. We also have someone who helps with pick up and bed time in the afternoon and it's been a lifesaver. Even paying her $20 for those 3 hours is still way cheaper than a full time nanny would be. It's best of both worlds for us.

So you have a kid in daycare and a nanny pick up, dinner (I assume) and putting to bed? When do you see your kid? Or what do you actually do with or for your kid?

They use their baby monitor to watch their little angel sleep.

Ha! I am the PP here that posted about the nanny. Nice try mommy shamers. I get home at the same time as my kids (4:30) and we all hang out together from 4:30-7:00 while the nanny plays with us/one of the kids while I am with the other, or does their laundry,cleans the kitchen, or generally organizes the house. The nanny has never once put them to sleep in their lives (one is almost 4 and one is 1.5). I do that every night and come downstairs to a spotless house so that I can just relax and be with my husband after they go to sleep. I'm also with them from 6-8 every morning before they leave for school. So at least 4.5 hours during the week every day and all day on the weekends? I'd say that's pretty good for a parent with a demanding career. But carry on with your nastiness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daycare. Nothing is better than more oversight. You never know with a nanny.

You never know with a daycare either.

What's the point of all this fearmongering? Y'all just sit around and trade barbs about nannies or daycares, but not really doing anything about actually improving childcare in your area. You can advocate for high quality universal pre-ks for all kids, and also advocate better working conditions for nannies and daycare employees, or even get involved with coops or boards...but that would require more energy than fomenting unnecessary drama on DCUM.

Likewise, PP. It looks like you're not out this morning picketing to improve conditions for daycare workers, you're too busy stirring up more drama on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no clue why anyone would choose a daycare over a good nanny. All those germs. Shudder.

Daycare is for poors.

Hmm, our daycare was about $2300 for a 1yo. That was 7 years ago.

We are so happy with our nanny. She is a fantastic teacher for our kids and the most loving person I’ve ever known. She organizes play groups for our toddler, always has an art project at the ready and reads to them for easily over an hour a day. She has always narrated since they were newborns and their receptive communication is off the charts.

She is a true godsend for me too. Aside from covering holidays and kids sick days, she makes all their food fresh and homemade, does their laundry and linen, keeps their closets and drawers up to date and does their grocery shopping and ordering. Because of her, DH and I get to spend more quality time with the kids.

If you can afford it, my advice is to get a good, educated nanny. The good nannies are expensive (starting $25 to $30 an hour) and many have preschool teaching experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Daycare. Nothing is better than more oversight. You never know with a nanny.

You never know with a daycare either.

What's the point of all this fearmongering? Y'all just sit around and trade barbs about nannies or daycares, but not really doing anything about actually improving childcare in your area. You can advocate for high quality universal pre-ks for all kids, and also advocate better working conditions for nannies and daycare employees, or even get involved with coops or boards...but that would require more energy than fomenting unnecessary drama on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our experience with daycare has been fantastic. We also have someone who helps with pick up and bed time in the afternoon and it's been a lifesaver. Even paying her $20 for those 3 hours is still way cheaper than a full time nanny would be. It's best of both worlds for us.

So you have a kid in daycare and a nanny pick up, dinner (I assume) and putting to bed? When do you see your kid? Or what do you actually do with or for your kid?

They use their baby monitor to watch their little angel sleep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were very happy with a great daycare that was at my office, so I could go down when I ahd a few minutes or go for lunch, etc. Felt like there was good oversight and lots of interaction. Most importantly, the "teachers" interacted with and talked with the kids. Research shows that children who hear more words when they are young do better in school and life. My concern about nannies is that many that I see with young kids don't seem to speak English very well. If you go with a nanny, I strongly suggest it is one who speaks English (or I suppose the language of your household) well and will talk to and/or read to your child throughout the day.

People will pay big money for a bilingual nanny. Earlier is better for learning a foreign language. Exposure to a second language won’t make them verbally disadvantaged or deficient in their first language later.

You don't need to pay $$$... there are so many Hispanic or West Indies nannies.

Anonymous wrote:We were very happy with a great daycare that was at my office, so I could go down when I ahd a few minutes or go for lunch, etc. Felt like there was good oversight and lots of interaction. Most importantly, the "teachers" interacted with and talked with the kids. Research shows that children who hear more words when they are young do better in school and life. My concern about nannies is that many that I see with young kids don't seem to speak English very well. If you go with a nanny, I strongly suggest it is one who speaks English (or I suppose the language of your household) well and will talk to and/or read to your child throughout the day.

People will pay big money for a bilingual nanny. Earlier is better for learning a foreign language. Exposure to a second language won’t make them verbally disadvantaged or deficient in their first language later.

We were very happy with a great daycare that was at my office, so I could go down when I ahd a few minutes or go for lunch, etc. Felt like there was good oversight and lots of interaction. Most importantly, the "teachers" interacted with and talked with the kids. Research shows that children who hear more words when they are young do better in school and life. My concern about nannies is that many that I see with young kids don't seem to speak English very well. If you go with a nanny, I strongly suggest it is one who speaks English (or I suppose the language of your household) well and will talk to and/or read to your child throughout the day.

Anonymous wrote:Nanny. And start her before you go back to work. MIL as a babysitter is a “challenging” prospect and rarely works out.

This.

Anonymous wrote:Our experience with daycare has been fantastic. We also have someone who helps with pick up and bed time in the afternoon and it's been a lifesaver. Even paying her $20 for those 3 hours is still way cheaper than a full time nanny would be. It's best of both worlds for us.

So you have a kid in daycare and a nanny pick up, dinner (I assume) and putting to bed? When do you see your kid? Or what do you actually do with or for your kid?

Our experience with daycare has been fantastic. We also have someone who helps with pick up and bed time in the afternoon and it's been a lifesaver. Even paying her $20 for those 3 hours is still way cheaper than a full time nanny would be. It's best of both worlds for us.

Anonymous wrote:Daycare. Nothing is better than more oversight. You never know with a nanny.

You never know with a daycare either.

Lots of strong opinions. If $ really not a factor for you, I'm in the camp to find the best nanny and find the best daycare and then pick based on which one you think will let you go to work without constantly wanting to call/check-in/worry - so make sure you've met everyone face-to-face, and then sounds like you have MIL in wings in case you want to change your plans if after you decide you find out what you thought was the most perfect fit, exact right selection turns out to not actually be the right answer for you after all (definitely happens and usually feel it pretty quick once back at work).

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We can afford a daycare or a nanny but not sure a nanny is worth double the price. The daycare we are looking at is very highly recommended by online reviews, friends, and neighbors. It's from infant through pre-k. We still haven't made a decision, but unless we find a nanny we really like, we might go with daycare. A nanny sounds nice but the worry of relying on one person worries us. What if we choose a bad fit? What if the nanny isn't as engaging as we had hoped? We have a bi-weekly housekeeper who can do the laundry if becomes an issue, but we don't mind doing it. I like that he will get plenty of socialization at daycare, but I do worry about him getting sick.

Well, it sounds like your mind is made up. We had a nanny and to us she was worth the price and then some more but you do what you feel comfortable with. Also, from your post it sounds like you can afford both but hiring a nanny could be a stretch and that's okay too. To me it was extremely important that my kid was in his own bed, own home, that was me and you will have your own list of must haves. Good luck!