Reply to au pair vs. nanny share vs. in-home daycare cost comparison

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Since you are also considering fit, here are some other points to keep in mind:

1) Daycares don't close because a single provider is sick -- AP and nanny care have that risk.
2) Daycares won't tailor everything to your child's preferences, like nap times, or way of being put to sleep, favorite foods, etc. -- AP and nanny care can provide that
3) AP can handle very early or late hours, but maxes out at 45 hours/wk; daycares have firm opening and closing times (mostly)
4) Nannies have no hard-and-fast max hours, but likely would not work a split schedule or very long hours (i.e., very early + very late)
5) Nannies and APs are employees, and you will have to be an employer/host mom; this means dealing with the kinds of things HR would deal with, managing quality control, responding to requests, training, etc..
6) You have no control over whom the daycare employs; you control who your nanny or AP is.
7) There are no major "hidden costs" to daycare. With an AP or nanny, you have to consider food, activities, setting up the house, taxes, unemployment insurance, etc..
8) The daycare will deal with conflicts between your family and another family if any arise; in a nanny share, your relationship with the other family is as big a deal as the nanny you pick.

If you have a standard 9-5 (or 8-6) job, and you are generally good at working with people, I think a nanny share offers a lot of perks.

I would really cross off the AP if you need full time care.

If you can never, ever miss work for caregiver illness, or your schedule changes, daycare will probably be your best option.

Hiring a nanny means being an employer. Aside from the cost, it's the biggest negative to nanny care. It is unlikely that you will get through the entire relationship without having to say "no" or asking her to do something differently. If that will be hard for you, it's something to consider.[/quote]

Thanks for this thoughtful response. My husband is in TV/film and works weird hours and travels quite a bit. I have flexibility to WFH when needed. I don't see us ever needing more than 45 hours of care/week, and the AP route has the advantage of giving our AP a day off during the week when my husband might have a day off and then having her there on the weekend if we want to go out for a bit.

I would be lying if I didn't say I am VERY nervous about having someone so young taking care of our infant child AND living in our house. It feels like a big adjustment when you're also trying to get used to life as a new family of three! That's why we are also still considering the much more expensive and less flexible nanny share route.

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