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[quote=Anonymous][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 [b]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.[/b]

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.

[/quote]

FYI, you might not be aware that Au Pairs with APIA and Cultural Care are required to have 36 consecutive hours off every week. So, you can't have Au Pair work, for example, 9am to 4pm Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri AND expect her to work Saturday night and return to work Monday morning because she would not be getting her required consecutive 36 hours off per week.

https://kpaydo.aupairnews.com/2014/11/18/what-does-the-cultural-care-program-rule-of-1-½-consecutive-days-off-mean/

However, you could make this scenario workable if you either let her start work later on Monday (like noon instead of 9am) OR if you have her work Friday night or Saturday morning (brunch date?) instead of Saturday night.

Nannies have none of these regulations to consider and every nanny I know is willing and often able to cover weekend date nights for her nanny families.

Another thing to consider is that yes, there are many nightmare stories out there for both awful au pairs and awful nannies. The biggest difference though, is in how easy it is to handle the situation, make a clean break and move on. With a live out nanny, of course in a "nightmare" situation it is never easy, but ultimately you fire her, say goodbye, and literally never have to see her again or have any repercussions, other than finding a new nanny. With an Au Pair, you have to go through the mediation process with the LCC, may need to continue housing the au pair for a few weeks while her situation gets sorted out, probably won't be getting any of your thousands of dollars in annual fees back, and are lucky if you can find a halfway decent replacement in the rematch pool (or you can wait several more weeks for a brand new au pair to arrive from overseas).

Good luck![/quote]

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