Nanny vs. Day Care Center

Nikki - posted on 01/14/2012

for that age and with having a waiting list and your child being 3 months old i would suggest a nanny. I have been a child care provider in licensed centers for 15 years and i would strongly encourage a nanny because at that young of an age in a child care center i personal feel babies don't get the attention they need. the ratio is low but one person for 3-4 babies or 6-8 with 2 caregivers as a person you can only do so much.



a nanny it is a more home like atmosphere and your child can still get socialization with other children by going to your local library or hospital there are programs out there to so children get socialization without having to go to day care.

Komal - posted on 12/28/2011

I stayed home with my son until he was 2 because we were fortunate enough to be able to do that.

Now that i've started working, we found a home day care for him - the lady is great - she only watches 2 other kids so my son gets plenty of attention and playtime and it's reasonable too. We pay about $145 a month

Kelly - posted on 03/10/2009

We struggled with day care centres for a couple of years and decided to bite the bullet and get a nanny.  This took some time as well as she was coming over from Hong Kong.  But now that she has been here for a while I can't imagine my life without her.  She cooks, cleans, does laundry and even teaches the kids and keeps them up to date with their studies.  When my hubby and I do get home we can enjoy quality time with them without the fuss of running like mad dogs to get dinner, get homework done etc....and when our schedules have us both out of town it is nice to know that they are getting proper care and keeping to their schedules.   Yes it is costly but well worth the expense.

Danielle - posted on 03/09/2009

I'm glad someone else on here loves the idea of an au pair! :) It's such a cool thing and I never knew about it until another mom told me about Au Pairs! You're right, they are cheaper than a nanny and it's virtually the SAME THING! :)   And the best part is, you pay for the au pair - not per child like you would in a daycare!  SO you could have 10 kids or 2 kids and you pay the same!

Danielle - posted on 03/09/2009

Hey! i was in the same boat as you! The clock was ticking before my maternity leave was up and I still had no solution for daycare. I found out about Au Pairs and did some research. It turns out it's very affordable and the difference between nannies and au pairs  is that au pairs come from different countries and can teach your child(ren) different languages, etc! It's awesome.  I am the local advocate for au pairs in my community and I help out other families in my area find au pairs (if that's the route they want to go on).  If anyone on here wants more info - let me know :)

Danielle-

Jenni - posted on 01/04/2009

For our family we also need the two incomes so both our boys are in daycare. I love the structure and the security of the daycare. There are cameras in every room so I can log onto my computer and see what the kids are doing. Talk about feeling comforted. I also like the actives that my boys do. Granted one is 3 and one is 8 months but they are always coming home with some art project. My 3 year old is learning Spanish and how to write his letters as well as numbers. I love that the daycare has a curriculum that they are to follow as far as what to teach, I would have no idea how to keep kids that busy and learning as much as they do at school. Ultimately I love having the boys at daycare and feel that while we aren't with them all the time, it is best for them in the long run.

Sara - posted on 01/04/2009

I went back to work when my daughter was 12 weeks, and non of the in-home licensed daycares had availabilities. We never looked at nannies... I think I assumed they'd be to expensive for 1:1 care. We found a great center close to home, but they didn't have a full time opening, just 4 days a week, and we needed 5. We scrambled to see if my husband could work from home 1 day a week, or my parents (who are semi-retired, my dad works from home) could take her. Then, the week before she was to start at the daycare, a full time position opened up. And, as painful as it is for me to be away from her, I'm thrilled with the daycare we chose. They love her and are great with her. And I appreciate the transparency, peer-to-peer supervision and state mandate. Plus, they have a generator, so no worries about no heat/power during winter ice storms.

BTW... we pay $210/week and get 2 weeks of "vacation" - so $10.5k/year

Amanda - posted on 01/03/2009

There are pros and cons to both in my mind. I had a nanny for my first one that kept him safe but was always trying to get him to go sleep! Now I have two in day care and it has done wonders for the social aspect for my son. One thing I like about day care is that they are accountable to the state to keep up standards of care. Usually if there is a squeeky wheel they will weed her out and replace her with someone else. If you have a nanny you have no idea what goes on during the day. They do get one on one attention but is it good or bad? WE call day care 'Little school" because he is learning so much more than I think he would with a nanny.

Jeanne - posted on 12/30/2008

We preferred to use a daycare close to home. It was a family daycare which was less costly and more personal. The advantage of using a daycare close to home is that when you're sick the kid can still go to daycare and you can truly rest, and if you change jobs you don't have to change daycares. The disadvantage is not being able to spend as many hours in the office due to travel time; we handled that by sharing the pickup and dropoff duties (one of us would drop off and stay at work later, the other would go in early and pick up) and it was nice having one of us home sooner to start dinner etc. Both my kids had very good experiences with the family daycare.

Alexandra - posted on 12/29/2008

I drove myself crazy looking at daycare centers and looking at nanny agencies, then a friend of my suggested that I ask the local church. I went to the local church and found a lady who has infants in her home. She is licenced by the state and is very well known in the church. We are not church people but it really helped us knowing that she was licenced and that she was repeatable in her own church. I go back to school ( I am a teacher) in one week and I am very excited to have found this person! She is about $180 a week but I don't have to pay school vacations and the summer!

Noraini - posted on 12/29/2008

well, its a choice for you to make. its up to your judgment. as for me, i just doesn't seems to have any luck with nanny cum helper cum maid. my girls are now ages 5+, 3+ and 1+ used to enjoy their routine at a daycare center. my busy schedule plus my hubby's workload left me with no other choice than to leave my kids at my mum's place of which a 2 hours travel by flight. ehm... sacrifices is needed in whatever decision you shall make. as for me, the security of the child place the important aspect in my decision. though i miss my kids badly, i know for sure there are in good hands.

Daphne' - posted on 12/28/2008

Well, I was lucky my aunt has a home daycare. I would recommend using a smaller home daycare because your child is able to have more one on one attention.

Also check around and see if your city has a child care referral center and they can usually refer you to places that have openings with all the requests/standards that you prefer.

Lee-Anne - posted on 12/28/2008

Have you thought about an Au Pair. I would have loved to stay home, but it wasn't an option for us. When we were reseaching our options we found this to be cheaper than a nanny and still allowed my son to have one on one care. When my son was 4 months old we had our first Au Pair come and stay with us. It was a great experience and my son loved Anna. My son is now 19 months and we are have our second Au Pair and again have lucked out with a great person.

Tonya - posted on 12/28/2008

I felt the same way as Sheena. Since I didn't know of anyone personally, I wasn't comfortable leaving the care of my son to a stranger. A friend of a friend recommended a lady who watched my son for a few months. She then told me I had to call before stopping by. I, of course, did not and found him in a play pen when it wasn't his nap time and it looked like he had been there for a while. I now know why her home seemed so spotless. I know the chances of abuse are slim but the daycare gave me peace of mind that there were checks and balances in place. I went to 3 or 4 daycares and found one I was thrilled with. It was about 12K/yr 6 years ago

Sheena - posted on 12/27/2008

Being a stay at home mom was not an option for me. We need two incomes to live on. So... I sacrified a little longer drive to get into a day care center. I was not comfortable with a nanny or in home day care because my cousin was abused in one. I felt more comfortable placing my daughter in a center where the rules are more strict. It takes me about 45 mins from the time I leave home until I get to work after dropping my daughter off. I pay about 10K a year.

Andrea - posted on 12/27/2008

For the first year of our son's life he had a Nanny, but I worked part-time so that it would be about the same cost as a day care. Then when he was one we switched him to the day care that we preffered. Helped us to not make a rush decision, get him a bit older on the immunity side and allowed me a little extra time with him!

Val - posted on 12/26/2008

have you tryed craigslist online in your area. It seems to work out very good for me. then I get to decide my cost. You can either post or select.

Stephanie-Mathew - posted on 12/24/2008

Both day cares and nannies are expensive. With a nanny you will have more of a one on one care for your daughter and in a daycare your child will grow socially. You just have to way out the options. I would also look in towns just outside of your work as well.

Rachel - posted on 12/24/2008

I took my daughter to a friend of mine for awhile but she had her 4th kids so i had to put her in a day care and now my daughter loves it, she has all of her friends there and it gives me a break to, it does cost but i have to do it and she loves it so the cost isnt to bad knowing that she loves to go to daycare

Eppie - posted on 12/23/2008

I stayed home with my children until they were 2 1/2, but currently I am a nanny of 3 children ages 3, 2, and 8 months I have been with the family for almost 3 1/2 years since the 1st child was born. I love their kids like they were my own. Your daughter would get more one on one attention with a nanny. Also a nanny does things around the house like laundry, dishes etc. so when you get home from work you have less to do. A daycare is great too I worked at one when I was younger. We didn't have infants there though. I know the ratio is 4 to 1 for infants here in Oregon. That just seems like alot for one person to love and play with. Another option is to share a nanny with a friend who has a child about the same age. Both daycare and nannies are great options.