Pros/Cons of having a friend watch baby in home

Christina617

I'm looking for some opinions.  A friend of mine had a baby recently and has decided to stay at home.  She casually offered to watch Ethan for less than what we are paying daycare.  She's hoping to find something so she can continue staying at home.  We'd need to talk more about it to see if she's seriously interested but I've been toying with the possibility today. 

He did fine at his first week of daycare and I think he would continue to do well there.  The ladies are very nice and I like the center but wonder if it would be great for him to be at my friend's house too.  He would be there 3 days a week and my schedule is pretty flexible if she/her child/Ethan are sick.  She lives very close to me and I do my paperwork from home so it would be convenient for pick up, drop off, and to go over to nurse him in between working.  I've known her for 10 years and she has a back ground in child development so I trust her.  Daycare is a 1 to 4 ratio and this situation would be 1 to 2.  If we switch then I think we'd send him to a center again when he's older... more of an educational & social aspect.

Those are the pros.  What would be some cons?  Or if you have more pros, I'd be interested in hearing those too.  Child care is such a tough decision.

nj67ws56qa21

I can only speak from my current situation, where my mom watches Maddy 3 days a week.  Even with my mom, we butt heads when it comes to schedules, and parenting the way I want it done.  One of my biggest problems is my mom's vacation time.  She's constantly planning vacations...and that is time that I have to find alternative care for Maddy (usually, Dh or I will take off of work).  That might be something you'd want to address with your friend.  What will she do when she takes a vacation...and what will happen when you do?  Will you still have to pay her?  Also, what if you disagree on parenting styles?  Will she continue to do it her way, or is she open to what you prefer for your child (nap schedules, etc.)  Just a couple of things to consider.  And, do you think your friendship is strong enough to survive a 'business' relationship?  What if you decide you wanted to take Ethan out of her care for whatever reason?  Will she take it personally?  Just a couple of things to consider. It sounds like it could be a very positive thing for you and Ethan, provided you work out a few of the kinks beforehand.  GL!   

banbear2

We are using an in home sitter and here are the pros and cons that I came up with:

Pros - never closes or delays due to weather, less expensive, Olivia will be the only newborn she has so she will get more one on one care.

Cons - she closes when she or her children are sick, when she takes  vacation we need to find another sitter, her care won't be as structured when she gets older like a daycare center.  The vacation/holiday thing kind of sucks because you usually have to pay them when they take vacation and when you do and for holidays but that's a small price to pay because it is so much less expensive per week.  Ours is very reasonable..she takes one week a year we pay her for and we can take one week that we pay her 50%.  Since she is a friend of yours she'll probably be reasonable and maybe wouldn't even expect you to pay her for vacations/holidays.

Like you we would like to put her into a center when she gets older, so she can interact with more kids her own age and get in a more structured environment.

Like Jill said, I'd suggest that you work out all the ground rules (illnesses, vacations etc....) beforehand so hopefully everything will go smoothly.