- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Babies: 3 - 6 Months
jewels_025
member
Who would you rather watch your LO while you work ?
jewels_025
member
Taking into consideration the difference in costs what would you rather choose if all were available?
Daycare
SAHM who is a friend
In home nanny
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Who would you rather watch your LO while you work ?
We actually have a SAHM who is a friend keeping Tagan. Her husband works for the local FD / EMT - which was also a major plus for us.
EDIT: - She keep two other kids
One boy two months older than Tagan
One girl that is 2yrs
Daycare. That probably sounds like a weird choice, but here's why:
I'd be uncomfortable having a friend do it b/c there's too much chance of awkwardness/disagreements ruining a friendship. If I disagree with how she's caring for my baby, I'd be uncomfortable talking to her about it because it could be seen as insulting her parenting skills. Alsok I hate taking 'favours' from someone, but on the flipside, it would be weird to pay a friend.
If I'm going to have someone else care for my child, I'd rather he be around other kids so he's socialized more, which is why I wouldn't choose an in-home nanny.
Friend who is a SAHM. Why it's the best scenario IMO:
-your kids would get to interact with her kids. You wouldn't get interaction with other kids with a nanny.
-more personalized attention. Daycare would probably have significantly more kids to take care of, and your SAHM friend would give your LO personal care.
-someone you know and can trust with your child. You can see how she raises her own kids and if you have similar parenting styles, you don't have to worry about how they will be treated in someone else's hands.
ETA: If your SAHM friend is the type of parent who throws the kid in front of the tv all day long or does anything else from a parenting perspective that you would not your child raised around, I would go against the SAHM idea. If that takes the SAHM option out, I would choose in home nanny while the child is young, since a child less than 2 years old isn't really playing interactively with others-they will play next to other kids side by side but they don't really have the social skills to play with other kids. At 2, I would transition to daycare so LO can socialize.
dc .. hands down
the social interaction skills they gain are worth every penny.
my brother and his wife are starting their lil girl in daycare come september. currently my sil's mom is watching her but they realize that she needs more socialization than what grandma can offer.
My mom is currently watching DS (I only work 2 days during the week). But I would pick between a SAHM that is a friend or a in home nanny, I would much rather my son have one on one time when I can't be with him, we go to church regularly so he gets the interaction and he sees my nephew a few times a week.
I say daycare.
1) My MIL watches our nephew full-time during the day ... and he is WAAYYYY behind both socially and developmentally already at 20 months. I mean, the kid already has his own recliner and knows how to operate the remote control to find Barney!! At 20 months! My MIL 'brags' how he can sit in front of the TV for hours! (I think to myself, that's nothing to be proud of.) Plus, just because of her age, grandma isn't as physically active as a mom would be, nor does grandma join any "moms and tots" play groups to help my nephew either. There's nothing wrong with being a SAHM, but as long as the child is still exposed to other kids/activities ... which, sadly, my nephew is not to a large degree.
2) I don't feel comfortable with a nanny inside my house with my kid. Too many crazy nanny-cam TV stories. And just in general, I don't like strangers in my house when I'm not there.
3) Daycare workers are almost always professionally trained in childcare, if not health care in some cases. The facilities are overseen by state regulatory agencies to meet a minimum standard of care. (Including first aid and dietary requirements for toddlers.) Depending on where you go, there are lesson plans for the kids and daily journaling of your child's care. It's more expensive, but I think the extra expense is worth it when I think of how my nephew is being taken care of by my MIL and the non-starter of an in-home nanny.
I actually switched my DD from a SAHM who was watching her to the daycare within my school district. I am much happier with the daycare and there are a couple of reasons.
1.) They keep track of and document diaper changes, bottles, naps, development, activities, etc.
2.) They encourage independence in children since they are not able to hold a child all day long. DD has become much better at entertaining herself since starting daycare and I don't see this as a bad thing.
3.) I know that in the daycare she isn't watching any TV. DH almost always have the TV on in our house, for background noise, entertainment, etc. Before Tegan was born I never really thought about how often the TV was on, but now that I catch her watching the TV, I try to keep it off as much as possible while she is awake. If she was in someone's house, there's no telling how much TV she might be "watching."
4.) There's a system of checks and balances within the daycare and there's always more than one teacher in a room. If something were to happen to LO at daycare they would have to provide documentation of the incident and there would be witnesses.
Nanny for the first year or two then daycare once DD can actually play with other kids.
this
ditto