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Nanny vs Daycare

glawglaw member
in Working Moms
As a sort of follow up to my previous post about considering switching to daycare...

Besides the financial aspect, what are your reasons for choosing daycare over a nanny for a baby under 12-18 months who is not very social yet and doesn't get the same benefit from activities/other children as an older kid would.

If finances are a part of it, I totally get that, but if the cost was the same, why not have a nanny who can give your child one-on-one attention, in your baby's own environment, and do exactly what you want her to do?
BFP#1 10/17/11, m/c due to SCH 11/21/11 @ 8w4d; BFP#2 2/26/12, baby girl arrived 11/1/12; BFP#3 12/3/13, EDD: 8/18/14.

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Re: Nanny vs Daycare

  • Red_DahliaRed_Dahlia member
    I preferred the accountability of a center. They are being watched (by other teachers, by other students, the administrators, other parents, and the video cameras). Unlike a nanny at home who can get lax and not pay attention to my kid, even though they are the only kid they have. I also didn't want someone in my home all day. (I know nannies work out great for many families, but the accountability was something that tipped the balance of the scale for me)
    DD born March 2011
    DS born Dec 10, 2013
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  • jlaOKjlaOK member
    edited September 2013

    I like the reliability of a center.  Other than bad weather days (which may be an issue for a nanny) I know up front what days they will be closed and don't have to factor in vacation and sickness.

    EDIT:  Also, the center will most likely always be there.  I will never have to be in a pinch like you would be with a nanny if he/she quits.

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  • jnnfrrose6jnnfrrose6 member
    All of the above.  Plus, centers run backgrounds on everyone there.  Of course, you would too for a nanny, but the capabilities of a facility to get good screens are better.  Also, my SIL was a nanny.  She's a lovely woman, but if she can be a nanny, anyone can...
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  • litzo27litzo27 member
    I guess I'm no help because I chose nannies for both DS1 and DS2 for the first 20 months for reasons you specified. I had to take the money out of the equation (definitely much more expensive) but I wanted the one on one attention in my own home while they are young. I found fabulous nannies - could not wish for better and never had issues with accountability, communication, or really anything else. I did make sure to create other socialization opportunities - playdates once a week, playground, etc.
    I guess other reasons could be that payment is easier for the center (vs. taxes for nanny), more predictable, you need back up care if nanny needs a day off or is sick. I found all of these manageable.
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  • 82Sonia82Sonia member
    We wanted a nanny but it was cost prohibitive for us (the women we really liked were in the $20/hr range).

    We like our center, just don't like all the colds. I do love the flexibility, reliability and accountability that they offer.

     

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  • ebp913ebp913 member
    edited September 2013
    Our nanny improves the quality of life that my family enjoys.  We spend less time in the car, our mornings aren't chaotic, and we have to devote almost zero time to any prep of food or bags or anything in the evenings.  Most nights we have the kids down by 8:30 and then we just relax. Sure there are some dishes and laundry and general cleanup but our nanny helps with that too so my husband and I spend time together and we get to relax.  This is invaluable to me right now and the reason why we chose to hire a nanny in the first place.  I totally understand accountability and socialization but for our family and our priorities, a nanny was the better choice for us.  

    We will probably enroll our daughter in a part time mom's day out or something next year but for now, we are very happy with the way things are going.  It also helps a ton that we have family we can call if the nanny is sick or off.  I also know that the number of days our nanny is sick vs the number of days I would be home with kids who were too sick for daycare is a lot less.  Because of the nature of my husband's job, I do almost all sick days so this saves me a lot of PTO.  
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    Team Green turned Team Pink with #1, Team Green turned Team Blue with #2, Team Green turned Team Pink again with #3
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  • mommymegan831mommymegan831 member
    We sent DD to a sitter who only watched her and one other child because I wanted DD to have plenty of one on one attention, sleep in a bedroom rather than in a room with other kids around, avoid illnesses, all the reasons you'd choose a nanny.  I kept her home at 2 when I had DS and at 2 1/2 and 6 months they both went to daycare because I didn't want to do 2 drop offs and I wanted DD around other kids more.  If I took a shorter maternity leave and went back before DS had good head control and was on solids and napping twice a day I may have felt differently, but daycare was no where near as bad as I had feared.  He did seem to enjoy being around other kids, he seemed to be getting enough attention, he slept well, and was hardly sick
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  • iverske9iverske9 member
    Mine would be more that if the nanny gets sick I would have to scramble for childcare.
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  • rubber_chickenrubber_chicken member
    My kid is going to go to preschool eventually.  The children in our center who started as babies all have smooth dropoffs, are happy to get to "school".  Whereas the children who started as toddlers/preschoolers after being home with a parent or nanny have a miserable adjustment.  There's a 4 year old who's been screaming every morning for 3 weeks now (they're not ignoring him, they assigned a teacher just to him for dropoff!)
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  • FemShepFemShep member
    I had a nanny for my older daughter for a year and a half when she was 6, and had a bad experience in spite of background checks, etc.  She got upset when we cut her hours, became very unreliable, and eventually called me a murderer to my DD because I put our elderly cat, who was suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and having 6-8 bloody poops a day, to sleep.  So we won't ever have a nanny again.

    We knew we would send DD2 to a center for a number of reasons.  I feel centers, especially ones with a curriculum, do a much better job of preparing LOs for school.  DD1 had an amazingly easy adjustment to school.  Even babies absolutely benefit from socialization.  While toddlers may engage in parallel play, they do form friendships and learn from the older kids in their classroom.  I love that I never have to worry about sick days, taxes, and benefits.  I feel much more comfortable knowing that the teachers are always observed and have to adhere to  strict policies.  We could afford a nanny for what we pay for a center for DD2, and we wouldn't make the switch. 
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