3 yo twins. Daycare/preschool setting vs hire a new nanny??!!??

KDR1979 · July 2015

I work part time- two 10 hour days. We have had a wonderful nanny for almost 2 years now. She just turned 60 and told us that she would like to retire.

I work Tuesday/Thursday ~8:30am-6:30pm. I work in healthcare, so my job is not flexible. I go in during heavy snow, ice, etc. Also, if I call in sick (for myself or sick kids), a WHOLE lot of people are affected, so I try to never ever do this. My husband is a patent attorney and works a lot ( ~10-11 hour days at least Monday-Friday). His job can be more flexible than mine, but there are also times that he has client appointments and conference calls or court calls and he is NOT flexible at all and might not even realize if a daycare was trying to reach him if one of the kids got sick.

We really struggle for back up care as well. My in laws still work full time. My parents are retired, but live ~ 40 minutes away and are practically raising my single mom sister's kids, so they are too busy to help us. We are trying to decide if we should hire a new nanny (I have 2 interviews set up after placing a care.com ad) or do a daycare/preschool option. The kids were already signed up to go to pre school 5 hours/week starting in September. If we choose one of the school/childcare options, we wouldn't need for them to go to that private pre school anymore because they would get the education that they need at the new facility.

We really don't know what to do. We have never dropped our kids off at any daycare type setting. But, they are 3 now and might like going to school after getting used to the transition.

But, the schools have a 6 or 6:30pm pick up which can be hard for us. The illness/fever rule is also hard b/c we would really struggle with picking the kids up1-2 hours after getting a call if the kids got sick.

But, nannies are expensive (we use a payroll service, so we pay fees, taxes and state worker's comp) and they also get sick and call off sick and take vacations. When our current nanny takes vacation, I usually take 1/2 days at work since I can plan them in advance and just have a back up cover from 8am-2pm. It is hard to find someone to cover an 11 hour day when our nanny isn't available.

I was leaning toward the school option until I toured the first school today. I also interviewed a 20 year old education major today and it just confused me more. I thought ~20 young kids in a class with two twenty something year old teachers seemed like a lot. Everything else about the school was amazing though (it was Crème de la Crème). The school saves us money compared to our current nanny.

The 20 year old impressed me more than I was expecting too. She has M/W/F classes this semester and is hoping to keep that schedule for this whole school year. Her hourly rate would be slightly cheaper than our current nanny. She is willing to take care of sick kids.

I don't know what to do!

Any suggestions???

I have another nanny interview on Friday and visit another school next Wednesday. I am really hoping that I make the right choice!

Thanks if you read all of this. I appreciate any insight!

chicagobride_07 · July 2015

We have a two year old with inflexible jobs as well. We have no local family support; grandparents live thousands of miles away. We have had a nanny since my daughter was 6 weeks old and she is now two. This option works best for us because we need the stability, flexibility and coverage that a nanny provides. I've had friends with problematic nanny arrangements so when we initially interviewed, I looked for someone mature, with years of experience and references that showed a solid work history (I.e., no excessive absences from work). It is super expensive with the taxes and payroll service factored in, but worth the piece of mind. My LO had several colds, etc., this winter and would not have been able to attend daycare. Most of my friends in this sort of situation have a backup through family, neighbors, etc. We also feel the DD needs socialization with kids her age. She started pre school when she was 2 years old at Creme. She goes two mornings a week, the nanny takes her and picks her up. She loves the friends that she is making there and is learning a lot too. Our nanny is on call should DD be sick for any of the pre school mornings and we need her to cover because LO can't attend Creme. We also have a back up arrangement with another local center as well as a per diem on call nanny service if our nanny is sick and we absolutely can't miss work. Best of luck to you as you make your decision. I know it is hard.

Want a personalized experience?

3 yo twins. Daycare/preschool setting vs hire a new nanny??!!??

Re: 3 yo twins. Daycare/preschool setting vs hire a new nanny??!!??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards