Daycare vs nanny

For those of you who work. Do you send your kids to daycare or do you have a nanny. I will be returning to work soon and we signed DD up for daycare. I mentioned it to my friend and she made a face like I was crazy. She has a nanny come to her house.

Re: Daycare vs nanny

I prefer daycare for several reasons:

Socialization with other kids

Learning environment that gets them totally ready for school and used to being in a school like setting

No sick days/vacation days- if the Nanny gets sick or needs vacation you need back up plans- at daycare they only have very very few set holidays that they are closed

Same if the nanny decides to quit or is a flake or doesn't show up or shows up late etc


ETA- and I love how people who do things one way make a face and make you feel crazy for wanting to do it another way. People need to get over themselves.
I chose daycare for the reasons listed above but if my friend said to me she was hiring a nanny I wouldn't make a face or make her feel crazy.
To each their own.
People are assholess

Message edited 1/24/2017 11:03:31 AM.

Daycare vs nanny

All the reasons Nell stated plus I don't trust anyone. I like that there are cameras and multiple eyes watching. I have heard horror stories with nannies. Find a daycare that's great and you will be very happy with your choice

Eta.. I also agree. I would never judge anyone for thier choice. That was a crappy way to respond. Do what's right for you.

Message edited 1/24/2017 11:10:05 AM.

Daycare vs nanny

Its a very personal choice and your friend is completely rude.

We have a nanny because it made the most sense for us and our schedules.

Re: Daycare vs nanny

Re: Daycare vs nanny

You will get differing opinions on this. I am huge proponent of daycare.
I like the idea of several people being responsible for my child.
I like that there other kids around for socialization and play etc.
Both my kids have been going to daycare since they are 3 months old.

Daycare vs nanny

I agree with Daycare for all the reasons above. My DS has been in daycare (at a center) since he was 8 weeks old. I am actually sad he will be going off to K in September. They became family!

Daycare vs nanny

I send my DS to daycare and I LOVE it.

He gets socialization with 12 other kids his age. He has a set schedule/curriculum each day.

Daycare is open pretty much no matter what (holidays, weather, etc).

If I had a nanny, I feel like I would need to make sure they were doing more than just watching TV all day because my 2 year old would be pretty content with that day in and day out.

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Re: Daycare vs nanny

I prefer nanny:

1 - I do not have to get my kids up extra early in the cold and rain to bring them out

2 - If my dh or I have to work late we do not have to rush home for daycare pick up

3 - If my kids are sick - I can still go to work

4 - I like my kids to be in their own environment - they will have the structured school setting long enough

5 - Not as exposed to so many outside germs

We have had the same nanny for 9 years and it has been wonderful

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Daycare vs nanny

We send our kids to daycare. Most of the reasons are listed above.

We've been at a center and have been really happy. They also offer after/before care so my son still goes now at 7.

Re: Daycare vs nanny

You need to do what is right for your schedule. My husband and I do not have traditional 9-5 jobs and we had a hard time finding a daycare that would work for us without driving us crazy to meet their closing time.

We had a good family friend offer to watch DD and then DS part time and my MIL wanted to watch them part time as well. Then they also went to nursey school part time so they interacted with other kids etc...

That friend ended up moving away and now we have a part time nanny who is awesome.

we have a crazy schedule and a mix of people watching them (I actually work from home 1 day a week too) but it works for us and our family.

Bottom line is dont worry about other people say to you or looks you get. Just do what works for you.

Daycare vs nanny

I'm the only one of my friends that sends their child to day care. I live in Manhattan so nannies are the norm.

That said, day care is literally downstairs in my apartment building, it doesn't get easier than that. We put a coat on him because we are outside for 15 seconds but the door to day care is about 20 feet from our apartment's front door.

I feel that because there are multiple day care workers in his room AND there are cameras, there is less room for mistreatment/negligence. I am on a FB board in the city and so many people post pictures of bad behaving nannies. I know this is not the norm, most nannies are loving and truly care about their children but I don't really worry about this due to oversight.

The hours of day care haven't been easy but my husband and I work with them. I do drop off in the morning at 8am (he leaves for work earlier) and he picks up by 6pm (I usually work later). Sometimes we have to switch off but we have never had an issue with pick up. We both travel for work at times but we have been lucky that we haven't had issues with drop off/pick up when the other person is away.

My son has been sick nonstop this winter, one downfall of daycare. I look at it as building his immune system though, he will hopefully get this all out of the way and have a strong immune system by the time he goes to school.

Another downfall of daycare is that you do have to send everything yourself and do the prep and cleaning of bottles, etc. at home --- my friends with nannies have all that done for them. It takes more time but we are pretty good with our routine now that it's pretty quick.

The cost is sometimes a factor, though it's not really that much different for us in price if we chose a nanny instead. Our day care is expensive so if we chose a center that was not in our actual apartment building, we'd probably spend less --- the convenience is so worth it though.

Message edited 1/24/2017 1:17:51 PM.

Re: Daycare vs nanny

Both have positives and negatives.

Daycares have schedules (I am limited severely because I go to work early and super early drop off isn't great). Sometimes my exit from work is unpredictable and I could get stuck after daycares are closed. You also pay per kid (now I have 3). You also need someone to watch the ones that go to school or preschool when that time comes. You don't pick your daycare teacher or the other kids in the class. Yes, kids come in sick.

Nannies have flexibility but also are a person. I had the best nanny in the world and also had one of the worst. I put up cameras and my suspicions were confirmed. A good friend went through two terrible ones (but now has a great one). There is no backup, and it's hard to find a replacement.

Daycare vs nanny

My preference would have been a nanny for the first year and daycare afterwards.

We did daycare since 12 weeks and overall we were very happy. Dd is extremely socialized and it's amazing how comfortable she was with the staff and her friends. We just pulled her because I was laid off and I cried because they are family there.

She will go to ft prek in sept so now we are hunting as prek is free through my district and through my church.

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Wintertime and illness=would prefer a nanny...Nonstop sickness is not fun. Other then that I like having my children go to a small in home daycare vs a nanny for many of the reasons listed above.After doing some research there is no benefit to kids being sick all the time as babies/youngsters. They are still just as likely to get sick when they are school aged...Confirmed this with the pedi who said they are just trying to make us feel better.

Daycare vs nanny

I agree about everything said previously about daycare. My son is in daycare ("school" as we call it...lol) and is just loving it. He is 14 months and I love how social he is. I love that he does projects and they teach them different things. In the beginning when he was younger, it was definitely hard to leave him there. But now that he is older and can express himself, I see how excited and happy he is to see his friends every day.

I like him being in a setting with tons of teachers and kids, instead of one-on-one. I think I might have a hard time trusting just one person in my house - but that's not to say daycares are perfect, obviously. We have had some issues with ours regarding violations etc. so there is always a drawback.

As far as people having comments about your choice, I get so much commentary on our choice from family "friends"... like "you trust the teachers there?" "you have to get him up early and get him out of the house? the poor thing" It used to bother me but I've learned to brush it off because we are so happy with where he is at right now and he is just flourishing.

Daycare vs nanny

When we lived in Brooklyn I sent DD to daycare for the reasons most have stated. I loved the social interaction, the multiple eyes on her, I didn't have to worry if a nanny got sick, etc.

Unfortunately when we moved to LI daycare was no longer convenient for our schedules and now we have an au pair. I miss day care a lot, but the ease of not having to rush out in the morning to take her to daycare and the flexibility that an au pair allows is pretty awesome.

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Re: Daycare vs nanny

I chose a daycare for my daughter. It is significantly cheaper vs. what a nanny would charge me per week. Plus she gets the socialization aspect with other kids.

Some daycares will include breakfast lunch and snack with the tuition so you don't have to worry about that (which I am grateful for since my mornings are already hectic).

Message edited 1/24/2017 3:32:23 PM.

Daycare vs nanny

Daycare for me. I like that there are several people there watching my daughter and holding each other accountable. My friend had a nanny and she had a nanny cam which the nanny KNEW about and she saw on the camera several occasions in which the nanny was throwing stuffed animals and yelling at her 9 month old baby.

Daycare vs nanny

Daycare. I did not want anyone at my house. I feel comfortable bringing her to a place that is regulated, inspected, and insured. I love the socialization aspect and also that she's getting somewhat of an education even at a super young age.

ETA: I love daycare so much that even though I'm a sahm now, I still send my almost 3 year old at least twice a week. She loves it, loves her friends, and has fun. I send her on the days DD2 has multiple therapies. Also the first few months is rough because of all the sickness but DD1 has been sick maybe twice in the past year with only mild colds.

Message edited 1/24/2017 5:51:05 PM.

Re: Daycare vs nanny

Re: Daycare vs nanny

I'm in the same boat. DS is in daycare and has been sick currently now 5 times since September. it's starting to be a real issue with taking days off from work. I'm nervous to trust someone in my home but feel that may be the next step.