Daycare or nanny?

[esb3357]

How does anyone think a full-time college student can always accommodate an 8-5 schedule? Caring for babies takes far more time and effort than I would trust a college freshman to give. Just saying. Hiring a live-in nanny is fine but I'd want someone more mature and experienced. Plus, college students need to study and this job takes far more time than a student can give without jeopardizing grades.

There are alot of non-traditional students who take online classes, evening and weekend. In grad school I met alot of masters education majors that nannied. Where I live you also get alot of military wives who have degrees and can't find jobs. So they nanny to stay out of the house.

[YLTL_Dan]

Making plans for their 1st child is new territory for all couples. Most women take a year maternity benefit/leave. In some places fathers likewise get some paid paternity leave to bond with their new infant.

This must be in Canada! In the US, I believe the average maternity leave is 6-12 weeks, and paternity leave isn't standard. I've mostly heard 1-2 weeks for paternity leave.

I do know it's even better in Europe - specifically in Sweden where it's close to 16 months.

[syracusa]

I had my mom stay with the children during the day while I was working. I would not have felt OK with the children staying with anyone else. Not because my mom was the only qualified caretaker
on Earth but because blood relatives CARE and give away the right vibe to the child.
Everyone else is just on a contract and in matters of care, contracts can only do so much, no matter how high the pay.
Love makes sparkles...and babies needs sparkles, beyond physical care.

[Angio333]

I am a big fan of stay at home moms. Your kids will only be young once - enjoy it while it lasts. It will require careful budgeting, but it will be worth it.

[arnoldous]

My vote goes for nanny. Anyway, it is your personal decision and charges always vary from one place and agency to other.

[sherylgray]

Both of have their own pros and cons.

A day care is the place where kid learn a lot of things and that too very fast. A nanny people trust more as far as safety is considered.

Day care is always be a tough decision for parents.

[dailydealsgc]

I will go with daycare since the teachers there can help your children prepare for school, at least they know colors, some letters. A Nanny is maybe better taking care of them but they don't teach well.

[elfen lied]

Daycare. Ideally I'd like to be able to stay at home the first year of a childs life, but that's unlikely to ever be possible, so full maternity leave then daycare. I don't think that a daycare will harm the child, unless it was completely terrible, in which case I wouldn't leave my child there, so it would be a decision I'm comfortable with. That said, I think that staying at home is just as good a choice if you can afford it and want to do it. And Nanny's are a pretty foreign concept to me, so I'll withhold comment.

[cschin4]

If you can afford a nanny have you just thought about your wife staying home and working part time and then picking up with daycare on the other days?

[cschin4]

But, I would NOT have a nanny in the home. Too many things can happen unsupervised. At least with a day care there are multiple adults around. I would not feel comfortable with someone alone my home all day with my kid, I don't care what their credentials are.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Nanny
Pros:
-you don't have to pack up the kids daily and commute with them, just leave
-kids when sick still get care no special arrangements
-you choose the hours and can work longer if needed
-you can have the nanny cook and clean possibly
-if you need them less hours you'll save money
Cons:
-really have to trust them driving kids
-being home alone trust
-and realize they may call nanny "mom" before your wife (huge factor for many of my friends as to why they won't do nannies)

Daycare:
pros:
-socialization
-lots of adults around
-you don't have to deal with your kid
cons:
-kids get sick a lot
-regimented hours
-kids are not given one on one attention

[adviceseeker]

I have a friend who has exactly the same situation as yours before.

If both of them won't work, financially, they will be unstable. So both decided to work but did not trust to leave their first born to just any stranger. So what they did was the guy continued to work with his company and as for my girlfriend, she worked online (worked from home) while taking care of her baby. She did a big adjustment on her end as working and taking care of their baby can be really a handful! But after a few months, she managed to get the hang of it.

There are lots of "community" to work online with. My girlfriend started out with http://odesk.com/ and I know there are also a couple of community sites to work from home like http://guru.com and http://elance.com also try http://peopleperhour.com some I know earn money by blogging.

I hope this helps!

Good luck with the decision - I know this will be one of those tough decisions to make!