Are you weighing Au pairs Vs. Daycare Vs. nannies to hire? It’s a good idea to get informed about all your options before you make your choice. Both types of childcare have pros and cons and it’s important to weigh your decision carefully to figure out what option works best for your family.
Here are a few things to consider when you’re weighing an au pair vs. daycare & vs. nanny. True, the choice of hiring a nanny is not available to some families. Nevertheless; we still want all families to have information for the pros and cons.
Although, Canada do not have Au pair program, we do have families that sometime still want information about Au pair, perhaps they just like to know what they are missing out on for not having Au pair program in Canada.
Choosing the right child care is one of the most fraught decisions modern parents face: Should one of us stay home and forgo a salary? Should we choose the-stamped daycare or the family-run one around the corner? Can we afford a nanny? So, let’s start with Daycare.
Daycare: Pros
Cost: you may save some dollars if you have one child- most affordable options to nanny. Your child's care provider is in a supervised environment with many adults present.
License daycare centers must meet minimum safety and sanitary regulations.
You maintain your privacy. You do not have to open up your home to anyone.
Your child will have more opportunity to socialize with other children.
Cons:
It is very likely that your child will be sick more frequently.
Shipping your child to a daycare center can be inconvenient. Packing baby supplies, bundling kids up in the winter and getting yourself ready for work can be very time consuming.
It is a fact of life that daycare centers pay their employees very low wages. Consequently, turnover is high. If consistency in care providers is important to you, this may not be the best option.
If your child is very ill, daycare centers will not allow your child to attend. You will need to find back up care or be prepared to take days off from work.
Many daycare centers dictate when your child should be off the bottle, pacifier, take naps etc. If the idea of someone else calling the shots with your child's routine turns you off, you may not like this form of care for your child. On the other hand, some parents like the idea of the daycare center doing the "dirty work" and appreciate someone else getting their toddler to give up his comfies.
If your work hours are longer than the standard hours of operation for the daycare center, you will need to arrange for drop off and/or pickup by either a family member or another childcare provider.
Nanny Care: Pros
One-on-one care for your child. This is especially desirable in the infant years. Babies are held more often, comforted when crying.
Your child is cared for in a familiar and comfortable environment, your home.
More convenient for parents. Parents do not have to dress and pack up kids to transport them to outside care.
Less illness. Children do not catch every illness that is going around. Parents are not required to find sick care for their child or to take as much time off to care for a sick child.
Many times, parents enjoy a more flexible schedule. If parents need to leave early in the morning and cannot return by the standard closing time of a daycare center, nanny care is sometimes a much better alternative.
More control over values, rules your child is exposed to. Parents can communicate to Nanny the way things are done and ask that Nanny follow family rules, teach family values, etc.
Most nannies hired in Canada will do housekeeping as time permit depending on employer requirements. So, you don’t have to take time much needed time away from your family doing housekeeping and cooking. All most family have to do when they come home if play with the children. Who whine about not having constant fret?
Cons:
Nanny Care is the most expensive form of childcare. Weekly salaries for nannies can be 25% or more of a week of daycare cost becomes more comparable to daycare even saving in some case when 2 or more children are cared for by the nanny. Also, regardless of the number of children, “if” hiring a nanny from overseas, the cost can be 30% or more in less than that of a daycare fees in most case.
Finding the right nanny can be challenging. Some families go through many nannies until they find the right match. This lack of consistency is difficult on the children and the parents. But you can circumvent this if you have the right agency as nannyfinderscanada.com on your side.
Some families do not like the idea of having a "stranger" in their home all day. But when they re-think of the advantages, they get over that. And most live-in nannies do not stay in the house during their day off so, parent have their home to themselves for at last 2 days a week.
Employing someone in your home or been an employer does come with some added "hassles." Calculating and paying payroll taxes, (which, we help our clients with) providing benefits such as paid vacation time, health insurance, (in some case, but MSP is not a compulsory benefit in most province) sick days. All of these things are imperative if you want to keep your nanny and keep her happy. But, most families see the benefit to outweigh the “so call hassle”.
You will still need to arrange for back up care when nanny takes his/her 2 weeks annual vacation time. But you are most likely going to be on your vacation time since families will give their nanny vacation when they take theirs or just logon to www.sitterscitycanada.com to find a temp replacement.
