Day Care, Nanny or Stay-At-Home-Parent? What Is The Best Child Care?
Choosing a child care provider for your kids is one of the hardest things a parent has to do. You are talking about hiring someone to look after your most-prized possession, for many hours a day, for potentially many months or years before they start school. This is a BIG decision. It doesn’t help that both nannies and daycares are expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. Then parents may face another decision — should one parent stay home and forgo a salary? Should a grandparent step in to provide childcare? These are tough decisions!
You are talking about hiring someone to look after your most-prized possession, for many hours a day, for potentially many months or years before they start school. This is a BIG decision.
I think you should consider a few things when deciding who should care for your child during the day:
1. Who is the most ‘fit’ person to do so?
Who is the most enthusiastic and eager person to provide child care for your child? This may be a parent. This may be a nanny if parents are not thrilled by the concept. This may be a daycare provider. You have to look at the options and weigh the benefits and downsides to each. Then do the best you can afford.
2. Price
As much as we all wish this wasn’t a factor, it is. Most of us do not have endless amounts of money and need to make hard decisions. This begins with child care for your little ones and continues to primary schools, high schools, university, after school programs and the like.
3. Safety
Where do you think your child will be most safe? A particularly overburdened daycare may not be the best choice if you have the means to do something else. A reckless nanny is not a great option. Some parents may not be the best option either.
4. Stimulation
This is huge for me. I believe all children should be exposed to other developmentally similar children. Whether you are a parent or nanny who takes the child to the community centre, library or park often, or are in a developmentally appropriate daycare, kids need to be stimulated. Kids should be played with one on one, read to, taken outside to play and have an opportunity to play with other kids.
5. Location
There are areas of the country where there are few options. If no daycares or nannies are accessible, parents may have no choice but to stay home. Metropolitan centres often have more options, though there may be higher demand and long wait lists. An excellent daycare down the street is going to be a great option. Having to drive or take public transport for an hour or more each day with your child may be less desirable.
At the end of the day each family has to decide what is the best option for them. The most desirable option may be out of reach. Some parents would love to stay at home, but this isn’t financially feasible.
The most desirable option may be out of reach. Some parents would love to stay at home, but this isn’t financially feasible.
At the end of the day each family has to decide what is the best option for them. The most desirable option may be out of reach. Some parents would love to stay at home, but this isn’t financially feasible. Some parents strive for the very ‘best’ daycare, only to find out it is too expensive or the wait list is too long.
My hope is that all of us are able to find affordable, safe, enriching childcare for our children.
– See more at: YummyMummyClub
Dina is a wife, mother of 4, and adrenaline junky. She loves to share children’s health information from her professional and personal experience. More About Dr Dina.
