Six out of ten parents with babies and preschoolers agree that finding affordable, high-quality child care is a challenge. That statement holds true across income groups.
Finding the right type of child care for your infant or preschooler is crucial if both parents work. Are you choosing between a nanny and daycare?
Keep reading for information about why daycare vs nanny favors the daycare choice.
Nanny Pros and Cons
A nanny is an experienced childcare provider who comes to your home. There are definitely some pros to having someone come to you. These include:
- A structured space for your child
- The schedule you want
- Focused attention for your child or children
When you’ve got a nanny coming to you, your child is in a secure and familiar environment. It’s important to set expectations and rules with a nanny ahead of time and make adjustments as necessary.
What are the cons when it comes to a nanny? Here are a few:
- Expensive
- Lack of oversight
- Lots of paperwork
In comparing nanny cost vs daycare, a nanny is more expensive, and you may not always know how your child is treated. You can install nanny cams, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always know what’s going on.
Hiring a nanny means becoming an employer. You’ll need to pay Social Security taxes and file a W-2 for your nanny. Not doing this could land you in hot water with the IRS.
Daycare Pros and Cons
A daycare center is designed to take care of infants and preschool-age children. Some daycare centers offer after-school care for older kids too.
There are many pros to using a daycare facility. These include:
- Licensed, screened caregivers
- Reliable
- Structured space
- Structured hours
- Online monitoring
- Social development
- Early education
It’s nice knowing your child is with licensed caregivers. There are both federal and state regulations that daycare facilities must meet.
Daycare centers offer structured hours that usually include both early-morning and late-night hours. This is especially helpful if you work odd shift hours. Daycare centers are also reliable because even if one caregiver gets sick, there are others to fill the gap.
A great thing about daycare is the socialization and interaction your child gets while you’re at work. Young children develop critical communication skills when socializing with other children and adults. Many daycare centers offer a great curriculum and focus on teaching young children their ABCs and numbers.
The only real con to the daycare center is germs because your child gets exposed to more children, and when your child is sick, you can’t take him to daycare.
Daycare Wins In the Daycare vs Nanny Debate
Your childcare choice must be one you’re comfortable with, but we know daycare wins hands-down when it comes to the daycare vs nanny debate. Daycare offers more social interactions with better oversight from licensed and vetted professionals in a safe, secure, and stable environment.
Are you looking for daycare in West Austin’s Oak Hill area? Schedule an appointment for a tour of Happy Bunnies and meet personally with the director, Magdalena MacLeod.
