A Nanny or Creche which is the best?

bobby-car-349695_1920 (1)

A Nanny or Creche which is the best choice for Moms returning to work?

There are a number of different things to consider when deciding on your child care options once you return to work, but my best piece of advice is to start researching and making this decision early on in your maternity leave so that you are 100% comfortable with your choice before you return. Everyone is in a different situation so there is really no one advice fits all, so it is best to look at all options and then listen to your mothers instinct as to what will be best for your child.

It is normal for a child to get between 8-12 viral infections a year but children who attend crèche from early often get 12-20 infections per year. If you consider that each infection takes 3-5 days this can mean your child is at home for up to 100 days a year (at maximum) this would definitely be something that you would need to consider as a working parent if you do not have anyone else your child can stay with when sick. A similar consideration would need to be made if your child has a child minder looking after them at home and the child minder became ill who would look after your baby when you are at work? Both of these scenarios need to be taken into account when making your decisions and perhaps best would be to include a “plan B” for both of these options.

Babies in the first year need to form one to one bonds with individual people, so for this reason being at home with a child minder would reinforce this bonding with a primary care giver. However as your child gets older they start to want and need to interact with other children and this is when going to a little school benefits them amazingly. School is full of fun activities and learning, but this can also be attained by training your child minder to understand the need for stimulation and development of the child in their care.

One fear that parents may have is that a Nanny is not accountable to anyone else at home, but this is why it is so important to make sure you get a child minder either from a reputable agency who has done full background checks and reference checks of your lady, or to find a lady who has references and make sure to do all the checks yourself. There are some of the most amazing ladies out there who thrive on looking after little ones at home and do a brilliant job. Many crèches these days also offer an amazing service to parents including smaller numbers, whats app groups to see what baby is doing during the day or some even have cameras where you can “check in “ with baby. You can find out about everything the crèche offers including any training of staff in subjects such as early child hood development and first aid. Ask in your local FB groups as well if parents who have children at this crèche are happy or not, you will soon get great feedback.

Before making this decision I would suggest going to have a look at a number of different crèches to get a feel for what is available in your area. Don’t feel afraid to ask for other parents opinions and find out where people are sending their children. On the other hand also chat to those who have Nannies at home looking after their little ones. Find out what they have done to ensure their little one is cared for in a safe and loving environment. By doing this you will begin to form a picture of where you think your baby will be the happiest and choose from there. The other thing to consider is that any decision is not made in stone and that if it does not work out for some reason you can always change your options, so make sure to have thought about both, make your decisions and then also think about a “plan B”

If you are still feeling confused or overwhelmed and would like to chat about this further please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0834451441. – Gail Starr

Posted in

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

X