Exploring my options for child care and support

[SESthebrave]

There is a possibility that DH will be starting a job in Dubai in July. DC2 is due 27th May and DS will be 3yo at the start of May.

If DH were to take the job, in an ideal world I would want someone to support with elements of child care (although DS would be in nursery 2 or 3 days a week) including bedtime and possibly help with housework, garden maintenance and dog walking. It would be possible that the DC and I would go and visit DH for short periods of time. Someone that could come too would be great - predominantly for helping on the journey.

Reading that I sound v pathetic and I'm sure I should be able to cope by myself but my friends all have their own families & work to juggle and our only family nearby are my parents who have health issues meaning that they can't do physical jobs easily and they currently don't have DS on their own for more than an hour.

Putting my "patheticness" to one side, do you think I'm looking for a nanny, au pair or mother's help? How do they compare in what they do and cost? Any other ideas?

A nanny is a qualified and/or experienced childcarer who will seldom do additional work around the house. They often have FT sole charge of the children.

Mother's helps come in 2 flavours - aspiring nannies including newly qualified/ex nursery candidates and ex-APs wanting to move on to sole charge or more mature candidates, possibly with own children, who are prepared to work more flexibly. They will do childcare, mostly supervised but done sole charge, and light housework/cooking.

An au pair is generally taken to be a young, inexperienced foreign national who is employed to do some childcare and help around the house (so sinilar in scope to a mother's help) but principally wants to improve their English and experience another culture.

So it depends exactly what you want them to do....

A nanny is most expensive, price depends in location, experience, qualifications and hours then a mother's help. Live in can be cheaper but both are usually paid over the threshold for tax and NI which means you will need to administer payroll. An au pair is the cheapest option, around £75 for 25 hours per week but they are much less experienced and have to live in. In all cases if you expect them to travel you will need to pay all associated costs.

I would start by firming up the job description and qualities you want the person to have as it sounds like any of the above could work for you.

Thanks! I guess I'll know better when I've had chance to speak to DH more about the job. I'm guessing an au pair would be more flexible though about being able to travel. We'd just have to pay their fare!

'We'd just have to pay their fare!'

...and their time. It's not their free time if they're travelling to Dubai, restricted in where they go/when, unable to attend their English class/hobbies that they've set up in the UK.

I think with an au pair you'd also need to check their ability to travel to Dubai, I think for some nationalities it is more difficult re. visa etc than others.

Yes....true.
This is hard!

A live in nanny or mothers help could also have it in their contract to travel (ours does). There you would also have to pay costs and time as long as they kept within normal working hours.