CM or Nanny - how to choose?

[MrsSET]

Hi there - I am trying to figure out whether a CM or Nanny would be best for us when I go back to work next year. I'd love to hear a variety of thoughts on what you think I should consider when I look into our options based on your experiences.

Below is an overview of our situation but feel free to ask any more questions if I haven't covered something which is relevant!

My daughter will be 10 months when I go back to work. My job is quite intense (in terms of time, energy, intensity, pressure etc) and I will be going back full time but the company is pro-working mothers and allows working from home, flexibility etc. My husband works for himself and so has some flexibility during the working week.

Thanks in advance!

The main advantage to nannies is that they can be more flexible and if you have two or more children the price makes sense. So in your case a cm seems to make sense.

Thanks Jellymould.. If we need long hours sometimes though, then a CM might not work?

Im a CM. The advantages to a CM is that there will be other children there for your dd to socialise with, and being used to going out and about with other kids, learning to share etc. Good CM's will be flexible, but not all if fully booked. If you choose a Cm make sure you know what O?T rates are, holiday arrangements etc. I would say the advantages of a nanny are 1-1 with your dd, but if your CM is not full then there may be good 1-1 time there, plus we are trained and regulated by care inspectorate, Im not sure about the case with nannies. In your situation I might think about a CM 1 or 2 days and a part time nanny, after all nanny will need time off. I CM until 7pm but that is usually later than most CM's. I have a degree in psychology, including child psychology, a certificate in creche work, training in child protection, medication awareness, and recognising and preventing abuse, and am also studying towards an SVQ in childcare, learning and development, and obviously have first aid. If there are a few CM's in your area I would go see a couple and see what you think, I offer an hours free session to see if your child likes it, but not all do. Nannies may be more expensive. What I find difficult about being a CM is during school holidays when you have an age range of 0-12 it is difficult to keep all happy because they all want to do different things. If you find a CM who has all her other mindees in the same age range IE preschool then I would defo recommend it. Bearing in mind CM's are only allowed 1 child under 1 year and 3 under 5 including own children (and the baby) finding a CM with a space for a baby can be difficult. hth

also you need to know if your baby will have to go in school runs twice a day, as is te case with mist CMs who drop off and pick up from local primarys

A nanny will be considerably more expensive than a childminder if you only have one child. You will also need to become an employer and deal with paying the tax and national insurance on behalf of your nanny. You will also pay employers national insurance - there are companies that will deal with all of this for you. You will have additional expenses like kitty money for taking your dd to activities and petrol money to cover any mileage she does taking your daughter out.

Having a nanny come to your home means you only need to focus on getting yourself ready and out of the door in the mornings. Nanny can give dd breakfast and dress her. If you are due back towards bedtime nanny can bath and have dd in her pyjamas for when you get home so that you can spend quality time with her before bed. You will be able to be a lot more prescriptive in what your dd does activity wise and what she eats during the day and when and where she sleeps. Your nanny will also deal with 'nanny duties' - doing your dd's washing, changing her bed, cleaning her room and and a tidy up of any areas of the house she has used during the day. A nanny can also wait in for the washing machine repair man, post a parcel for you, pick up bread/milk etc

Are you planning to have more children? A nanny is an expensive option as childcare for one child.

Are your hours of work such that you would need childcare before 7.30am or after 6.30pm?

From the info you have provided, I would have thought that a Childminder, and a cleaner, would be probably what you need - unless your husband is great at cleaning.

Also as this is your first baby, you can tell the nanny how to structure the day as they are employed by you whereas the childminder is self employed and they structure their day according to what they want to do.

Either way, trust your insticts and ask to see refs and verbally check them yourself.

A nanny is more expensive when you have just one baby but the whole day will be structed and tailor suited to your one baby

A childminder will be cheaper but your baby will potentially be one of several children being cared for.

As a childminder I am allowed 6 children under 8: no more than 3 of which can be in the EYFS group and no more than 2 can be under 1. I can also have as many over 8s as i like as long as it doesn't impact on the younger children.

I think childminders are great but when I changed to a nanny life got so much easier. My child still mixes with other children as athe nanny takes him out to groups most days. Difference is I can choose the things that he goes too he doesn't have to do dancing anymore which he had to do with the cm because the other two girls loved it.

Also I haven't got to get him up and out at the end of the day he's much more relaxed in his own home. He used to come back all hyped up from the childminders and then I had to try and get him to bed, I usually walk in on the bath so now I can just take over so we can have lots more story time together.

When he's I'll he can just have a cbeebies day and not go out, I used to have to take a day of when he was with a childminder.

Nannies are the best, but most expensive form of childcare (the actual quality of care, may be the same with a childminder, but a nanny has many other advantages).

If you can afford a nanny and are happy to spend that money on childcare then get a nanny. If you find it too expensive or think it an unecessary waste of money use a childminder.

The third option is a nanny share. This can have most, but not all the adavantages of a nanny, at about half the cost. There are other disadvantages with a nanny share, but they can work very well.