Childcare in Dubai

[ljhall83]

Hello

I am moving to Dubai with my 4 month old baby boy, I want to know what childcare is available at that age that does not involve having a line in Maid.

Many thanks

L

I meant "live in" maid

Just to clarify, what sort of childcare do you need- full time daycare for when you're at work, or just occasional care/ evening babysitting?

There are nanny agencies, but the typical UK arrangement of nannies is few and far between, most people seem to have a maid although we did not. If you do not wish to have a maid, some of the London agencies deal with positions in Dubai but the salaries that they are asking for are astronomical. The only other solution is wait till you get there and see if you can find a woman who is sponsored by her husband who has the correct experience and first aid knowledge etc but it is not easy, sorry , not being negative but just realistic .

There are live out maids if thats what you would prefer, plenty of agencies who offer short or long term to aswell as occasssional babysitting.

Plus plenty of good reputable nurseries around, take a look on Expatwoman - there are details of all nurseries in Dubai

Issue with maids is that they are usually not trained particularly in child care, more well meaning ladies who work very hard- it just meant we had to recalibrate our expectations in terms of what to expect. We actually decided in the end not to employ anyone - just too much of a gamble.

There are nurseries in Dubai which take babies of that age, but check who will actually be looking after them and how many per worker. There are not the checks on staffing you expect as the norm in the UK and English ways are not to be expected and assumed.

Live out maids from agencies are an option, but you may not always get the same one. Maids tend to do the housework and if you want a qualified nanny for your baby you will struggle unless you get a live in and train her yourself. You will not be able to share maids as its illegal.

I know people with American and British nannies but they cost a lot of money!