expats and childcare

[chloeb2002]

ok im looking at going back to work part time but actually would like to make some money after childcare.... so.. do i,

1. get an aupair from overseas, probably the uk or usa, pay them $120 ish a week, live in in exchange for three days childcare a week maybe four, use of a car. they would have to do school runs with dd and lok after ds whilst i am out.

or

1. have had an offer from a local ish person, not someone i know either, who has a 7 month old son who would come with her while she looked after ds and sorted dd? she would live out and has own car. I would have to pay her $250 a week and fuel allowance from school run?
2. or use OHSC before and after school and holidays costing a minimum of $75 a week and the $50 a day for nursery for DS? i add that i would also need help if i cannot home in time for collections or need to leave before openings? so not a great option 3.... oh and we cant claim the child care refund till we get PR.

so what would anyone else do?

1 sounds the best option to me IF:
you have the room (which presumably you do)
you get a good recommendation/references
you can live with having a stranger in your house!
Obvious problem with option 2 is what happens when her son is ill?
3 Sounds like it could work out expensive and also you'd have problems if your DS or DD are ill and couldn't go to school/nursery.
Good luck

1 if you can find one who works for you

thanks that is kind of my thinking.. sounds totally potty but keep worrying about what if the au pair runs off with ds? stupid stuff like that.. we have a spare room and we are looking at renting a bigger place with two living areas and plenty of bedrooms so if that happens then even better. my concern with option two was the son being ill or even her being late or cancelling on no notice.. im a nurse so if i have to take a hospital job it would be shifts so early starts or late finishes.
thanks for the opinions!

How old is your DS? Personally I wouldn't use an au pair as a childcare option for pre-school children as they will generally have no formal childcare qualifications and, as they are usually fairly young, are unlikely to have had much experience with young kids. In the UK the guidelines are that an au-pair should have not sole charge of children under 3, though obviously guidelines are just that.

I can see the advantage for you in having someone living in, but remember they are supposed to be part of the family who "helps out" for 20/25 hours a week plus a couple of evenings babysitting - you'd need to make sure that they would/could actually do what you need them to. Do you know anyone else with kids who might be interested in a nanny share? That can really reduce the costs of good quality childcare.