childcare

I have a daytime nanny for my five-month old baby and I'm planning to send her to a day care too when she reaches the age of 4. Here in the Philippines there are day care centers provided by the government that helps children prepare for school. Not all day care centers are commendable though. One will really need to look around before finding a good one. Most are overcrowded too. Fortunately, there's one near our place that accommodates only up to 10 kids per class. I hope it stays that way until my baby turns 4.

I think that at infancy until the time that the child is ready for preschool, it is better to have a live-in nanny to help the mom take care of the child and do some household chores. The baby does not need to be around other children at this point. He would be less exposed to illnesses as well. Moreover, the child doesn't have to go to a daycare to develop his social skills.

I have been an au pair myself, when I was younger, which is kind of like a live in nanny, except it is a girl from another country, who comes to stay in your house for a year. I personally would not like to have a live in nanny, for the very reason that I like to have my privacy, and it is almost impossible to have this, if you have a live in nanny/au pair live with you. Of course there are exceptions such as, if you have a seperate house (pool house, guest house) with bath and kitchen, where she can stay. Secondly, you would need to have some kind of arrangement in place, in case the nanny gets sick. If your child was in daycare, even a home daycare, you would not have to worry about this problems. If you work long days, a nanny might be a good idea, as it can easily be too much for your child to stay in day care from early morning to early evening. When I was growing up, we did have live in nannys, and I can honestly say that I preferred the nannies, who left to go home at the end of the day. I am currently a stay at home mom, but I will be starting my graduate studies this summer. My sons 13 months and 4 1/2 years are signed up for daycare at the university, and I think this is going to be a great solution for us, as I can run over and get the kids as soon as I am done with classes. I would never consider having a live in nanny, nor an au pair.