Hiring a nanny has advantages because you can tailor your experience. For instance, children will receive constant one on one attention. Families with newborns may find this very appealing. A nanny can work overtime if needed, care for a sick child, and pickup/drop off kids if they need to attend activities/events. Some nannies will even tidy up, do laundry, and other household chores if negotiated.

However, there are some considerations before hiring a nanny. It's the most expensive child care option, particularly for families with only one child. Finding the right nanny to accommodate your family's needs may require some research and legwork. Plus, with only one full-time nanny, there may be times when you may need to find back-up care if your nanny is sick or on vacation. Another thing to consider, hiring a full-time nanny comes with various legal and financial obligations.

A nanny share allows families to enjoy many of the same benefits of having a nanny without the same price tag. Yes, that means splitting the cost of the nanny with another family to make it more affordable. A nanny share also allows families to balance individual attention for their children while gaining greater socialization with other families. An attractive blend of flexibility, convenience, individual attention, and affordability, nanny shares are trending well with families.

A great tip for starting a successful nanny share is finding a family near you, with similar schedules and parenting styles. Searching for another family can feel like dating but the rewards may outweigh the effort. As long as there's continued communication to help set expectations for both the nanny involved and the families, a nanny share may work well for all parties. However, families are dependent on each other to keep the arrangement going.

Disclaimer:
Be sure to check local laws and regulations governing child care and shared-care arrangements, restrictions or licensing requirements may apply.

A day care is usually a popular choice for child care. There are two types; family day cares, hosted at the owner's home and centers, located in a commercial setting with established guidelines and programs. Both tend to be more affordable compared to hiring a nanny, particularly a family day care. Family day cares can be 20 - 40% cheaper than a center-based day care, but may have less regulations and be operated by a sole caregiver. Overall, day cares offer greater socialization opportunity for kids and established programs and activities.

On the other hand, finding a day care can be difficult because often there's a waiting period to get your child in. A center-based day care may require long-term planning in advance due to lack of availability. In addition, there's less 1:1 individualized attention for your child, and the hours are less flexible - with penalties for late pick-ups. Also, day cares do not allow sick children to attend - increasing the need for back-up care.

*Nanny and Nanny share rates are estimated using hourly rates posted on Care.com by families seeking full-time child care in a particular geographic area. Displayed weekly rates assume 40 hours per week. Cost estimates for additional children assume incremental hourly wage increase of $1.50/hour for each child. Nanny share estimates assume 33% increase over traditional nanny cost and do not reflect any sharing of cost across multiple families. Actual costs to employ a nanny or nanny share may vary and estimated costs do not include additional increases for taxes, insurance, or benefits.

*Daycare rates are estimated using average observed rates charged by similar businesses in the area. Actual costs may vary. Estimated prices are adjusted for customary differences across age groups, and costs displayed for additional children assume a standard discount for the eldest child(ren) in a family.