Finding suitable childcare is one of the biggest problems faced by busy working parents. Staying at home is the obvious solution, but if you can’t afford to take a career break – or you don’t want to – you need to find the right childcare arrangement to suit your child and your budget. So what are your options?
Friends and Family
Childcare is easy if the grandparents are able to step up to the plate and help you out. A lot of grandparents are happy to do their share when the children are young, but the success of the arrangement does depend on how fit and well your parents are and how willing they are to sacrifice their free time to take care of little ones. It is important that everyone is happy with the arrangement, so don’t abuse their generosity.
Day Care or Crèche
A day care centre or workplace crèche can work very well if you want your child to enjoy a lot of social time with other children. Day care centres and crèches can cater for children aged 6 months upwards. Children can be dropped off first thing in the morning and collected in the evening. However, you can’t leave your child out of hours, so if your job involves shift work or long hours, this type of childcare might not be suitable.
Childminder
Childminders look after children during normal working hours but can often be more flexible if required. Parents are expected to drop their child off at the childminder’s home. It is a very good arrangement for younger children as a childminder’s house is like a home from home. Children get more one-on-one care at a childminders, which is perfect for babies and toddlers.
Nanny
Nannies look after your child at home. Nannies will sometimes stay with the same family for several years and children can become very close to their nanny. A nanny isn’t the cheapest childcare option, but if you want your children to enjoy a high level of care at home, a nanny is a good choice.
Au Pair
An au pair is a budget childcare option. How it works is simple: you employ a young person from an au pair agency such as Aufini to come and live in your home for up to 12 months. An au pair is expected to take on the childcare and some of the household chores in return for a small wage plus free bed and board. If you want a more flexible childcare arrangement, an au pair will probably work very well for you, but if your child is aged 2 or under, an au pair is not the best choice.
Other Childcare Solutions
If none of the options above work for you, you could organise a childcare sharing arrangement with other parents or see if your partner is willing to become a stay at home parent while you work full-time.
Always give yourself plenty of time to make suitable childcare arrangements before returning to work. After all, working is stressful enough without worrying about whether your child is being looked after properly.
23 Responses
When you have a baby sitter at home it is best to have a baby monitor installed at you home. Who knows when you are not at home baby sitter actually looks after you baby or not. But when you can see from remotely what is happening at home then there will be no doubt that the baby sitter would do their job very well.
This is a great list. I have an 11months old and i tried several options from your list. Currently we have a nanny to help us out
It’s hard to find a trusted nanny. I don’t have a nanny at the moment.
I’ve considered taking part in an au pair program as soon as I read about it! Makes sense if you’re single and is adventurous enough to participate in that kind of experience. 😀
-Chris
Really? Did you push through with it?
Lots of business concepts are moving into the Philippine market. Childcare has more to offer good services at hand. Parents patronize this kind of business.
Busy parents need this kind of services.
Great list, and it’s good to know businesses seem to explore more strategies like these..
Thanks Mecheel!
It’s not easy to find someone to watch over your children. A reliable childcare is a must.
I agree with you Raquel.
My husband and I are talking about where we can leave our daughter when I would finally work. This post is very timely, I will take note of your tips. Thank you.
You’re welcome Ivy.
might as well have a freelance job
True. You can opt for a freelance job so you can also take care of your children at the same time
Nanny problems are everywhere, they’re so hard to find these days & harder still to find one that is trustworthy. Available nannies are grabbed up within a few hours of learning they’re open for employment or they do not stay with you longer than 2 months. But you just have to keep looking, there’s no choice & having more options like this does help 🙂
True, nannies doesn’t stay for more than two months.
It’s difficult to find a trustworthy Nanny nowadays, as much as possible relay on your relatives in taking care of a child, that’s how my relatives do it.
Right now, I haven’t found a nanny yet..
Had a nanny once but after that short stint with her, I did not get another one. I think once is enough when it comes to failure in child care. I didn’t want to take the risk anymore.
Same here. it’s hard without a nanny, though.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing the tips. I hope more people would benefit from your insights.
This explanations you have given here have helped me to choose the best service for my family. I thank you for that.