Nanny Advice - Keller,TX

When we had my daughter I really did not want to take her to daycare, but I compromised with my husband and we did.. I love it, I am so glad that I did. My daughter is now 14 months old and has been going since she was 8 weeks! She learns so much, has been finger painting forever, plays with other kids, it is great! Plus her daycare is WONDERFUL! (Primrose on Virginia in McKinney) I say go daycare, but that is my personal feeling. The Oprah thing kept running through my head too.

E.,

I was lucky to have my mother take care of my daughter from 3 months to 8.5 months old, at which point, it was too tiring for my mom and I had to find an alternative. My daughter is now 17mo and has been with one of two nannies since 9mo.

I looked into several daycares and found that with a 4:1 or even a 3:1 ratio, there were babies that were crying or needing something that could just not be attended to because the staff was attending another child. I was afraid that my daughter had received such personal care (from myself and my mother) that the transition would be too difficult for her. For example, I let her nap on her own schedule (which she was really good at being consistent and moving herself down from three naps to two) and at daycare, the babies are set down for nap time and then they are gotten up at the end of nap time, whether they slept or not.

I set about finding a nanny for a couple of days a week. I used GoNannies.com and then conducted my own reference checks and background checks. I have been very fortunate to find two wonderful nannies this way (I lost the first one to teaching... I knew that going into it with her, though).

I think that my daughter received much better care from the personalized attention and she was cared for the way I wanted. She learned sign language very early on (her first sign was at 6mo... this was from my mom and I working with her together) and both nannies have encouraged the signing and worked with her on anything that I have asked (for example, I've recently started a reading program with her and my nanny does some of the cards with my daughter during the day)

My daughter really likes the nannies and is very well-adjusted. I heard from various people that I shouldn't use a nanny because my daughter wouldn't get good socialization skills (probably not a concerned of your since you have 3 children), but, in fact, she does great around other children - in her signing classes and at parties and other events. I think she is very confident and secure getting to stay at home while I am at work.

Now, to address those Oprah stories... I did set up a web cam in my house and varied the location in the beginning because I was so nervous! And, I would check it often during the day, but, I think it comes down to doing due diligence in hiring and listening to those gut feelings during the interview process. There were several that I interviewed that I knew almost immediately that I would not feel comfortable leaving my daughter with them.

Both of my nannies have brought very different backgrounds, skills and benefits. My first nanny was a 26yo newly-wed from Pennsylvania who had just moved her with her new husband and was looking to get a teaching position, but had been a nanny throughout college and after. She already knew some sign language and, as a teacher (she was certified for elementary school) brought her educational knowledge with her. She really eased me into having a nanny by her work ethic, diligence and enthusiasm for daugther. She truly cared for my daughter and even brought her a birthday present after she was no longer in our service. She also put up with my calling 3 or 4 times a day to "just check in" and always gave me a detailed report of how my daughter was doing and what they had done together.

My current nanny is here from Mexico, is 31 and has 4 children. Her husband owns his own car repair shop and her mother lives with them and takes care of her son while she is here taking care of my daughter. She takes care of my daughter as if she were her own - wanting to see pictures from various occassions and even calling on the weekend when my daughter had the rotavirus to see if she was better. She did not know sign language but thought it was wonderful that my daughter knew it and learned it very quickly so that she could "converse" with my daughter. I have enrolled my daughter in a Spanish-for-toddlers class and my nanny volunteered to work with her during the week (she already reads to her some in spanish).

I apologize this is so long, I guess I just got on a roll here, but I've been very happy with my decision to go with a nanny and think it worked out the best for us. As another poster pointed out, it might be more economical to go with a nanny than day care for three children as well.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions (as if I haven't said enough already!). Good luck with your decision. I know it's tough trying to decide who to trust with your most precious of cargo.

I am a nanny, and I LOVE it. I have a 6 mo old that goes with me (my 4 yr-old step-daughter never goes with me) Anyway, the reason the family I nany for has me is b/c for one their jobs are demanding and they need me there for extended hours. Also, ratio issues at a daycare. Also, I go to their home so their child doesn't have to try and adjust to a different atmosphere. I interact with child on a one on one basis as compared to a daycare environment. If you have any questions just email me, I do not mind sharing my income information with you or answering any additional information. I am in the Tyler area and I am available for part time work.

E.,
well while nannys arent required to mandated by the state... DAYCARES ARE! and besides that you know what is going on, because anything can happen when it is a one on one situation. I had my son in daycare until he was four and he made a great transition into pre-K. Kids need interaction. Its helps stimulate their brain development!

I vote for nanny because of the home setting. Plus, with 3 you may find it is also cheaper.

This is just my opinion, but I think a center is always the way to go when you have a choice between the two. My reason, simple...accountability. On any given day, at least 6 teachers see my daughter...and she is NEVER left unattended. If something is happening to my daughter, chances are SOMEONE is going to see it. They are accountable to the director and the director is accountable to me and the State. Plus, their day is structured, the environment is safe, they are with their peers, and they learn to socialize. All win-win situations where a working parent is concerned.

Hi E.,
Making a decision about daycare is so hard! I'm not a big fan of big daycare until your kiddo can speak and communicate with you if they are having problems. I've worked at one when I was in college and still can't believe the ratios. I have an inhome daycare but am currently full...but there are a lot of great inhome daycares out there. It would be hard to find one that could take all three kids at one time. If you are interested though you can take a look at my website. www.kidsinbloom.blogspot.com I have a list of some people in the area (McKinney) that do this. You can also contact me if you need help. If you have an infant and two little ones your best bet might be to look into a nanny. Its probably going to be the least expensive for you,they will get more attention this way, and they are in their own home. You are probably looking at $500.00 at least a week if you are in an inhome or daycare setting plus other extra fees. A neighbor of mine hired a grandmother to sit for there little one and they have been so happy with her...she is like a another grandmother to him. No matter what you decide, make sure to really check those references! Ask for references of parents of kids they have watched before. A good sitter will become friends and part of their family and keep in touch. If they don't have those kind of references, they are seeing it as a job only and you want someone very loving to watch your kids when you can't be there. Good Luck! A.

My husband and I visited several daycare facilities before deciding to find a nanny. Of all the facilities we toured, I only liked one (Carpe Diem in Richardson), which I thought was wonderful, but they had a long waiting list.

The other facilities I toured had screaming babies who weren't getting any attention, and it broke my heart. A couple of facitilites had one employee watching eight children because another employee had stepped out. She was changing a baby's diaper while all the other kids were left screaming.

My daughter was an extremely fussy infant and I couldn't imagine leaving her at a place where she'd be one of several (I think 4?) babies that each employee was in charge of.

Of course I worried about the nanny being home alone all day with my daughter, but I found a 50-something year old woman who turned out to have been a nanny for the family of the founder of the nonprofit I work for. There was a sense of relief knowing that if they had employed her for six years, she was probably okay. I did a background check and reference check. We only needed her three days a week because my mother cares for my daughter two days a week. Eventually that nanny found a full-time job and left us. I found our next nanny through a sitting service. She had taken care of my daughter on and off since she was seven months old (whenever our nanny was sick) and we really liked her. Again, she is an older woman (early 60's) and has been a sitter/nanny since the 80's. She came from a known source (our sitting agency).

Having a nanny means that my daughter gets a lot of one-on-one attention. Our nannies have been very good about reading and teaching my daughter. My daughter learned baby sign language and was able to communicate with us at a very early age. She started speaking full sentences at what people have told us is a very early age. People think she's older than she is because of how much she knows. I would like to think that this is because of the one-on-one attention she gets from our nanny and my mother, in addition to the time that I spend with her after work.

I wish I didn't have to work and I'm trying to find a way to get my own business going so I can have more flexible hours so I can be home more. But until that happens, I am grateful we have been able to afford the two nannies we've had because of my mother caring for our daughter twice a week. My daughter is now 2 1/2 and she goes to Mothers' Day Out one day a week and we are fortunate to have children her age in our neighborhood so she gets socialization through other means than going to daycare.

I know several people who have had lots of success with daycare facilities so it just depends what feels most comfortable to you.

Good luck!!

S.

E.,

I have a nanny who is wonderful. If your job is demanding and/or if you have more than one child a nanny can be more economical. Again, do the background checks or go with a nanny service who will do that for you. It took me 3 months of interviewing when my girls were 3 months old and we found a good nanny through an agency. Agency fees vary from several hundred to several thousands of dollars. You can also trial a nanny by having her come spend a few hours with you and pay her hourly rate w/o being committed to hiring her. I did this with 3 of those the agency sent. Long story short, my first one left to pursue educational interests and I found another one through just sheer luck and she has been great. The nanny works for us because both my husband and I have demanding jobs, she's great with the girls and is older early 50's. I visited a few daycares when I was first looking for childcare and I didn't like seeing kids crying waiting for attention and only 2 people to give it to them. With the nanny I know my girls get all the attention from her and she takes care of them like they were her own grandchildren. I have never set up a nannycam but I do drop by unannounced and have never had a reason to suspect she mistreated them. They love her and it's evident as they blow kisses when she leaves and call her name on the weekends when she doesn't come. She also calls to check on them when they're sick and/or volunteers to watch them if we need to run errands. Hate to make this so long, but truthfully, you'll know what the right decision is for you and your kids. I'm sure some daycares are great as well.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.