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In-home care may be right for you if you answer "Yes" to any of the following situations:
Do you...
... want your children at home with one primary caregiver?
... feel that a day care center is not appropriate for your children on a full-time basis?
... have a child that you feel is not ready for out of home care?
... have any children who need special care, such as for a physical handicap or behavioral problem?
... have two or more children who need care?
... need child care in your home after school?
... feel you are willing to pay $350 to $600 per week for full-time child care or $8-$12 per hour for part-time child care?
An in-home caregiver's primary responsibility is the care and nurturing of young children. This is a person whom your children will grow to love and will take guidance from. You and your children should feel comfortable with and accept this person as part of your home environment.
What is in-home child care?
In-home child care is a situation in which a caregiver comes to your home to care for your children. With in-home care, your children receive one-on-one attention from a familiar person in their own home environment.
- Live-In
- Live-Out
- Shared Care
Live-in caregivers generally are on duty 10-12 hours per day, five days a week and one week-end evening. They eat meals with the family and share in the cooking and cleaning-up duties. Be assured that nannies will expect most nights off during the week.
Most live-ins require a private living space, use of the family car, and specific hours off and on-duty. Both you and your live-in nanny may have to make concessions regarding visitors and curfews, but it is your house and you have the right to set reasonable rules.
Live-in nannies are sometimes available for emergency care and babysitting. Depending on your personal preference she become more a part of the family than a live-out nanny. This situation does however, require special care on your part to realize that your nanny has a life beyond the job and she is not at your beck and call. Also, keep in mind that you will need to compensate your nanny for any extra hours worked
While it may seem more convenient and less expensive to have a live-in arrangement, it can also be more difficult to keep the relationship professional.
Live-in relationships are the hardest. It can be very difficult spending so much time under the scrutiny of your boss. Could you live with yours?
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The live-out caregiver typically comes to your home for a 9-10-hour day, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., five days a week. You and your live-out care giver will arrange a set weekly schedule with weekend care arranged separately. It is normally the responsibility of the nanny to provide her own transportation to and from your home. The beauty of this arrangement is that your nanny will have a life of her own when she leaves her job. This allows her to relax and rejuvinate before her morning return. The live-out nanny may cost a little more but she is generally more independant and fulfilled with her personal life outside of the job.
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A third, less talked-about yet more economical alternative is shared care. This situation involves one nanny and two neighboring families. The nanny works in one home and might spend alternating weeks at the other home. The nanny cares for both families' children in one home. For a live-in nanny, the family that provides room and board may pay a smaller portion of the salary.
Before you and your friend or neighbor decide to share a nanny, discuss and agree upon a philosophy for child care and discuss exactly what each of you will want the caregiver to do on a day-to-day basis. Also realize when hiring someone that this nanny had better have plenty of energy and be able to handle all types of people in order to please two families at once.
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