Home » Partners & Parents » Child Care Information » Comparing Child Care Options - Part Two

Comparing Child Care Options - Part Two

© Julie Renaud

Last month's article compared center care and family child care homes, both wonderful options depending on your needs. Below, you will find descriptions of in-home nanny/au pair care and relative care (arranging for grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. to care for your child). For a more detailed description of nanny and au pair care see my previous Suite 101 article "Nannies and Au Pairs: Considering In-Home Care." For more information on relative care, see "Pros and Cons of Care By a Relative."

---

NANNY/AU PAIR

Size of Program: Just your children.
Facility: Your home.
Meals: You determine diet and mealtimes.
Grouping: Your children.
Caregivers: One adult with your children.
Activities: You determine what activities your child participates in.
Transportation: You choose whether or not your caregiver transports your child.
Management: If you hire your caregiver directly, you are the employer and are responsible for paying employment taxes and providing benefits. You make all the decisions about the care of your child. However, if your caregiver comes to you through an agency, they often handle the taxes and benefit administration, but there may be restrictions on things like the number of hours she can work and whether or not she can drive.

---

RELATIVE CARE

Size of Program: Probably just your children.
Facility: Your home or your relative's home.
Meals: You determine diet and mealtimes.
Grouping: Your children and any other children in the home.
Caregivers: One or more adults with your children.
Activities: More than likely, your children will take part in your relative's daily routine. You'll need to discuss the inclusion of special activities or child centered activities.
Transportation: You'll need to discuss who is allowed to drive your child and where.
Management: Much like hiring a nanny or an au pair, if you pay your relative you will be responsible for taxes and benefits. Whether or not you pay your relative, the relationship is a complicated mix of professional and personal. It needs to be handled delicately. The more situations you can discuss in advance and come to agreement on, the fewer problems you will have later. For instance, if you never discuss discipline philosophies, and only discover after the fact that your relative uses methods you disapprove of, working it out is going to be much harder. Any difference of opinion can become very personal and impact other areas of your life. Relative care can be a wonderful solution to your child care needs, but, of all the arrangements, it also has the most potential to turn ugly. Proceed with caution.

The copyright of the article Comparing Child Care Options - Part Two in Child Care Information is owned by Julie Renaud. Permission to republish Comparing Child Care Options - Part Two in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.