How to Choose the Right Child Care Solution for Your Family
Daycare, a nanny, or can your parents help out? When it comes to child care arrangements, the best solution isn’t always obvious.
If you haven’t finalized your child care plans for the fall yet, here are some key questions to consider to make an informed decision for your family.
1. Are your parents willing and capable of helping out?
If you have parents who are in good health and are willing to help take care of your child, this can be a wonderful solution. It can be a blessing for your child to spend more time with their grandparent(s). Building a special bond with their grandparents at this young age can bring lifelong benefits to their relationship. If this could work for you, consider how to best support your parents to ensure the child care experience is enriching for everyone.
Would your parents come to your home or would you drop your child off at their place? If you want your parents to bring your child to the park or to engage in community activities, consider the transportation situation and arrange plans accordingly. And regardless of the situation, think about how to make lunchtime meal preparation easier for your parents, especially since they’re not likely used to cooking for young kids anymore. Unless your parents love cooking and have endless meal ideas, make sure you at least have the week’s lunch menu on hand.
2. What is your work routine?
If you don’t work at home, do you have flexibility for when you can arrive at and leave from work? Can you ask your employer to timeshift your schedule? Timeshifting would make it easier for child care drop off and pick up and avoid the worst of rush hour traffic. If this isn’t possible, are you able to split drop-off and pick-up responsibilities with your child’s other parent?
If the answer is no to these questions, then a daycare may not be the best option without adding extra stress to your schedule. Daycares have specific hours and many will charge fees by the minute if you’re late to pick up your child. Some daycares do offer extended hours for drop off and pick up though, so make sure you ask about this option if you’re choosing between daycare providers.
3. Do you need extra flexibility for coverage?
Do you have to travel for work at least occasionally? Or do you have less conventional work hours and shifts that go beyond the 9 to 5, and perhaps with a schedule that can even fluctuate week to week? If yes, a nanny would be a better choice than a daycare, which generally only operates during the standard business hours. You may even want to consider a live-in nanny. If you need to better understand the tax implications of a live-in vs. a live-out nanny, refer to our past blog here to make sure there are no surprises.
4. Is there anything unique about your child’s health or development that you need to think about?
Is your child very social or extra shy? Does your child have any social-emotional learning issues? Does your child have any severe allergies? If your child is very shy, then they may be more comfortable with the one-on-one attention from a nanny in their home environment. But on the flip side, being very shy may mean that you want to immerse them into a daycare environment to help them overcome their shyness. There is no right or wrong answer, only considerations for how to make the most of the situation for your child.
5. Do you need help with other household chores?
You’re going to be busy between work and managing a household with a young child or multiple children. Maybe you’re hoping to have some extra help around the house beyond child care. A daycare provider won’t be able to help you with that but a nanny can. Consider the types of chores that would be realistic to do within the course of a day, knowing that child care is the first priority. For example, having flexibility for when laundry or vacuuming may be done throughout the week instead of chores per day can help your nanny better manage their time.
6. What is your budget?
Unless you live in Quebec, child care is generally considered to be expensive. And fees for taking care of infants and toddlers will be higher than those of preschoolers. Daycare centres will generally be of a lower cost (but still high) than a nanny, but that cost equation quickly changes if you have two or more children.
To get an idea of daycare centre costs, the Arrivein.com website, which provides information to newcomers to Canada, includes a table of child care rates based on 2020 data by province.
But parents are cautiously optimistic about savings to come. This article from Today’s Parent outlines the projected savings per major city across Canada once the federal government of Canada’s nation-wide child care plan comes into effect.
If you have two or more children, then you will soon realize that having a nanny, which is more convenient, may be the same cost or perhaps less expensive than paying for daycare for multiple kids.
It’s not easy to know what’s the best child care situation for your family, but when you’ve thought through the answers to all of these questions, the solution should become at least a little bit clearer. And if you find that the first solution you chose isn’t working out, know that you can always find an alternative.
If you decide to hire a nanny and need help with payroll, please reach out to us toll-free at 1-877-626-6982 or email us at taxquestions@nannytax.ca. We’re here to support you!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
