We have three wonderful boys - 8, 4 & 8mos. I just went back to school f/t this week (PhD student) and dh is on parental leave until mid-April (we live in Canada).
We have been blessed with incredible childcare experiences with our university's daycares for our first two boys. They are phenomenal centres with amazing staff and they're just minutes by foot from our house. Our oldest son has been at a really fun and wonderful afterschool care program which is convinientlyon the way home for dh when he's working. BUT these are all incredibly expensive. If we put them all in the necessary care once dh goes back to work, it will cost: $1200 + 500 + 285 = $1985/mo. That's almost half of our monthly income.
In Canada, they have the live-in overseas nanny program where nannies (often Filipinos with families of their own back in the Philippines) in which you pay them minimum wage, subtract about $300/mo for cost of living expenses and after two years of f/t work, they get residence status and can bring their families over. In BC, it’s $8/hr. Peanuts. I couldn’t pay just $8/hr... that’s far too low for the work she would be doing. Nonetheless, it works out to be less than $1000/mo. That’s a whole $1000 less!
BUT, while these women are often loving mothers in their own right and I’ve seen very loving relationships with their host families here, the quality of care can’t possibly be equivalent to the daycare centres. Those caregivers have at least two years of ECE education. Their positive and careful language and conflict diffusion skills are amazing.
BUT, at the same time, it would be so wonderful to have someone home to do some laundry and basic housework. Also, she would be there to babysit when we needed to be out in the evening or weekend.
What would you do? Do you have good or bad experiences with nannies worth sharing? What are your reasons for having one or not having one?
Thank you!
We have been blessed with incredible childcare experiences with our university's daycares for our first two boys. They are phenomenal centres with amazing staff and they're just minutes by foot from our house. Our oldest son has been at a really fun and wonderful afterschool care program which is convinientlyon the way home for dh when he's working. BUT these are all incredibly expensive. If we put them all in the necessary care once dh goes back to work, it will cost: $1200 + 500 + 285 = $1985/mo. That's almost half of our monthly income.
In Canada, they have the live-in overseas nanny program where nannies (often Filipinos with families of their own back in the Philippines) in which you pay them minimum wage, subtract about $300/mo for cost of living expenses and after two years of f/t work, they get residence status and can bring their families over. In BC, it’s $8/hr. Peanuts. I couldn’t pay just $8/hr... that’s far too low for the work she would be doing. Nonetheless, it works out to be less than $1000/mo. That’s a whole $1000 less!
BUT, while these women are often loving mothers in their own right and I’ve seen very loving relationships with their host families here, the quality of care can’t possibly be equivalent to the daycare centres. Those caregivers have at least two years of ECE education. Their positive and careful language and conflict diffusion skills are amazing.
BUT, at the same time, it would be so wonderful to have someone home to do some laundry and basic housework. Also, she would be there to babysit when we needed to be out in the evening or weekend.
What would you do? Do you have good or bad experiences with nannies worth sharing? What are your reasons for having one or not having one?
Thank you!
