Kindergarten is a new phase, both for children and for parents, and this new phase brings with it an entire set of new opportunities as well as an entire set of problems. Chief among these problems is the question of who’s going to take care of my child while I’m at work?
This is especially true for single parents who have to work extra hard in order to be able to provide for their child. Schedules aren’t always going to align with every other aspect of your life and quite frankly, that’s just the way things are. In fact, you’re lucky if they do line up with your schedule perfectly.
But what happens when your responsibilities, both as a professional and as a parent become conflicting sides of a coin? Naturally, your parental instinct, especially if you’re a mother, is going to take control over most of your decision-making — in this case, you’re going to lean more towards taking care of your child, but realistically, what you’re actually going to do is to assuage your need for employment.
And this is where two options come in. You could either hire a nanny, or you could entrust your child to a child care Perth daycare center. Using a website like Toddle can help you find the nearest child care centre to you
Now, to be honest there are a lot of factors that would influence your decision, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to four of the most important.
Schedule
The main reasons that you’ve been forced to make this decision is because of time constraints. Daycare centers open and close on fixed schedules, while nannies can be requested to come in at a particular time of your choosing. Typically, for parents who work 9-to-5, a daycare’s schedule wouldn’t really be an issue as their schedules adhere to regular work hours. However, let’s not forget that there are people who work graveyard shifts, especially in the medical field. For these work schedules, you really have no choice other than to opt for a nanny.
Oversight
This refers to the confidence you have that someone is overseeing that whoever is tasked with taking care of your child is doing it properly. The downside to hiring a nanny is that there is literally nobody who can supervise how your nanny would care for your child. A daycare, on the other hand, has supervisors.
Care Plan
Daycares typically have the same care plan for every child they handle. It’s the same set-up as a classroom, where students are all treated the same. On the contrary, you’re able to tell nannies any specific needs that your child may have. You can personalize how your child is to be cared for.
Cost
Finally, the cost. Personal tutors typically charge more for their services versus classroom teachers, and the same could be said for daycares and nannies. Nannies generally cost more, but that because they are treated as specialists rather than an institution.
