April 11, 2018August 10, 2018
by Jessica Whitney

If you are considering going back to work after maternity leave and your husband works too, you are probably looking at all the different day care options that are available. I wanted to give you a rundown of your different options to help in your search. This article complements the Day Care 101: How to Choose the Best Day Care post I wrote before.

If you missed it, the Day Care 101: How to Choose the Best Day Care is located under the New Mom Survival Guide. It details everything you should look for in a day care between location, price, food, oversight, and other factors. You must take into consideration a lot of different factors before choosing a day care.

When I first started researching for Little One 5 years ago, I had no idea where to start. Thank goodness for Google! I didn’t know churches had day care centers or that you could be licensed out of your home. I definitely didn’t know the difference between an Au pair and a nanny!

I want to provide you the resources as a new mom and new parents to make the most educated decision for care for your little one, rather than the most convenient one. I want to give you the tools you need to make an informed decision that you will be happy about. To help you make a decision that allows you the opportunity to return to work with confidence in your care giver decision.

Based on my experience I evaluated each category’s overall cost. This number varies greatly depending on how many kids you have, where you live, and specialty places in your local area. It doesn’t take into account that some centers give discounts for siblings, cost of transportation to the locations, as well as what services they provide there. But overall, I think you will find the price assessment to be relatively the same where you live.

Again, I hope by providing you the information in this post, as well as the Day Care 101 post, that you will find the hidden gem perfect for you and your family. Likely it will take effort, patience, and persistence to find it but don’t give up! Kids are resilient, can handle change, and will likely thrive in many more environments than you might think.

There are affiliate links in this post, this means if you click on a link, I might receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only refer products or companies I love!

9 Day Care Options Simplified for Working Parents

Day Care Centers/ Child Development Centers

Day Care Centers are the obvious buildings you see with the bright letters on top of the building and the small play ground outside littered with toppled bicycles and noisy kids. They are an established facility with employees and regular service hours. Day care centers vary greatly by what services they provide for your kids, what security measures, and what level of experience their teachers have. Many day care centers are national organizations, but you will find private ones in your local area as well.

Cost: $$$

In Home Day Care

In home day cares provide a licensed facility inside a care provider’s home. This option in a loving home is also inspected and licensed by the state to meet safety, health, and child care requirements. Additionally, the providers must maintain certifications in order to be licensed with the state. On average, in home day care providers service 6-8 kids depending on the state as well as how young their kids are. The care provider can tell you their max. In these homes, the number of kids under the age of 2 is normally restricted to no more than 2 kids. In home day cares can be found through state websites along with their reviews and any issues filed against them. This is the type of day care that has always worked well for us because of the flexibility our providers have given us! I’ll talk about the pros and cons of in home day care in more posts to come.

Church Day Care Centers

I totally did not know about this option before I had my first baby! You may not think to do this, but search for “Church Child Development” options in your area. When you search for day cares, the churches might not pop up as options at first. These licensed centers are often run out of churches at much lower costs than many more formal day care centers. Just because this child care option is run out of a church. doesn’t mean they don’t have high levels of cleanliness, organization, and a solid teaching philosophy established.

Cost: $$

Nanny

You might be considering the in house nanny. Good for you! At the most expensive option, this option also can give parents the most peace of mind since they will likely build a personal relationship with their nanny. Maybe you know someone from church or your baby sitter who is willing and able to care for your baby full time. If you don’t, there are nanny services that will provide background checks and help set-up interviews. The services will help you vet the nannies before you interview them so you don’t waste your time. Once you decide that you want to hire a nanny, these services will also help to make sure the nannies are paid correctly. Since nannies are considered employees in your home, you actually should withhold taxes, pay overtime, and give them a W-2 at the end of the year.

Cost: $$$$

Au Pair

Au Pairs are international day care providers that you normally find through an Au Pair service. Depending on the organization, the Au Pair will be required to work so many hours a week providing child care. Au Pair’s are normally working towards number of hours to get experience for a degree. They most likely will be taking classes either online or in the local area, and will be expected to receive some cultural immersion while in the United States. Au Pairs live with you and can normally provide 40 hours a week of service. You provide them a small stipend as well as their lodging. Each Au Pair organization will say exactly what will be expected of you as well as the Au Pair. This option can be great if you are looking to introduce your kids to new cultures without having to travel.

Cost: $$$

Mommy Helper

If you have the option to work from home part time, maybe you are okay with finding a mommy helper to help around the house while you work from home. If you know someone down the street in the neighborhood with an older child who is available, they could come over to help you watch your baby and play with your littles while you are working from home. This might be a cheaper option for some moms, but might cause higher anxiety if you do not have a separate work space available in the home away from the kids. Finding children who are homeschooled in the area would probably be the best mommy helpers for during the day.

Cost: $

Finding care through websites

There are several websites that allow you to advertise your childcare needs. These websites allow you to be more specific on hours, specialty care needs, etc. You will likely find a wide range of experiences, educational backgrounds and knowledge on these websites. You can normally find in-home day cares, nannys, baby sitters and more on websits like Care.com, and it’s worth checking out at least for one month while you search for the best day care options for your family.

Cost: $-$$$$

Family Members

I’ve had many friends that make this work with family members. They work out their schedule so that 1 day grandma gets the baby, 2 days a week dad watches the baby, and 2 days a week mom watch the baby. These systems can sometimes be elaborate and a logistical nightmare, but baby gets to stay with trusted family members to love and cuddle them. This option is often the cheapest also can be the most rewarding for everyone who gets to spend time and invest in the little one’s memories.

Cost: Free or $

Preschool

If you are able to stay home with your baby until they are old enough to go to preschool then this might be a viable option. Or, once your child is preschool age, you might want to transition to this option. Several locations offer services and schools for preschoolers starting as early as 2.5 years old. These facilities could be in a traditional day care setting, an in home daycare, a church, a mother’s day out program, or in just a “pre-school.” These programs are more structured and probably have lower overall fees because they can have higher student to staff ratios than infants. This option isn’t as flexible if you have more than one child because your youngest might not be able to go to the same facility which requires extra driving.

Cost: $-$$$

The Biggest Challenge

There are many different types of day care options to choose from. Start researching early (when you are still only a couple of months pregnant). The biggest challenge we’ve faced is waiting lists in the areas that we’ve lived. If you want to lock-in a spot for a day care, you might need to commit early, so start the process as early as you can if you will have to send your baby to day care!

Free Day Care Decision Matrix

Simplified Motherhood blog is a blog for new moms about surviving the first year, being more productive, living a more FULL life, and overall motherhood topics. If you would like a tool to help you make the best day care decision for your family, here is a free day care decision matrix, please download it here.