Childcare solutions to consider when you work from home

Nannies, daycare centers, babysitters and other childcare solutions when you work from home

The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have forced many parents to work from home. While many schools have resumed in-person classes, students may be kept home due to possible COVID exposure or illness associated with cold and flu season. This means that families are now stuck at home frequently with little exposure to the world outside.

Working from home with kids in the house might be a difficult thing to manage for most parents. Children require continuous attention and juggling your work responsibilities with meetings and emails while simultaneously parenting is no easy task.

Traditional office work offers structure with many childcare arrangements that works well with this schedule. Working parents can take advantage of early drop off and late pick up times to take care of work responsibilities. But can you work from home and look after a child? Is it possible to balance both your job and your parental duties when telecommuting? Or should you look for other childcare solutions such as hiring a nanny while working from home?

If you’re struggling with your productivity when working remotely from your home, you should consider getting help with child care. It’s important to keep in mind that working from home is not a substitute for childcare! Keep on reading to find a few solutions to your work from home woes!

Daycare Centers And Preschools

It may feel counter intuitive to send children out of the house while parents stay home to work. But it might be the best course of action for many work from home parents.

Daycares are far cheaper than other full-time child care options like a live-in nanny. In addition, daycares provide a comfortable environment where kids can have important social interactions and fun with other kids.

Daycare centers also bring some structure to our lives by following a daily routine and schedule. These centers may also offer programs geared to your child’s interests like art, music or learning a new language.

All in all, preschools and daycares provide care in a structured and social environment. This allows you to concentrate on your work and meet fast-approaching deadlines.

Live-in Nanny

If you’ve decided that you want full-time child care, a live-in nanny just might be right up your alley! An at-home caregiver can keep your young children from interrupting your important work, helps take care of their needs, and keeps them occupied in fun and engaging activities.

Recruiting a full-time nanny also gets rid of the hassle of finding childcare solutions every time school holidays come along. But it’s important to realize that hiring a full-time nanny is never cheap and can be quite expensive. However, if you frequently find yourself traveling due to the nature of your job and spending nights outside of your home, a live-in nanny might be the only feasible solution.

Finding the right live-in nanny may prove to be a difficult task though. Considering that live-in nannies become a part of your home, you need to make sure that you find a nanny that is responsible, passionate, safety-conscious, and patient. This article offers amazing tips on how to evaluate and hire the right live-in nanny for your family.

Vetting for and finding the perfect nanny for your specific needs and wants is always going to be difficult but it’s imperative to take the time, discuss your options, and choose carefully.

Lastly, it’s important to realize that not all live-in nannies will work for every family and you just might end up not finding a good fit for your family. At that point, it’s best to look for other childcare options.

The following article offers a deeper comparison of nannies versus daycares if you’re still on the fence.

Hiring A Babysitter While Working From Home

Hiring a babysitter to look after your kids at home can be a cost-effective childcare solution. A neat way to save some extra money is by pooling up resources with a few other working parents and hiring single babysitters to watch all of your kids together.

One thing to note is that part-time babysitters often have other jobs and responsibilities though, so you might have to discuss everything beforehand and find a feasible schedule that fits your specific needs.

Other Potential Alternatives

At-home daycares managed by some mothers and families in your community may be a viable option. These daycares are a great alternative to traditional daycare settings due to added flexibility and convenience that it offers.

At-home family daycares also allow the providers and parents to work closely together as a team. The best part? Kids receive care in a home-like environment where they fit right in.

To find out if at-home family daycares would be a good fit for your family, this blog post will help you analyze the pros and cons of this childcare alternative.

The Takeaway

Finding the right child care solution is always challenging. Because of the fact that no two families are the same, you need to decide which child care arrangement best accommodates the needs of your kids and your financial as well as professional circumstances.

One thing that is common in all families though, is that each one wants what is best for their kids. If you want your children to have daily routines and the chance to interact with others of the same age group, daycares might be a good option. For those families that want full-time child care at home, live-in nannies should be worth considering.

At the end of the day, what type of child care provider is needed and how much is needed varies from family to family. Only the parents can decide what’s best for their children, but hopefully, this post has helped in making the decision-making process much easier. Take your time to assess and choose the right childcare option, your children will thank you for it!