Moms Talk: Childcare (Stay-At-Home Moms, Day Cares and Nannies)

Patch: Which childcare do you prefer?

Carina Ibarra: I have a nanny and I feel like I have the best of both worlds. My nanny has two daughters (ages 4 and 7) so my son gets to socialize with them when they are not in school. She also has the free time in the morning to take him to all those "Mommy and Me" classes I can’t make it to.

Stacy Blom: I'm happy to say that I never needed any form of daycare. I gave up my job when my first daughter was born and was honored and privileged to be able to raise both our girls. Didn't start working again until about a year ago.

I still make a conscience effort to be home when my youngest gets out of school so I can be here for her. It's not for everyone but it was a choice we made and one I'll never regret!

No comments on childcare! I was the best Nanny my kids could have!

Patch: What are the pros to this kind of childcare?

The pros are that I still get to enroll my child in classes that interest him and that I know that my son is being well taken care of. The dynamic at the end of the day is very similar to a family dynamic. The 4 year old and my 18 month old get into fights. The 7 year old mothers my 18 month old.

So I feel that my son is learning those social skills that he doesn’t learn at home because he is an only child. I also appreciate that my nanny and I are always on the same page regarding parenting issues such as discipline.

Patch: What are the cons to this kind of childcare?

I guess one of the cons of this kind of childcare is that he isn’t really exposed to a wide variety of kids but I feel that he does end up getting this exposure in his classes.

Ideally I would love it if either I or my husband could stay at home with our child. That is a change I am hoping to make in the next five years since we are planning on homeschooling our son.