Daycare vs Stay At Home Parent

[Lechasseur]

When I was little, my parents hired a nanny. I think I got some pretty nice experiences just being out and about as a small child that I wouldn't have gotten if I was staying at home with a parent or going to daycare. So that would probably be my top choice, even if I'm guessing it can be cost-prohibitive.

I had a nanny until I was 4, but then we left Paris to move to the US. I went to daycare or whatever it was called afterwards, but then we moved again elsewhere in the US when I was 5 just before I started Kindergarten and after that move my mom never worked again (the moving for my Dad's work made my mom getting a stable job too difficult) so after that she was a stay at home mom.

So yeah I was essentially raised with my mom at home (I can't remember when she was working, or very vaguely), and I think my brother and I were much better off having been raised with a parent at home.

[JA]

While I've been in grad school, my wife has worked full-time while I've stayed at home in the mornings, then my infant daughter has gone to daycare for the afternoons, and then I'd go to work. I like that half-time daycare allows her to get in some regular social interaction with other children her age, but she still gets plenty of time at home with me.

However, we'll be moving out of state soon, and I'll be starting a full-time position. The current plan is for my wife to stay home full-time after the move, but we'll have to see how finances shake out.

Where are you moving to?

[Santander]

I like the idea of having a cheap Filipino au pair like families do in HK and Singapore, but the fear of my child developing a Filipino accent is a dealbreaker...

[morgieb]

Ideally it should be the latter until they start school but I'm aware it's very hard to do in modern society.

Personally mum was not working until I was 3, then I did the daycare thing.

[Yellowhammer]

Preferably, I will be making enough money for my wife to be able to stay at home, at least while the kids are very young.

[muon2]

My wife and I were both working full time when my kids were pre-K. My work site had excellent daycare available so I shuttled the kids with me to work and dropped them off for 9-5 daycare. I would recommend it as an option when its feasible.

[Intell]

Grandparents raise kids. (sane)

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Both of my parents will be retired before I even think about having kids. It would be nice if they could watch them at least some of the time. Some day care would be nice for the socializing aspect.

[muon2]

Grandparents raise kids. (sane)

That wasn't an option for us since one set lived 400 miles away and the other was 1000 miles from us.

[Fuzzy Bear]

A lot depends on the stay-at-home parent.

If my two (2) granddaughters who had lived with us had been home with my wife all day, and my wife was the stay-at-home grandma, that probably would have been wonderful, because she has a special connection with little kids.  They all love her, and she loves them.  That's why she's a great preschool teacher; she can be strict and stern with them while being loving and getting them to love her.

If they had stayed home with their mother, that would have been . . . er . . . "different".  She'd have left them in their swing or watching TV endlessly.  In that case, daycare would have likely been better.  

[RFayette]

I will be working in the Bay Area after graduation.  Assuming I end up staying there when I get married and have kids, then it seems like daycare will be necessary financially given the cost of living.