Congratulations on your new job. I must say having a nanny or enrolling your child in a daycare both have their own advantages. But based on my personal experience, I'd prefer to have a good reliable nanny to take care of my child just as i did a year before my son started school. It worked out for me since my mother used to pay a visit as she lived pretty close to our house. If you feel your child will have no difficulties adjusting to new places a daycare would be suitable else a nanny should be a right option for you. I got a nanny for my child from Tinies Childcare. I would really recommend them (http://www.tinies.com).    

Hi Emily,

This is such a hard decision!  I've done both and as Jess said, there are advantages and disadvantages both ways.  

Nice things about having a nanny:
- Your mornings will be less stressful for everyone.  Instead of having to get your child dressed, packed, and in the car (even in bad weather), he can just stay in jammies and relax until the nanny arrives.  This may not sound like a huge deal but think about doing it every day!
- You'll still have coverage if your child gets sick (you can't send him to daycare if he's at all sick)
- Your child will have 1X1 care that's more like the time you spend with him.  He'll still get to go on outings, visit the playground, have play dates, etc.
- Your child probably won't get sick as often as he would in daycare.

Nice things about daycare:
- You have the comfort of knowing that there's always more than one person in the room.  If you go with a center (instead of home day care which may only have one teacher) there's always two teachers in the classroom.  This always made me feel good.
- Your daycare center will never call in sick!  Your nanny will have vacation days, personal days, and sick days that will leave you without coverage.  Can be a hassle.
- Your child will have lots of interaction with other kids.  Daycare can be a great place to enhance socialization especially now that your child is 2 and more able to play with other kids.

The most important thing is that you feel really comfortable with whoever has your child.  You'll have a much better experience at work if you know your baby is in a happy and healthy environment.  If you're worrying (even just in the back of your mind) you won't be able to be as successful at your new job.

Let us know what you decide!

Hi Emily,
There was recently an article on this site addressing this issue with a table of pros and cons. Here's the link, if you are interested:
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Daycare_Kids_Have_and_Edge/
Good luck!

Emily, I am a big fan of having a nanny at home if you can do that.  It's a wonderful gift for your child to feel secure and cozy in their daily rhythms at home, especially at such a young age.  I had the good fortune to share a nanny with a like-minded neighbor and her daughter, so we had home-based child care AND a built in friend for a long time.  My older child went to daycare very young - too young - when I went back to work, and I feel he suffered from the experience at the time (although now he is a fine, well-adjusted adult!)  Trust your gut as you explore your options...because your comfort level will communicate with your child.  If you are anxious, so will he/she be.

There is a third option that has worked well for us: an au pair. We use Cultural Care Au Pair agency, but there are a lot of different agencies out there. This is kind of like a student exchange program, mixed with a nanny. I like it because it's a young person who integrates with your family. I tried daycare and this was a much better option for us, but every child is different.

I had a hard time with this issue as well. I tried both a nanny and day care. My son went to a "nanny" first at her house with other children ranging his age of two to six. He hated it. From the first time we dropped him off I had an uneasy feeling and regretted my decision to put him in her care. He screamed and cried which is something he never does. From the moment I dropped him off till when I picked him up he was very upset.I believe maybe the lady was expecting him to be able to adjust to her schedule in the first day. But he was barely two at the time and she was expecting him to take part in the activities designed for the older kids. (He was the youngest) She didn't have the patience and I picked up on it right away. (mother's intuition I guess) I did do my research on her and no complaints ( I did this before I put him in her care she was lisenced)but sometimes people don't mesh well. So I enrolled him in daycare and to my surprise he loves it and he loves his teachers. I thought he would not like day care but I was wrong. When I was young I was in day care and HATED IT!! I had mean teachers and just a bad experience. However, if you do your research and talk to other parents they will be able to tell you which place is good or not. What it all comes down to is what you feel is best for your child. If you see any sign that the environment they are in is not working then try and find something else. I say give both a chance if you find the other doesn't work, I was so upset with my first experience that I almost gave up but I tried day care and it worked for my son and I.

To all parents with the Nanny vs Day Care dilemma. There is a quite comprehensive article on that topic. Simply go to the link:

http://www.mondaynanny.com/index.php?page=resources/Article_1

Hope you'll enjoy!
Grace

Just to add to the prior answers (which are great), if you go the route of a nanny be sure to have a nanny contract in place, such as the one at http://www.mynannycontract.com/nanny-contract or at a placement agency if you use one.