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Childcare and Babysitting
(As ranked by The Gallagher Guide survey, reprinted from The Gallagher Guide to the Baby Years, 2005 Edition : The Real Moms' Survey of Top-Rated Products and Advice
"My husband and I arranged special work schedules. I work weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while my husband works Saturday through Wednesday, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. He stays with our daughter all day Thursdays and Fridays, and on the other weekdays, since both our parents reside in the same town, they babysit her (free of charge!) for the two hours between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. until I get home. We realize we're very fortunate. Not everyone has families so near or careers so accommodating. It saves us from costly day care and it's a wonderful way for the grandparents to spend quality time with their granddaughter."
Elizabeth Hildebrand, Greenville, PA
"The best way to find a good, reliable child care provider whom you know you can trust to love and care for your child as much as you would is to turn to their father. I can't think of a luckier child in the world than one taken care of by a loving, stay-at-home daddy. If mommy makes the most money, as I do, but day care scares you, I would encourage you to explore this option. This is not to say it is easy or that all men would be able to handle it, but it is worth considering. My husband loves his new and much more challenging, but rewarding, career as a full-time dad. I go to work each day knowing that my child is safe and secure and that he is being shaped by the most wonderful man in the world. When I get home, I have the luxury of being 100% mom with no dinner to cook or errands to run."
Sarah Hallberg, M.D., Indianapolis, IN
"My father-in-law lives with us. Having family take care of your child is obviously the most convenient and economical solution. Another thing we have done is to provide room and board for a full-time college student in exchange for help with the kids. This has worked out great. She has become more like an addition to the family than an employee."
Rebecca Smondrowski, Gaithersburg, MD
"Since we had three children, and they were all young, we used an au pair for two years. Au pairs live in your home, and in exchange for room and board, they watch the kids. We had a great experience and enjoyed having live-in child care, especially with twins. It was really nice when the kids were sick to know they could stay home in good hands, and you could go to work. Best of all, the au pair program is cheaper than day care (when you have more than one child). There are two main agencies that help and some great resources of local parents who have gone through the program. Even in Fort Collins, we have about 15-20 families in the au pair program."
Sarah Fox, Fort Collins, CO
"When we found out we were going to have child number two, we did the math, added up child care costs and realized that in the end, all we had was $100 extra bucks a week and a lot of added stress because both parents were working. As a result, my husband quit his job and stayed home with our two kids. That was thirteen years ago. Since then, we've had three more children, he's still home and successfully raising healthy, good, honor roll students."
Dodi Kingsfield, Forestville, NY
"My primary child care provider offers a family discount. When a family has more than one child in her care, she reduces the fees. Also, she reduces fees if you bring food to her. When I get really good deals at the grocery store, I bring the extra to her and pay less for my day care."
Colleen Grace Weaver, San Lorenzo, CA
"We rarely go anywhere where we can't take our child. But if we do, we trade off with other parents. If a bunch of parents want to have a childless evening together, we sometimes have all the kids stay at one house, and all the adults at a very nearby house. We have the older kids (ten to fourteen) arrange games and activities and all the parents take turns spending a few minutes at the kid house, so there's always an adult present, but the kids entertain themselves. This only works if you socialize with your close neighbors and have pretty well-behaved kids, but the kids love it and so do the parents. Our local YMCA also offers Parents Night Out at least once a month. They will entertain a limited number of children for about $15 for several hours."
Jamie Hunley, San Diego, CA
Excerpted from The Gallagher Guide to the Baby Years, 2005 Edition : The Real Moms' Survey of Top-Rated Products and Advice
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