You asked

Using a child minder: what are the advantages and disadvantages?

All child care choices have pros and cons, even a private child minder.

While some parents think that a large crèche is a better environment for their child, many believe that a private child minder offers several advantages. Here are the pros and the cons of using a child minder.

The Pros

A smaller group of children means more one-on-one time and attention for your child. Most child minders will only watch a handful of children which allows them to provide individual attention.

Your child will be interacting with a diverse age group of children as opposed to a structured crèche where children are often placed in groups their own age. Such interactions help your child to be comfortable with younger and older children.

A child minder will many times be more flexible with the hours of operation, while a crèche has set times that must be followed. If you are running late, you have to make arrangements to have your child picked up from a crèche, while often a phone call to the child minder is all that is needed.

The Cons

What happens when the child minder gets sick? Many times, they will not have a backup plan where a crèche will always have the required amount of staff.

A child minder is not supervised by anyone unlike the staff of a crèche.

A child minder will often not have the educational experience of a crèche.

More questions

Duties and responsibilities of an au pair will vary from family to family. A family with very young children will have very different needs to a family with school-going children or a family in which either the...
When it comes to childcare, there’s probably not a mum out there who hasn’t worried that she’s making the right decision. While we can’t make the choice for you, we have prepared a list...
Having a relative care for your child is an attractive option for many new mums. Here’s how you can make sure it’s fair for everyone.
Choosing to change child care after your parents have been looking after your child for months or years can be a delicate subject but, handled correctly, it can be done.
Consider the pros and cons before deciding to hire and au pair
A few tips for ensuring that you choose the best nanny for your child
Here are some points to take into consideration when taking the time to choose the best crèche for your child.
Things to look out for and take into consideration when choosing the best crèche for your toddler
Maintaining the relationships with your relative child carer
Points to consider when choosing the right type of child care

Latest

Trending