Childcare
Daycare options are a sensitive topic, fraught with class and financial issues. There are no hard data on whether daycare or at-home-care is better for children. Both options have pros and cons, including logistical hurdles. If the at-home caregiver is a nanny, economics will factor in; paying a nanny to take care of a single child is considerably more costly than sending one child to a daycare center. The tables begin to turn if you have two or more kids, in which case the cost of hiring a nanny may be similar to, or even lower than sending the kids to daycare. Debates also rage on what type of care is better for a child's development. Daycare centers provide pedagogical activities and ample opportunity for socializing and learning to function in big groups. On the downside, daycare centers also offer up exposure to a cornucopia of germs and children in daycare are more likely to be sick often than children cared for at home. Those who favor nannies feel that a child will learn to socialize with large groups of people soon enough and that the individualized care a nanny can provide far outweighs any scheduled activities at a daycare center.
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