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You need someone to look after your children even when you work at home. Should you send your children to daycare, or is a babysitter best?

Many freelancers and parents who work at home do it so they can spend more time with their children. That’s great, but the children will always come first. If you want to get any work done, you need to think about childcare options.

The main two options are daycare or hiring a babysitter. Which one is the best option for your work at home needs? It really depends on the type of needs you have, so here are some factors to consider for each one.

Why hiring a babysitter is better when you work at home

Opting for a single babysitter or a few different child-minders could work out more beneficial if you need more flexible daycare hours. The problem with private and state facilities is that they have strict times, and that doesn’t always allow you to call on them at 7pm when you have a last minute interview or you really need to get the work done.

There is also the ability to hire a babysitter for just a few hours a day. Most daycare facilities will expect five hour blocks, or six if you opt for lunch breaks as well. With a babysitter, you could hire one for two hours a day, five days a week just to get through the main bulk of your workload. That gives you a few set hours in the week just for your interviews or nipping out for meetings.

It can also be cheaper to opt for a babysitter. Many will come to your home, instead of you leaving, so there are fewer overheads to pay. You can even keep food costs to a minimum, because you can make sure there is something in for your children—and babysitter—to eat. Some parents find that grandparents are willing to look after children for a few hours each day for no pay at all.

Why you should opt for daycare settings instead

While babysitters offer many advantages, so do daycare facilities. One of the biggest benefit is you know the people you hire to care for your children are fully trained and qualified. They have to be to work in the facilities, and must stay on top of their training. You can check to see how well they do in inspections to make sure the facilities are the best for your children.

You will need to take them to the facility, but that means a few hours of complete peace in your home. There’s no need to worry about the loud bangs coming from a different room, or try to work over the screaming arguments between children.

Daycare centers put on a variety of activities throughout the day, and can help with other types of development. Only children can become more sociable when they meet other youngsters, and talking can come on rather quickly as children realize they need to communicate with others. The daycare teachers can also work with you as a parent for specific areas like discipline and giving up the pacifiers, and even offer tips to help you while at home.

There are pros and cons with both. It all depends on what you want out of the facility or babysitter. Do you just want the peace and quiet to work at home, or would you like the person looking after your children to help further the development of your children in various ways?

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Which option did you choose when you work at home? Share your thoughts in the comments below.