You can't have a good screaming match with your spouse if there is someone else around, Douglas says. You may not want everyone to know how much money you have in the bank if you leave your checkbook on the table. Another alternative to day care centers is to hire a nanny. Often confused with each other, au pairs and nannies are actually very different. A nanny usually does not live in the home.
Nannies sometimes do housework as well as child care.
Nannies and au pairs also usually have less training than do the staff at day care centers, Douglas says. She warns that the burden of monitoring them for signs of trouble falls on the parents. And, when nannies and au pairs are sick there is no backup, Douglas warns. He was bored while she was watching a soap opera, Lederman recalls her child telling her. So he changed the channel, and she hit him.