Parents who have good nannies swear by them. They like not having to deal with the politics of using a relative or with daily pickups and drop-offs at a center. Your baby stays in familiar surroundings, and can nap and eat on her own schedule. Plus your baby is exposed to fewer germs and may suffer fewer illnesses as a result. Some parents also say it's comforting to know that their child doesn't have to vie with other children for attention, as he or she would in a daycare setting.
Scheduling is also much more flexible with a nanny than at a daycare center.
As long as you're not constantly adjusting your nanny's work hours, you may have more wiggle room for changes. If an important work meeting pops up at the last minute, for example, you'll have better luck negotiating with your nanny than you would with a center that closes at the same time every day. Nanny care is largely unsupervised, making it doubly important that you find someone you trust, says Mary O'Connor, president of the International Nanny Association in Collingswood, New Jersey. We wanted a situation that wouldn't leave us in the lurch. And, as your child enters the toddler and preschool years, she will need the company of her peers.