The world is a strange place in its current social climate. People move out of their homes at young ages, completely abandoning a lot of traditional family values. Although the number of home-stayers in the UK has grown in the past decade to a modest 37%, it is still the norm to move out in your early 20’s. Be this due to smaller housing spaces, the need for independence or the need of peace and quiet. Families tend to be not as tight-knit as in the days of yore, begging the question, should you try and keep the grandparents looking out for your kids instead of hiring a stranger?
The Good Ol’ Granny
Any parent knows that leaving their kid with someone is no easy task, not literally of course, but for it is a tall order for the mind. No matter how trusted the person might be, that tiny glimmer of doubt casts a shade on your time without the kids. What if someone got hurt within the safe confines of your home? Does the person looking after the kids know where your daughter’s favourite toy is? Do they know where you keep the go-to cereal bowls? These are all questions that may seem ridiculous, but as a parent, you are naturally programmed to worry about the most trivial details. There is one way to counter this however, instead of getting friends or some stranger to do it, why not get the ones who raised you? You know first hand that they know how to look after children, and there is nothing in this world like experience. Not only does this not cost you money, but builds those rare-to-come-by family ties between generations, as well as between you and your parents who you might not see all that often otherwise.
The Handy Nanny
With modern realities of living in big cities, having Granny look after the kids might not always be very plausible. Due to long distance, family issues or maybe the grandparents aren’t in the best of health nowadays, maybe getting a home care provider seems much more logical instead of getting them to look after the kids. A Nanny can turn out to be a much more practical solution, not only are they qualified for the job, they tend to be a tad younger than your parents and full of energy allowing them to keep up with your kid’s high-octane antics. One of the few disadvantages of hiring a nanny is that you are essentially leaving someone in your house with your kid, making this a matter of trust. Sure you can hire someone from an agency or online, but you never really know who the person is until it might be too late. Ideally, you would try and get someone who is known to be trusted, maybe your friends have used their services previously, or they are a trusted family friend. If you manage to get past the trust issues, a Nanny is a wonderful option for the busy parents allowing them to rest easy at times. This does however mean that your kids largely get brought up by someone else other than you, which might seem somewhat unsettling.
To conclude, if you have the option to get your parents to look after your kids, it might just be the best case scenario, building family ties and bringing up your kids with love. If that is not an option, however, a nanny is the next best thing. With flexible schedules and moral obligations to your household, they are a surefire option for those with hectic or career driven lifestyles.
*This is a collaborative post*
