Nanny Vs Day Care

[aliciajoy25]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

[torrenova]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

[scorecard]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

Lots of good points/questions. Plus:

- Do who want English speaking nanny? Surely the answer would be YES (that's assuming your first language is English). At 10 months babies need lots of exposure to and reinforcement of their first langauge. Nothing wrong at all with exposure to a second language, but strong exposure to first language should be more dominant. If you do want English speaking nanny could perhaps be more costly and not so easy to find.

- Do you realize that properly professionally trained certified nannys' basically don't exist in this country? And there is risk that the person you employ is focused totally on the salary and no real interest in, or knowledge about, how do work as a professional nanny in a structured way. Safety could also be a concern.

- Do you have any information about rental costs? Can be very cheap but you might not want to bring up two babies in cheaper rental circumstances.

[scorecard]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

[scorecard]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

Lots of good points/questions. Plus:

- Do who want English speaking nanny? Surely the answer would be YES (that's assuming your first language is English). At 10 months babies need lots of exposure to and reinforcement of their first langauge. Nothing wrong at all with exposure to a second language, but strong exposure to first language should be more dominant. If you do want English speaking nanny could perhaps be more costly and not so easy to find.

- Do you realize that properly professionally trained certified nannys' basically don't exist in this country? And there is risk that the person you employ is focused totally on the salary and no real interest in, or knowledge about, how do work as a professional nanny in a structured way. Safety could also be a concern.

- Do you have any information about rental costs? Can be very cheap but you might not want to bring up two babies in cheaper rental circumstances.

More points to consider:

- STUDY - What study are you thinking of? Post some details and I can probably give you some guidance on this point.

- WORK - What work are you thinking about? Do you understand the need for a Work Permit for any sort of work in Thailand, including part-time work. And in fact part-time work because of the likely salary would cancel the idea of a work permit. And do you realize that there are many occupations / jobs which can only be performed by Thais.

[fiddlehead]

Geez, all these negative posts again and only one persona attempts to answer her question.

A friend of mine has triplets and has 5 Thai nannies for them (2 day and 2 night).

They work in 12 hour shifts with one day off a week. (the odd one works less and fills in when needed or one is sick i believe)

THey each receive 7,000-8,000 baht a month. (depending on how long they've been there)

Most of them speak English somewhat and love their job or so it seems.

This is in Phuket.

Good luck.

[aliciajoy25]

Hello everyone,

thanks so much for your replies and concerns. to answer a few of your questions, no I wont be coming here on my own. Both of us are actually working on our our North American teaching credential and are considering doing our student teaching internship at an international school in Bangkok. We actually plan to teach in an international school for a few years after completing our schooling and feel that student teaching in an international school would be beneficial. Also, i have taught esl in Thailand and traveled to the country on vacation 6-7 times. We both have worked as esl teachers in Korea for 5 years and the twins were actually conceived there. I have done some research about accommodation and childcare and have some details. The main reason for this post is to get the inside scoop on what you all think. So please understand that we have thought this through and are very comfortable with international living and travel and would never put our children or selves at risk. So does anyone have any ideas on how to find a good nanny? thanks again for you responses!

[Boo]

Best place I have heard of on this forum is Bambi. They have links to nany services & general child care information

[Goinghomesoon]

I second Boo's recommendation. BAMBI even run a Twins Playgroup.

[scorecard]

Hello everyone,

thanks so much for your replies and concerns. to answer a few of your questions, no I wont be coming here on my own. Both of us are actually working on our our North American teaching credential and are considering doing our student teaching internship at an international school in Bangkok. We actually plan to teach in an international school for a few years after completing our schooling and feel that student teaching in an international school would be beneficial. Also, i have taught esl in Thailand and traveled to the country on vacation 6-7 times. We both have worked as esl teachers in Korea for 5 years and the twins were actually conceived there. I have done some research about accommodation and childcare and have some details. The main reason for this post is to get the inside scoop on what you all think. So please understand that we have thought this through and are very comfortable with international living and travel and would never put our children or selves at risk. So does anyone have any ideas on how to find a good nanny? thanks again for you responses!

Please accept my best wishes for your venture, hope it provides the professional experience your looking for and it's also beneficial to your twins development. Plus, I admire your courage to take the plunge.

[Livinginexile]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

You seem to be very nosey torren! why do you need to know about the OP's personal life?

Her question is about childcare.

What she and her partner are doing in Thailand is their business.

[torrenova]

Hi there,

I am thinking about coming to thailand for about a year to study and work. I have 7 month old twins who will be 10 months old we I get to thailand. I am wondering if anyone know how I find a trust worthy nanny and abotu how much it cost per month. Also, any advice on day care, such as costs and international vs thai day care. Ok thanks a bunch

Will you be on your own ? your post seems to indicate that to me.

Do you know Thailand from having been here for some time yourself ? If not, I question your decision to bring 10 month old twins.

You also say you are thinking about work. So you don't have a job here ? Do you have capital to support yourself ?

I'm not sure how you'll sort out accommodation if you just arrive at the airport with 2 babies on your own. You can't rent a place unseen.

As for childcare, I think you'd need a live in which means a bigger place and more costs. Personally I'd budget 10k+ for a live in. You won't need daycare for 10 month old twins.

You seem to be very nosey torren! why do you need to know about the OP's personal life?

Her question is about childcare.

What she and her partner are doing in Thailand is their business.

Actually, if you read the opening post, it talks about the first person singular, no mention is made of a partner until the OP came back with details. In fact, the OP's first post sounded like a first tiime newbie with no knowledge and no experience. Her subsequent post gives all the details. I think it pertinent to warn what sounded like a single mother that maybe coming to Bangkok with no job lined up, no childcare organised and no accommodation may not be the most sensible thing to do with 10 month old twins.

Just trying to be constructive and remember, the OP came here asking, I didn't go knocking on her front door.

[chatette]

BAMBI is indeed a good source of leads for `nannies,' some of whom are reputedly very good. I've had live-in, live-out nannies and used day care, and settled with the latter.

The advantages of a live-in nanny are obvious: you have someone available all the time, or at least most of the time. The disadvantages of a live-in or -out nanny are many, however, if you have a less than dedicated person.

I shifted my work to home when my daughter was born and had a live-out `nanny,' whom I knew and who was referred. When I came home one day and found my baby sitting in a soaking (cloth) nappy that had obviously been wet several times over, the `nanny' told me she was having trouble juggling home duties and baby care. I got a separate live-out nanny, leaving the first one to home duties. The pair of them, 11 years ago, cost me about 12,000 baht a month. You'd be looking at 16k-20k baht a month for two now, I'd reckon.

A few days later I came out of my office to find the nanny and the maid chatting over lunch while my baby had rolled into a corner. I paid the nanny off at the end of the day and, the next day, took my daughter to a day-care in the housing estate, which I'd previously reconnoitered.

The day-care had about 15 children from babies to pre-nursery schoolers and four carers. My daughter continued to go there each day until we moved abroad when she was 4 1/2. While I continued to work from home, I rode my bike there intermittently to breast feed her until she no longer needed day feeds. Later, when I returned to working out of the office, I'd drop her off enroute - in her pajamas - and she would be bathed and breakfasted there. When she began nursery school, the mini bus collected her and dropped her off there. She had her own cot (later mattress) her own carer and an enormous number of friends. The facility was child safe, they had book reading, game times and she was even taught to read herself. They had birthday parties for her and others. We still have the lovely collage of photos they gave us for her first birthday, taken over several months. When I had to work late or had evening events, on weekdays or weekends, I'd just arrange for her to stay longer and would collect her on the way in, paying a little extra.

Another advantage was that the district health authorities used the day care center for vaccination programs, so all we had to do was send her book with her and that was taken care of, too.

The negative side of this is that she wld also catch a cold from the others, or they would catch it from her, altho being breastfed she was pretty resilient. And then there was the time when the entire nursery broke out in chicken pox (the flip side of which was a heap of parents taking their non-nursery kids to childcare to catch it so they could be done with it and the fact that it didn't break our routines as there was no need for her to stay home with an infectious illness as they were all infected!)

When we returned from abroad when she was 8 1/2, the place came to the fore again during the long international school break. After completing a 3 wk summer program, we had no childcare -- so back she went, the only big kid among a sea of babies. But was she bored? No way. They assigned one of the carers to teach her Thai, which she'd all but forgotten how to speak, and the program included reading a writing. By the time school resumed in Sept., she was completely fluent AND literate. Quite amazing.

I was always a little leery of sending her to childcare before I tried it. But it really was the best for us in the end. The cost, which was definately not the main reason we chose the place, was incredible, too. 3,000 baht a month from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., 80 baht overtime from 8-10 p.m. and 100 baht from 10 p.m. to midnight. That included everything: bed, bath, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and, amazingly, LAUNDRY. That was the price when she was last there three years ago and I imagine the cost has gone up since then. Various other childcare places I've used in the city (ie not in a housing estate) are much more expensive and far less flexible with the hours. But places like the one we have such fond memories of may exist if you plan to stay in a low-income Thai-style housing estate nearby whichever school you plan to intern in. This particular one is a few kilometers from RIS, and the rents are extremely low, too, at around 4k baht a month for 2-3 br/a/c townhouse.

Edited July 17, 2009 by chatette

[soulboymark]

Unfortunately there are no legal requirements in Thailand relating to who can apply to work as a nanny - or even who can refer to themselves as a nanny. This alone is good cause to use a reputable agency. These are also thin on the ground but we found one eventually. But only after a procession of lazy and unreliable girls had taught us how rewarding it is when you find the right girl.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the agency name here so please PM if you want their contact details.

[soulboymark]

Hello everyone,

thanks so much for your replies and concerns. to answer a few of your questions, no I wont be coming here on my own. Both of us are actually working on our our North American teaching credential and are considering doing our student teaching internship at an international school in Bangkok. We actually plan to teach in an international school for a few years after completing our schooling and feel that student teaching in an international school would be beneficial. Also, i have taught esl in Thailand and traveled to the country on vacation 6-7 times. We both have worked as esl teachers in Korea for 5 years and the twins were actually conceived there. I have done some research about accommodation and childcare and have some details. The main reason for this post is to get the inside scoop on what you all think. So please understand that we have thought this through and are very comfortable with international living and travel and would never put our children or selves at risk. So does anyone have any ideas on how to find a good nanny? thanks again for you responses!

Me and my wife own a nanny agency (almost 20 years). pm me for details