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Double Duty
Finding the Right Daycare for Multiples By Heather Johnson Durocher
Jenny*, a Woodside, Calif., mother of 6-year-old triplets, says having an au pair proved the most reasonably-priced option. Jenny's family, who also has used a nanny and a daycare center, first employed an au pair when the triplets two girls and one boy were 4 years old and has since used two others from the same agency.
"It is the most economical childcare solution, and it is a big help to have someone available 45 hours a week who will help with the laundry, driving and cooking," says Jenny, who has five children and works as an attorney four days a week.
Upon learning she was pregnant with twins, Chicago, Ill., mom Briggen Wrinkle began researching caregiver options other than home daycares. "I had always thought we'd use this daycare down the street, but [with twins] it was more expensive than having a nanny," says Wrinkle, a public relations executive whose 2-year-old boy and girl twins Corbin and Carter have been in the care of a nanny since they were about 4 months old.
Daycare homes or centers may prove more cost effective in some areas, however. And parents may find that their children are quite comfortable in these types of settings, O'Brien says. This could be because, as a multiple, the child may adjust more easily to a new, larger setting, she says. "This is just a hunch, but twins and triplets, because they already have a built-in relationship with one another, would have less of a time making the transition," she says.
"I treated it as if I was interviewing someone for a job in a corporation," says Smith, a nurse practitioner in Marceline, Mo. "To me, this was the most important person I would ever interview."