Childcare Options

Finding quality choldcare while traveling has always been my number one priority.

The right option depends on ages of the children, school attendance status, availability of spouse or family support, and the schedule.

Several scenarios can be considered:

1. Taking shorter work trips and leaving the children with the other parent/usual home caregivers
   • This will likely work particularly well if children are slightly older, if there is solid home support, and if travel requirement makes sense for short trips (e.g. if a full day of travel is necessary, so a short trip may not be practical).
2. Picking a locums assignment in a location close to family members who can provide support (provided all parties are interested in this setup). This can be a great way to build and nurture relationships with grandparents or other relatoves that may otherwise be rarely visited. Some considerations here:
   • All parties (including children) are comfortable with the arrangement
   • Your family members are comfortable with the schedule (in-house 24 hour shifts are long for those who don’t always have kids at their house
3. Having a spouse or family member travel with you. Considerations here:
   • Extra costs of Airfare and likely larger lodging accommodations. Companion Airfare is not usually reimbursed by locums companies. Depending on your relationship with the person coming to help, a larger lodging option could be necessary. Your locums agency may have a compensation limit.
   • Having someone to help during travel is a big bonus. See my other posts on traveling with kids and reviews of products and services.
4. Traveling solo and hiring a nanny/sitter locally. This would require interviews and likely an in person trial ahead of time to ensure a good fit, especially if the caregiver would be spending long stretches of time with your kids. Sometimes 2 caregivers doing 12 hour shifts could be needed (depending on exact schedule anticipated).
   • Local sources for hired childcare include:
     • Nanny agencies: can provide temp employees or arrange a longer-term placement if you anticipate a longer assignment; many agencies today have babysitter subscriptions with ability to have a few steady caregivers without long-term obligations and placement fees.
     • Babysitter service agencies and companies: e.g. Jovy. These services generally charge a subscription fee for access to a roster of background-screened caregivers. These generally have a wide range of caregiver backgrounds and availabilities.
     • Care.com – similar to babysitting companies.
     • Complete self-search through local Facebook groups, word of mouth, etc.
   • Hiring a nanny to travel with you: this may be someone from your local community or a specialized travel nanny who lives elsewhere and accompanies you on trips. Some considerations:
     • This is the most expensive option
     • Travel nanny hourly rates and placement fees are higher than those for regular nannies. There are also travel nanny fees, payments for meals and incidentals, lodging (depending on how you structure this piece). Competitive offers usually include a night time differential and health insurance stipend. Hourly rates starting at $40 are typical. Daily travel fees in addition to nanny pay are typically in $100-150 range. Meal and incidental fees depend on cost of living in the area you travel to, generally expect $50-80 daily. Not all travel nannies will commend all these fees but competitive offer to secure a qualified, dependable, experienced nanny will typically necessitate these expenses. Airfare will also be a required expense.
     • Childcare is not a qualified business expenses for tax purposes at the time of publication of this post.
     • Travel nannies can be found through dedicated travel nanny websites, your local agency, or any other avenue where you would otherwise search for a nanny. A thorough job description and interviews will be important.
   • Metro areas generally have much better availability of local childcare services.
   • With any arrangement involving new individuals, always use due diligence, get identification and background screening. Surveillance is a personal choice. I bring several cameras for reasons of general safety while traveling.