Enter the words “Atlanta childcare” into the Google search engine, and you will immediately discover that the options for childcare in Atlanta are as diverse as the people who live here. From traditional full-day childcare programs to babysitting co-ops, Atlanta has become a place where just about any childcare option can be found.

For parents searching for a nanny or babysitter, resources like care.com, sittercity.com and other paid sites allow you to search hundreds of ads from providers (and get background checks, check references, etc.) for a monthly fee. For a higher fee, services like nannyquest.net and thesouthernsitters.com place nannies for you according to your needs and then manage the relationship. Yet fewer families today are relying solely on one means of childcare to meet the needs for care of children under the age of 5.

According to the 2010 census, 61 percent of children under age 5 in the U.S. were in some type of regular childcare arrangement with someone other than the child’s mother/primary parent — 32 percent of these children are cared for by partners and another 42 percent of these children are cared for by a grandparent or other relative. For some, this is an economic decision, but for others, it is a parenting preference made regardless of cost.

Nadine Kennerly and daughter Lexi

For Nadine Kennerly of Decatur, the decision to stay home as full-time caregiver to her children ages 4 and 2 ½ was part of the plan from the start. Because her husband, David, works outside of the home more that 50 hours weekly, it was important to them for Nadine to stay at home to be the primary caregiver to their children. Although she loves not having to worry about childcare and getting to experience parenthood to its fullest in the brief time before her kids have grown, she acknowledges that even with a super supportive partner, the 24/7 demands of being the parent-in-chief can be challenging. “My advice for a new stay-at-home parent is to get out and find others like you. Join or make a group,” Kennerly says. “I consider my other stay-at-home friends my co-workers, and I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without them.”

Other parents choose a more blended model of childcare that affords them the best of both worlds. The Parent’s Morning Out/Children’s Morning Out programs throughout Atlanta are one way stay-at-home parents and those who work part-time or from home can get the coverage they need while still functioning as primary caregiver. Often established in churches as part of an outreach ministry, PMOs offer three to four hours of care daily for one to three days a week for a monthly fee. Another means of blending the need for childcare while maintaining the majority of caregiver responsibilities during the traditional workday is cooperative preschools. Atlanta now boasts three co-ops, which require parents to serve as parent-teachers in their children’s classrooms in addition to operational, governance and facilities maintenance responsibilities.

The Cochran family

For the Cochran family, a co-op and full-time babysitter prove to be the blend that best enables them to maintain their busy work schedule and still feel super involved in their 4-year-old’s daily life. “I originally planned to stay home with Emerson for one year, but once that year was up, I realized we were just starting to get to know one another! So, even though I added a caregiver three times a week, I still took care of her the other two days until she was 3 years old, then went back to work four days a week to have at least one day with her per week.” And as parents at a co-op preschool, both parents serve as parent-teachers in their daughter’s class monthly, participate in a number of events throughout the year, and serve on the school’s board.

For families with busy work schedules and multiple children, an au pair is an option that is gaining popularity. For the Kron family of Avondale Estates, an au pair was the perfect solution to two busy work schedules and three boys ages 5, 4, and 2.

“We loved our first nanny, but our primary driver for change was cost,” Aspen Kron says of hiring an au pair. “We pay as much for 45 hours of flexible care for three children 5 and under as we did for 20 hours of scheduled care for only one child.”

The Kron family

Although Kron stayed home with the children immediately after birth, the au pair allowed her to return to work outside of the home and have “… a family connection that we were really looking to achieve. The women who live with us are more than just our children’s childcare;” she says. “By the end of the year, they’ve made a real connection with and impact on our family.”

This option enables the Krons to get the childcare coverage they need without sacrificing the familial feel they want the childcare to have. With their caregiver living under their roof, they feel more connected to their children’s daily lives and able to balance their home/work balance.

Nanny shares, in-home daycares, and babysitting co-ops are still a few more of the common choices parents in Atlanta make to facilitate work outside the home when children are too young to be enrolled in school. In Atlanta, the sheer number of choices can be daunting, but most parents agree that the best resource is other parents. By joining a listserv, playgroup, or just asking around at local family-friendly businesses and hang outs, you are likely to unearth a wealth of choices that will work for your family’s needs.

Resources
• www.naeyc.org lists criteria for national accreditation of early childhood care centers and a list of all centers that have completed the process
• local cooperative preschools:
o Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool: www.oakhurstcoop.com
o Inman Park Cooperative Preschool: www.ipcp.org
o Grant Park Cooperative Preschool: gpcp.org
• Decal.ga.gov provides a search tool providing different criteria for parent to find licensed child care options near them (and verify licensure of childcare centers)

Fast facts
• Average hourly rate for babysitters in the metro Atlanta area: $12/hour for one child, 22-plus-year-old babysitter with two to four years of experience
• Average cost for infant care in Georgia annually per household: $7200
• Average range for live-in nanny in Georgia: $250 to $850 per week
• In 2009, the average annual cost for infant care in Georgia was $6,930; the annual average cost for public college tuition in Georgia was $4,968.

Read Kristin Moody’s quest for the perfect person to care for her two little ones.