The Live in Nanny or caregiver works exclusively for you. You are her only employer and she devotes 100% of her time to caring for your children or parents.  It’s proven that this type of care arrangement provides certain benefits over other forms of child or elderly care.

If you have a nanny and your child is sick you still have childcare, where whereas the nursery would not take a sick child. Also your working days can start and end when you want it to not when the nursery decides to open or close its doors. Nevertheless your child or parent will be cared for in their familiar settings and you can tailor your child or the elderly routine in accordance with their needs.

Live in or live out?

Having a live in nanny or caregiver isn't for everyone. The benefits of having a live in nanny are also some of the downfalls.

Advantage of live in Care:

A live in care will reside in your home, generally in a private bedroom, and you will deduct the cost of room and board from her salary. The Live in caregiver is never late for work due to car trouble, weather, or bad traffic. Live in nannies adapt to the rhythm of the nanny-family more quickly than the come and go nanny as a result of increased familiarity.

Live-in caregivers often provide families with greater flexibility since the nanny lives with the family and the parents don't, for example, need to rush home to get dinner for their family. The family will have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the nanny better and sooner than if the nanny arrives at the home each morning as parents are leaving and leaves the home each evening as parents are arriving. Through this increased interaction from the very beginning, the family will become more familiar and at ease with the nanny and this will translate to less anxiety for parents (and the children) when parents leave the house each day. A live-in caregiver is generally more available to address last minute scheduling issues, as they do not have their own family waiting for them at home in the evening or early mornings. (Remember, even if the live in nanny is available for overtime, the family must compensate her for the additional hours worked.) Parents who require 24/7 coverage at times due to work travel find that a live in nanny can better accommodate this occasional need.

A Live-in caregiver is often a preferable choice for aging parents who do not wish to go to a nursing home but would like to enjoy the comfort of their home. It is also a cheaper solution to a nursing home, especially if there are family members who can step in to relieve the caregiver.

For families with two or more children, a live-in nanny is a cheaper option than daycare.

Disadvantages of Live-in care:

An obvious disadvantage is lack of privacy when adding a new adult to your household.

Advantages of Live Out (Come and Go) care:

Obvious advantages include the fact that another adult is not added to the household; there is no need to allocate space to the nanny.

Disadvantages of Live Out care:

There is less flexibility in hours and schedules with live out employees. The live out nanny often has a family of her own that she returns to each evening, often her own children who require help with homework, transportation to activities, etc. The live out nanny will expect to arrive for work at a set hour and be relieved according to the schedule. There may be transportation issues, particularly during inclement weather. Punctuality may be an issue, often a factor of commuting distances and traffic/transit issues. Live-out caregivers are typically somewhat better compensated than their live-in counterparts, and may be more likely to change jobs to improve hours, compensation, or commuting time/expense than a live-in.