During the current economic recession, most families are especially cost-conscious. It’s understandable that they want to be conservative with their nanny’s salary. But scrimping too much on your nanny’s salary could result in high nanny turnover or less-than-wonderful childcare. The quality of care during your child’s early years is crucial to his or her healthy emotional development, and will help lay the foundation for the rest of her life. You will probably only need a full-time nanny until your child starts preschool, which is a small percentage of her life. Then, most families switch to part-time help and the cost decreases considerably. As the owner of Safe and Sound Nannies for 13 years, I found that once my child was older and no longer needed a nanny, I was thankful that I hired and kept our warm, loving, stable nanny for several years. Although I probably could have saved money in those early years, I’m glad my child had 2 nannies in 6 years rather than a series of nannies who left due to a non-competitive wage. It may be worth cutting back in different areas to ensure that you give your child the stimulating and consistent care he or she needs during such an important period for his developing brain and personality.

Dr. Ann Wycoff is founder of Safe and Sound Nannies, a full service nanny placement agency.