Child Care Definitons

Confused?

Do you need a babysitter or a mother's helper? How is an au pair different than a nanny? What the heck does a doula do anyway? If you're always been a little confused about your child care choices, use this handy list to help sort through those pesky details.

BABYSITTER

Babysitters are part-time child care providers that work either in your home or occasionally out of their own home. Babysitters usually work less than 20 hours a week for an hourly rate and don't identify child care as their major profession. Parents may start referring to babysitters as "a God-send," "one of the best things that ever happened to me" and/or "my new best friend," so be sure to look for these nomenclatures as well.

MOTHER'S HELPER

Mother's helpers are just like babysitters except that the parent is in the house while the sitter is watching the kids. So what's the point, you ask? This is an excellent option if you are just getting used to using child care, want some uninterrupted time to get extra work done or want to give a babysitter a trial period before leaving her to fend for herself against your... precious angels.

NANNY

A nanny works more than 20 hours in a week, lives inside your home or travels to it daily, and receives a weekly salary. Nannies generally consider themselves to be full-time care providers. They are reported to the IRS and are considered employees of your home. Nannies can be wonderful additions to a household and can be like a favorite aunt or uncle to your kids.

MANNY

A male nanny. How clever.

AU PAIR

An au pair is a foreign female or male that enters the United States to work with an American family for three months to a year in exchange for government-regulated housing, salary and free exploration time. Au pairs are not American. Their fees and programs are government-regulated, so make sure you do lots of homework with an agency before hiring one. An added bonus of using au pairs is that they can share cultural experiences with your kids.

DOULA

Doulas are birth assistants that can help mothers prepare for a birth and can help during the actual birthing process. Doulas that are especially helpful are postpartum doulas, helpers that can handle a baby's night feedings after you have come home from the hospital. For this reason, doulas, like babysitters, can often be referred to as "a God-send."