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Day Care Alternatives for Working Parents.

Most, if not all, parents have great concern regarding safety and quality of child-care in day-care facilities, as well as the staggering costs. Trusting precious children in the care of strangers can be a painful and frightening choice, but is unfortunately an economic reality for many.

Day-care alternatives for working parents admittedly are few, but we'll explore them here.

1. Relatives and friends

You may consider having a trusted relative or family friend care for your child in their (or your) home. Ideally, this would be a retiree (grandma?) who has her days free, or a stay-at-home mom who will welcome another child to watch.

This arrangement can work out well because your child will already be familiar with the care-giver, and you can trust he or she will be well-cared for. Also, your relative may already have kids at home for yours to play with.

A family member is also the least expensive child-care option. You might consider it technically "free", but be careful not to take advantage. Common courtesy would have you provide your child's meals, snacks, diapers, and other expenses that may come up during the day. Ideally, you would also pay the caregiver a little something extra for her efforts, just to show your appreciation.

2. Nanny/au pair

Hiring a nanny or au pair can solve the child-care dilemma, providing your children with a constant care-giver who most likely will eventually feel like part of the family.

Your child can be cared for in your very own home, which is a super situation: if your child feels ill (and it's not anything serious), you don't necessarily have to stay home with him or her. A nanny can also pick children up from school, or take them to and from after-school activities.

Nannies and au pairs can be much less expensive than day-care, especially if you offer a live-in position. If you provide a spare bedroom for the nanny, as well as pay a small stipend for living expenses, this can be an excellent bargain for you! With the cost of housing these days, this greatly benefits your nanny as well: a win-win situation! Depending on your agreement, your nanny may even do some light housekeeping around the house.

You can hire your nanny privately through a newspaper ad, but you will need to interview, screen and investigate applicants thoroughly. Background checks are absolutely necessary for the safety of your child and security of your home.

Alternately, nanny and au pair agencies are easy to locate in

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