Unless you are a stay-at-home parent, the question of the care solution for the baby arises as soon as the mother-to-be is pregnant. Group reception or home nanny, licensed childminder or shared custody, how to choose? Cost, hours, admission conditions, advantages and disadvantages: focus on the different types of childcare.

The licensed childminder – who may be a licensed childminder – is an early childhood professional. It exercises under conditions:

• The maternal assistant has the authorization issued by the maternal and child protection service (PMI) of the department.
• She has completed 120 hours of training or holds a childcare auxiliary diploma or early childhood CAP.

Approved childminders practice either at their own home or in the homes of childminders. The conditions of reception of the children are strictly supervised and the approved nursery assistant is frequently the subject of control visits by the PMI.

A small staffing solution

The licensed nursery assistant takes in a maximum of 4 children simultaneously.

The flexibility of the licensed nursery assistant

Convenient for parents whose working hours are likely to change regularly, the licensed nursery assistant can provide a certain flexibility in the hours of reception of the child. On the other hand, it represents a privileged on-call solution for night workers: unlike a crèche in particular, the employee can agree to adapt to your schedules.

How much does it cost to employ a licensed childminder?

The parent is bound with his employee by an employment contract, which determines the hourly rate of the approved maternal assistant. His minimum remuneration is equal to € 2,75 gross per child per hour. To his basic salary are added various allowances – maintenance allowance and paid vacation in particular.

Good to know: under conditions of resources, the PAJE system of CAF offers financial assistance called Complément de free choice du mode de garde (Cmg). This service aims to cover part of the monthly remuneration of the approved nursery assistant.

Parents wishing to have their child looked after at home under the staffing conditions and schedules that they alone determine can use a nanny. The employment of a nanny also makes it possible to alleviate the shortage of approved childminders and the limited number of places in crèche.

The status of childcare at home does not require any specific training, nor is it subject to control. In return, it offers the advantage of optimal flexibility in terms of working hours.

The minimum wage for a home nanny

The minimum remuneration for the home nanny is € 9,98 gross per hour. Parents can benefit in this context from the financial assistance of the CAF (Complement of free choice of the mode of care of the PAJE device).

Shared custody

The employment of a nanny at home represents a significant budget for families. In order to share costs, and sometimes to offer the child a playmate, many parents opt for the shared custody system. Several families get in touch to have their children looked after together by the same nanny, at the home of one or the other or alternately.

Good to know: shared custody, in the same way as the employment of a nanny at home, gives rise to the means-tested financial assistance of the Cmg.

There are several types of crèche: public crèche, family crèche, parental crèche, company crèche, micro crèche. Each structure obeys its own organizational and management rules.

The public collective crèche is subject to strict control with a view to ensuring childcare in the best conditions of safety and development. In addition, the supervisory staff is made up exclusively of early childhood professionals.

This collective reception structure is open to children aged 2,5 months to 4 years, i.e. until they enter kindergarten.

The prices of the nursery

The price of a place in a crèche depends on several criteria relating to the parents’ family and financial situation: number of dependent children and the amount of annual resources in particular. To estimate the nursery budget, a simulation tool is available online (1).

The crèche is often presented as the most economical childcare solution for parents. Unfortunately, the number of places in nurseries is limited and many children cannot take advantage of them.

Nursery and sick children

Major drawback of the crèche as a form of childcare, the lack of flexibility:

• Parents must adhere to strict hours
• A sick child is not admitted to a crèche during the entire period of contagion. Parents must then find a one-off childcare solution, or be able to take time off from work.

The au pair – or the young au pair – is a foreign person hosted at the parents’ home. She works within the limit of 30 hours per week. In return, the family provides him with accommodation and meals, and pays him a remuneration that is comparable to pocket money: it takes between € 250 and € 300 per month.

Please note: the au pair is not an early childhood professional. In addition, she speaks little French.

Good to know: apart from the au pair, other types of childcare give rise to a tax reduction for the costs incurred.