# Nanny vs Nursery School



## Dude McRocker (Mar 17, 2015)

My wife and I are moving to Abu Dhabi in April 2015 and will both be working as nurses with Sunday-Thursday schedules. We are Americans and this will be our first time living overseas. 
I have heard a lot of different things from a lot of different directions, but the information is kind of dated. We have a two year old girl and a baby on the way (due October). Taking a look, it looks like nursery school fees are about 40,000 AED per year (with all the afternoon programs, book fees etc). It looks like it would be cheaper to hire a nanny to care for two children, but I have heard that it is difficult to find a good nanny (one that wont steal or disappear with the visa). Can anyone living in Abu Dhabi with young children give me some insight?!?!?
We will both be arriving in April. While my wife will start right away, I wont have to start until June in order to get our affairs in order when we arrive. I really appreciate any advice, links, or other info.


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## blue2002 (Oct 29, 2013)

Dude McRocker said:


> My wife and I are moving to Abu Dhabi in April 2015 and will both be working as nurses with Sunday-Thursday schedules. We are Americans and this will be our first time living overseas.
> I have heard a lot of different things from a lot of different directions, but the information is kind of dated. We have a two year old girl and a baby on the way (due October). Taking a look, it looks like nursery school fees are about 40,000 AED per year (with all the afternoon programs, book fees etc). It looks like it would be cheaper to hire a nanny to care for two children, but I have heard that it is difficult to find a good nanny (one that wont steal or disappear with the visa). Can anyone living in Abu Dhabi with young children give me some insight?!?!?
> We will both be arriving in April. While my wife will start right away, I wont have to start until June in order to get our affairs in order when we arrive. I really appreciate any advice, links, or other info.


We have a two-year-old as well, so perhaps this will help:
1) We take our daughter to Bright Beginnings at NYUAD. They do have at least one other branch in AD. Their cost for the full day (08:00 - 18:00) is about 41K AED for Sept - June. During July - August instead of the regular program the nursery will offer a "summer camp" - not yet sure at which location in AD - for another 8K. It is possible to book shorter hours or fewer days per week, but unless you will have a nanny for those days... not really an option.

2) My wife and I struggled with the nanny vs. nursery dilemma and ultimately settled on... both. We want our daughter to go part-time to the nursery, but at the same time we want the nanny for the remaining time *and for the time when our daughter may be sick.*. At any sign of potentially communicable disease (fever, eye infection, diarrhoea ... the usual toddler stuff, you name it), the nursery will call you and request that you pick up your child within an hour.

3) There are a few ways to get a nanny... You can sponsor the nanny for a visa, but then she would need to live with you. You can get a daily nanny from an agency, but that will be much more expensive. Some get a daily nanny privately (i.e. not through an agency), but that is supposedly not legal. 

4) This forum is a great source of information, but for info on this specialised topic you (or your wife) may also want to visit here..

5) I have not heard of nannies stealing or disappearing with the visa... although that is not to say these things do not happen. For us I think it was most important to find a nanny with good *verifiable* references and one that actually engages with our toddler. Around us we see way too many kids bored out of their minds and nannies that just sit there texting on their phones. A real shame.

Welcome to Abu Dhabi!


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## Dude McRocker (Mar 17, 2015)

Thank you very much for this information. I really appreciate the time you took into explaining some of the process. The link that was provided did not work though. 

One more question. Is it true that it is not difficult to enroll a child in nursery, but it becomes more difficult to find a spot when the child is getting ready to enter private school? I am only going to have a month to try and enroll our daughter into a nursery before my start date.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

there are a number of nurseries - so getting into a decent nursery is not an issue. I don't know how to define a "top" nursery, but some seem to be more popular than the others and seem to have a waiting list. However, there are a number of decent ones and getting into a nursery should not be an issue. One month should be plenty. Also, keep in mind that there are some nurseries which are "feeders" for the schools, so include that in your search criterion if you have a certain school preference.

In terms of schools, the choice in AD is definitely more limited. For "top" schools (however they are defined) there are LONG waiting lists. But again the same thing - there are a number of decent schools where admissions are possible. Also, the color of the passport and sometimes the name of the employer plays a part in the admissions. I firmly believe that at the foundation/kindergarten level there is not much a of a difference between a top school and a decent one. Any difference (if it at all exists outside our minds) probably exists only in terms of how many students from a given school get into top notch universities, but that is something that will happen 10-15 years down the line in your child's case.

Long answer to a short question.


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## blue2002 (Oct 29, 2013)

Dude McRocker said:


> The link that was provided did not work though.


Hmm... Not sure why the link got mangled, but I have my suspicions. Just google "expat woman" and the link will become obvious. 



> One more question. Is it true that it is not difficult to enroll a child in nursery, but it becomes more difficult to find a spot when the child is getting ready to enter private school? I am only going to have a month to try and enroll our daughter into a nursery before my start date.


Yes, true. A month out the good nurseries may be out of space already... so you may want to proactively enrol her before you even get here. Schools are a separate big issue. There are not enough of the good ones. Some kids have to stay longer in the nursery while awaiting for a place in school.


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## Dude McRocker (Mar 17, 2015)

Thank you for your help and advice. It looks like nursery is the way to go. I'll kick the school problem to the tall grass for now as I don't have to worry for a few more years.


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