In this article
- What are the part-time child care options for work-at-home parents?
- What are the benefits of part-time care for WFH parents?
- Are there any downsides to part-time care?
- Is having child care better for mental and emotional health?
- How much does part-time child care cost?
- The bottom line on part-time care for WFH parents
Having the option to work from home part- or full-time can be incredibly helpful for parents. Without trains to catch or traffic to contend with, home and family life can feel more manageable, and child care expenses can be significantly lower. That being said, remote work shouldn’t equal zero child care for parents.
“Working from home is still work,” notes Ashlyn Ellington, a licensed clinical social worker with Atlanta Counseling Collective. “While it can allow for the occasional laundry load turnover or call-listen-in while prepping dinner, it’s work. Children are more demanding and unpredictable than a load of laundry, and gaps in child care, coupled with unrealistic expectations of yourself, can lead to feeling like you aren’t doing parenthood or work very well.”
A solution for this set-up, Ellington notes, is part-time care that creates “predictable, protected blocks of time rather than sporadic help.”
Feel bad using child care when you work from home? Don’t. Here are the benefits of part-time child care for work-from-home parents, along with options to consider.
Key takeaways
- Working from home is still real work, and trying to do it alongside child care usually leads to divided attention and burnout. Predictable, protected blocks of part-time care help parents focus fully on work — and then be more present and regulated with their kids afterward.
- Options like part-time nannies, preschool, mother’s helpers or blended arrangements let families build coverage around schedules, budgets and kids’ needs. The best setup is consistent enough to reduce stress but flexible enough to support how a household actually runs day to day.
- Reliable child care can lower stress, ease partner tension and improve family functioning, but it only works if it meaningfully matches work demands. Trying to do full-time work with insufficient care often makes parents feel like they’re failing at both roles.
What are the part-time child care options for work-at-home parents?
There are a number of part-time child care options work-from-home (WFH) parents can consider. The best choice, or choices, ultimately, will be the one(s) that mesh with your family’s schedule.
Part-time child care options include:
- Part-time nannies, who come to your home for “set schedule a few days a week,” notes Ellington.
- Babysitters, who provide consistent coverage around meetings or deadlines.
- Mother’s helpers, who assist while a parent is home and working nearby.
- Daycare. Generally, daycares run from around 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m
- Preschool, which typically has morning and afternoon options.
- Parents Morning Out programs, which offer structured hours and social interaction for children.
- Nanny shares, where two families share and split the cost of one caregiver.
“Some parents supplement these arrangements with drop-in care, gym child care, church programs, or co-ops for shorter, reliable windows of coverage,” notes Ellington.
“When parents are not constantly toggling between roles and dividing their attention, they tend to be more emotionally regulated and present when they are with their children.”
— Ashlyn Ellington, licensed clinical social worker
And again, there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to part-time child care for WFH parents. A number of factors will influence the type of care you decide on, including your schedule, budget, ages of your children and whether or not you have willing family nearby.
“I have my son in daycare four days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,” notes Christina Anastasia, a master certified life coach and WFH mom of three in Wrentham, Massachusetts. “My mom watches my son the other day. This schedule works for us since my husband is a teacher and gets out around the same time daycare ends.”
For many families, Ellington notes, a blended approach can help balance cost, consistency and emotional well-being.
Read more:
What are the benefits of part-time care for WFH parents?
While it’s possible to work at home with kids present, it’s difficult to manage both at the same time — hence the benefit of, at the very least, part-time child care.
It helps you focus on work
“Children don’t have the capacity to understand deadlines or the amount of focus needed to execute a task, so interruptions are extremely common when you work from home,” explains Elva Medina, a licensed professional counselor and CEO and founder of Vive Therapy Wellness and Consulting in Kansas City, Kansas. “Finding support in the form of child care when you work from home will help you concentrate on work and career goals while you’re at work.”
It can help you be a more present parent
Having part-time care that allows for deep, uninterrupted focus and sustained attention, Ellington adds, will help you as a parent, as well.
“When parents are not constantly toggling between roles and dividing their attention, they tend to be more emotionally regulated and present when they are with their children,” she says.
Without care, both Medina and Ellington note — and research shows — the risk of burnout is high. “Clinically, I see that even limited, reliable support often reduces chronic stress for parents,” Ellington notes.
It can reduce relationship stress
Part-time care can also reduce daily tension between partners, says Ellington. “It can eliminate arguments about who is responsible for coverage and can help children receive more consistent attention, either from a caregiver during work hours or from a parent once work is truly finished,” she notes.
It costs less than full-time care
The cost of child care is wildly high and continues to grow. Parents that can get away with part-time care, as opposed to full-time (especially while working full-time), can save a lot.
As an example, in Care.com’s 2026 Cost of Care Report, parents reported that a full time nanny (40 hours a week), on average, costs $870 per week. An after-school sitter (15 hours a week), on the other hand, reportedly costs families, on average, $328 per week. That’s a difference of $542 per week or $2,168 per month.
Read more:
Are there any downsides to part-time care?
Part-time care is not without challenges. Here are a few potential downsides of part-time care for WFH parents, per Ellington:
- Frequent transitions. This can be harder for some children, especially when schedules involve frequent hand offs or changing caregivers.
- Reliability. This can be an issue with in-home caregivers, since there is often no built-in backup if a caregiver is sick or unavailable.
- Scheduling mismatches. This may arise if a family’s needs change frequently, as many caregivers prefer consistent days and hours.
- The expense. “If the cost of care creates ongoing financial stress, the emotional benefits can be reduced,” Ellington notes.
“Trying to engage in dual roles makes you feel like a failure at both. There is so much value in being able to work a flexible job and engage in parenthood in the way you want to.”
— Ashlyn Ellington
Is having child care better for mental and emotional health?
Yes, but it’s nuanced, Ellington notes. In addition to “quality, affordability, reliability and the parent’s broader support system” being factors in how child care positively affects parental mental health, keep in mind, quantity is an issue when you’re working from home, as well.
Put another way: When you work from home full-time, depending on the ages of your kids, you may need full-time care.
“Part-time care tends to be most beneficial when it meaningfully reduces overload and feels emotionally safe and sustainable for the family,” says Ellington. “While child care is better for mental and emotional health, keep in mind: If your job is part time, having part time child care is key. If your job is full time, having full time child care is key.”
“Trying to engage in dual roles makes you feel like a failure at both,” she continues. “There is so much value in being able to work a flexible job and engage in parenthood in the way you want to — be at the school event in the middle of the day, stay home with the sick child, etc. But oftentimes, people try to do a full time work without the full time childcare thinking it will feel like you get to sneak in both, and it doesn’t — at least not for me or the burnt out moms I work with.”
How much does part-time child care cost?
The cost of child care varies wildly, based on the type, your needs, location and more. To get a quick idea of the differences, here’s a look at what you may pay for different forms:
- Nanny. According to Care.com’s Cost of Care Calculator, on average, nannies are asking for a rate between $21.30 and $27.35 an hour.
- Babysitter. According to Care.com’s Cost of Care Calculator, on average, babysitters are asking for a rate between $19.81 and $30.37 an hour.
- Daycare. The 2026 Cost of Care Report shows average weekly daycare costs of $308 for one child.
- Family care center (in-home family care). The 2026 Cost of Care Report shows average weekly family care center costs of $301 for one child.
The bottom line on part-time care for WFH parents
There are definite benefits and upsides to having part-time care if you work from home — particularly if you have family help and/or can stagger with a partner. If both you and your partner work full-time and have young kids, though, full-time care may be your best bet.
For parents who can get away with the former, make sure it’s high-quality and reliable, notes Ellington, who says: “Reliable and consistent blocks can help parents manage their day and be ‘fully in” whatever role they’re trying to be in. What will always add to the load is when you’re in one role and feeling the other push in.”
