My family and I will be arriving next spring/summer. We are a dual military family with two school age children. My husband will be out to sea and I will be taking a shore duty billet, but with the likelihood of spending time at sea. We had a fantastic nanny here in San Diego (couldn't have lived without her!) and I am wondering how to juggle work and home without her and our stateside support system. Does anyone have a nanny in the Yokosuka area? Can you recommend a great agency? Any advice would be great. I am a planner and would like to have some options ready to look at when we arrive. Thanks!

Bumping my post, still having a hard time figuring out how to handle childcare. Any advice?

So you and your husband will be spending time at sea? At the same time? I would consider making a family care plan. As for the Nanny, you are going to have to look into the base regulations for that.

There are quite a few SAHM and SAHW that advertise nanny/caregiving services on base. As for childcare there is the CDC and Youth center, although there is a waiting list for childcare for that. There are a few CDH's on base, but for overnight care, I wouldn't be able to offer much advice on that asI don't personally use those services. My sister was in a similar situation, and I ended up taking my nephew for 4 months.

I would consider making a family care plan.

You do realize that a Family Care Plan is mandatory for all dual-military families, and the reason she's asking for advice is so they can maintain theirs, right?
That has to be one of more insulting pieces of advice I've seen. It does absolutely nothing to help, and in fact probably just frustrates a family more, by reminding them how few people will actually understand their circumstances.

Posted By Katherine2 on 03-25-2012 9:55 AM

I would consider making a family care plan.

You do realize that a Family Care Plan is mandatory for all dual-military families, and the reason she's asking for advice is so they can maintain theirs, right?
That has to be one of more insulting pieces of advice I've seen. It does absolutely nothing to help, and in fact probably just frustrates a family more, by reminding them how few people will actually understand their circumstances.

Not everyone knows that Family Care Plans are mandatory for dual-mil couples.... And you have no idea if that person is AD or a dependent.  Maybe that poster is a dependent and doesn't know what a FCP is for?  I have no idea what the story is, I just know that your response seemed a little harsh and out of place.  Don't be so quick to judge... I have to admit that I did not know about the FCP until my husband and I (dual mil) had a child.  I'm sure that there are PLENTY of policies and regulations in the Navy that I am unaware of.... It's not fair to just jump down someone's throat when they are just trying to be helpful.

We do have a FCP, thank you. If need be, my children will have to stay in the States with family. My time at sea will not be much, nor for long periods of time, just enough to be inconvenient. I would like, if at all possible, to keep the kids with me. I'll be coming off an arduous 4 year sea tour and miss them a lot. We are looking into Au Pairs right now, but would prefer to have mostly live-out care like a SAHW/SAHM who already has base access. I do not plan on living on base right now, so the base regulations shouldn't be an issue, but we'll have to see what happens when we get there. Our sponsors are helpful, but are both married to local women and so have very limited experience with childcare issues.

I have no idea what the regulations are on or off base with kids because I've only been here for 4 months. My husband and I live off base and we don't have any children. However, I was a nanny for 3 years and have worked with children since I was 18. I have a teaching degree & am hoping to get a job on base next school year. If we can be of any assistance, by helping to watch your children, until you figure things out, please feel free to message me & we can discuss it. My husband is attached to a ship and so is gone off and on, but I currently don't have a full time job. I tutor 3 kids on base & am a substitute at the elementary school. Good luck!