Questions about hiring a nanny....

sharrow

It looks like I will be hiring a nanny for the next 6-8 weeks while I recover from surgery.  If you have hired a nanny, or have been a nanny, I am wondering if you might give me some insight.  I actually have no idea, so please don't think my questions silly.

1.  How do meals work?  Should I provide food? I have NO problem offering to do this, I just want to know what is normal.

2.  When do they take "lunch"?  In a 9-5 job, I always expected a break in the day.  Do nannies get this? 

3. The employment term will be only 6 weeks. What should I offer as far as benefits?  MLK day as a paid holiday off?  Anything else?

4.  She is going to help with light-housekeeping and do some shopping.  What should I give her extra for gas and wear/tear on her car? (supermarket is 1.5 miles)

5. Anything else I am missing?

laurenbug

I nannied through highschool (living with a family in the summers)...the kids were older, but I'll tell you how we handled things.

1 and 2) Meals: I ate breakfast and lunch with the kids.  Whatever they were eating, I ate.  I would ask the nanny what she generally eats for lunch (ex. types of lunch meat, canned soup, etc.) and tell her you'll have food available.  If there's something specific she wants, I would expect her to provide it...but probably just sit down and discuss with her.  When the parents were at work, I was "on"...no breaks, but then again, your LO will probably take naps so that will be somewhat of a break for the nanny.

3)  I think it's nice of you to offer MLK as a paid holiday, or possibly 1 or 2 sick/personal paid days.  I don't know that it would be expected, but could help with "morale".

4)  I'd just consider the fact that she'll be using her car to do shopping/gas money in her salary.  Nothing specific extra, but just tell her when you make the offer that you're willing to pay x amount b/c you need her to do some errands as part of her job.

5)  I'd discuss anything that you can think of...it's better to have too much info than not enough (ex. what do you think about her watching tv?  can she take LO in her car/out and about? do you expect her to schedule playdates, etc?).

GL, hope this is somewhat helpful!!

Princess_Lily

1.  How do meals work?  Should I provide food? I have NO problem offering to do this, I just want to know what is normal.  You need to provide the food.

2.  When do they take "lunch"?  In a 9-5 job, I always expected a break in the day.  Do nannies get this? They work a twelve hour shift, unless they work 24-hours.

3. The employment term will be only 6 weeks. What should I offer as far as benefits?  MLK day as a paid holiday off?  Anything else?  holidays they can work, but you usually have to pay double the daily pay if they work on a holiday

4.  She is going to help with light-housekeeping and do some shopping.  What should I give her extra for gas and wear/tear on her car? (supermarket is 1.5 miles)there is usually a seperate charge/fees/contract with this work

5. Anything else I am missing?

I had surgery three weeks ago to fix my pelvic floor, and I had weight restrictions for the first three weeks.  The first week I decided to look into nannies - but personally I didn't like the idea of someone totally caring for my son who I didn't know.

 The cost would have been well over $2000.00 for the service. I needed someone to be me, and the nanny said their priority was my son, then me, then if possible the house.  I didn't like this, because I couldn't care for anything for three weeks...

Make sure you read the contract to the "T" because you'll find specifics on what they can and cannot do.  If your looking for someone to do what I needed, you really need more than a nanny - you need a nanny for the care of your child and a housekeeper to keep up with your house.

MegDC

sharrow:

It looks like I will be hiring a nanny for the next 6-8 weeks while I recover from surgery.  If you have hired a nanny, or have been a nanny, I am wondering if you might give me some insight.  I actually have no idea, so please don't think my questions silly.

1.  How do meals work?  Should I provide food? I have NO problem offering to do this, I just want to know what is normal.We don't.  We asked our nanny what she wanted us to have in the house for her and all she asked for was fresh fruit.  She packs her lunch and snacks. Just ask as you are interviewing-- different people will have different expectations.

2.  When do they take "lunch"?  In a 9-5 job, I always expected a break in the day.  Do nannies get this? Ours does not take breaks, but we do not ask her to do housework so when DD naps she gets a break.

3. The employment term will be only 6 weeks. What should I offer as far as benefits?  MLK day as a paid holiday off?  Anything else? We offer all federal holidays off with full pay. We also pay for any days that we call off-- if we are sick, relatives come to visit, we travel, etc.  She expects to make a certain amount each week and we keep her at that rate regardless of what changes we make in our own schedule.

4.  She is going to help with light-housekeeping and do some shopping.  What should I give her extra for gas and wear/tear on her car? (supermarket is 1.5 miles)  We don't pay mileage but our nanny rarely drives.  I would ask at the interview what your potential nanny would expect.

5. Anything else I am missing?  Make sure you have clarity about how you want your child's day structured.  If you want your child to be active and leave the house for play and social activities be up front.  Some nanny's are very willing to take children out and entertain them and others prefer to stay in the home.  The only other tip I give when people ask about nannies is to treat yours with total respect because they are taking care of the most precious thing in your life.  They are a caregiver and not your servant.

Aly07

Ok I don't have a nanny, but I nannied my way through college.

1) Meals: I usually just ate whatever I fed the kids. I never nannied for a baby, usually 5 or 6 year olds. So I usually ate breakfast before I came. Then for lunch just made a sandwich or something at the house when I fed the kiddos. I think I would prob keep lunch type food in the house for her (sandwich, chips, maybe a small frozen pizza) and if she doesn't want it she can aways bring her own lunch.

2) Nope, no break for a full time nanny, well except for when the child is sleeping. If she wants to sit down for lunch she can wait until the baby goes to sleep. Otherwise, it would be just like a stay at home mom. You hold the baby/feed the baby/play with the baby while you eat.

3) No I can't think of any benefits you should offer. If it was for a year or so then yes benefits are a great incentive in finding a good nanny. 6 weeks is a pretty short time, so even one day off paid is a nice deal.

4) Since driving will be minimal, I would not offer anything for mileage unless she brings it up. When I was a nanny, I didn't get any extra $$ for mileage it was just included in my original pay.

sharrow

All really great advice, thank you!