Talk to me about nannies

downtown80

We currently have DD in an in-home daycare.  For several reasons, DH would like to consider an in-home nanny when Baby #2 arrives for the two children.

Here are a couple questions and thoughts/reservations about hiring a nanny that I have.  I'm hoping that you can help with your own nanny experiences.  I'm just starting to to look into this option, so forgive any of these questions if they seem basic.

1.) Where did you find a nanny?  I've briefly looked on Care.com and Sittercity.com.  The people on here mostly seem like babysitters, to me....lots of teens/young adults and people whose experience has simply been raising their own children.  Are there any local companies that you've gone through that are for nannies specifically?  (And no....we are definitely not intereted in an au pair.)  Where do you find people with actual "nanny" experience?

2.) What I like about using an in-home or center is that they have specific guidelines (ie: education, first aid, etc) that need to be met for licensing.  For any nannies that you have hired, have you required them to take and stay current with a first aid or CPR class (if they did not already have certification on their own)?

3.) If you don't mind sharing, what do you pay per week?  If you are not comfortable giving an amount....even a ballpark range, or a simple "same as inhome prices", "same as centers" would be helpful!

Thank you so much!  This will really help me get some more information to evaluate if this might be the right decision for our family.

 

Irishgypsy88

I used to be a nanny (back in the 90s), so I can share a slightly different perspective. 

I went through an agency to be placed (I tried to google it, but apparently the particular one I used is either no longer there or changed names).  I would suggest this, even though you have to pay a "finder's fee."  The agency will do background checks, provide a questionnaire, and generally vet the person for you in a general sense.  From there, I interviewed with my family, who had narrowed down their preferences.  I kept up with CPR certification and had an education background, which they were looking for.  You can ask your nanny to keep up with such things, and if you pay for a recertification (CPR is not that expensive) annually, it can help you to make sure that happens.

You can google various agencies in the area where you're at.  I'm sure they have testimonials or references you can check for their placement success.

I received $500/week, plus room and board (I was a live-in), and from the listings I've seen on care.com, that is a going rate for many of the nannies, although they may be live-out.  Multiple children may make a difference in price, but I had two little ones under my care (baby and toddler).  I was paid directly, with no taxes taken out, so that was my take-home pay.  There were no additional benefits like health care, but I was young and didn't notice!

It was certainly more convenient for my family to have me around -- I worked 7 am to around 7 pm daily, and took the older girl to her preschool when she turned 3 2x a week (they got a minivan so that I could do this).  I also sometimes babysat on the weekends for extra pay, and got a week's paid vacation (this was at Christmas, when the family went away for the holidays).  Since I was a live-in, I just came upstairs in the mornings and after dinner, went back down at night.  I was young, fresh out of college with an education degree but couldn't find a teaching position.  This was my stopgap until that happened (I stayed for 2 years, until my family actually got reassigned by the army to a new location) -- you may find many others in a similar position.  I've found that nannies have a high turnover, although some will stay on for much longer if that is their desire and the situation really fits.

Hope that helps a little bit, even if my experience is a bit outdated.

downtown80

This is extremely helpful!  Thank you for sharing with me.