Nanny Question
BlindysWife
member
Another post from me this morning. Two questions for those of you that have a nanny, or are a nanny.
I take care of three little kiddos (3, 2, 11 mo) plus Linus four days of the week. Their little one is turning a year old next month, and I don't know what the 'rules' are regarding if I am supposed to get him a birthday present? Do your nannies do anything special for your kids on their birthdays or other holidays? I don't have excess amounts of money to be spending on other people's children, but I don't want to be rude, either.
Also, starting in August I will be responsible for loading up the four munchkins drop off and pick up the 3 yr old for preschool. They have a minivan that they leave at home for me to use. At the moment, they put an extra carseat base in there so that I can pop Linus' bucket seat in and out as needed. At his 6 mo appointment, he weighed 18 lbs, so someday here soon he will reach the 22 lb weight limit for his bucket seat and will need a convertable seat for their van. Do you think I am responsible for purchasing that? Or are they? I honestly am not sure, and haven't talked to them about it at all so I'm not sure what they think either. Again, money is tight in the Blindy household.
What say you, bumpies?
I just want to give you a world as beautiful as you are to me.
Re: Nanny Question
We have a nanny and I didn't expect her to get anything for Zoe's first birthday. That said, she is very generous and was invited for her birthday party so she bought the cutest bathing suit for Zoe. I think you might just want to get him a little thing, but honestly, seen from the other side I didn't expect our nanny to get Zoe anything.
With the car seat I guess they will expect you to get your own car seat for your own child. However, do you not have a car seat for your own car? We only have one car seat (we always just had a convertible) and just shift it over in the morning (or actually for weekends since we rarely drive with Zoe in the evening). Some seats are really easy to get in and out and can be fastened with the seat belt. We have the Coccoro seat, which is really small, hence fairly portable.
i say yes to both. i would not spend more than five or ten dollars.
i would look into maybe a costco carseat. they have really high safety ratings but are super cheap. they just do not have a lot of extra cushion. when i was a nanny i actually had to buy my own car seat. i watched two different families, so it was easier than switching out seats everyday. i think it cost forty or fifty.
We've had part-time nannies, but even for a full-time nanny, I think gifts are appreciated, but not expected. It is, however, nice to make a big deal of the day. So perhaps you could do something small and meaningful like make a card or bring a couple of balloons or just sing happy birthday at the top of your lungs or maybe make a special outing to a park or zoo or something (no idea if the family you work for covers outings, we have a family zoo pass that I let the nanny use whenever she wants).
I don't think you would be responsible for purchasing the car seat. That just seems odd to hold you financially responsible for it. Even with my parents, I offered to buy the car seat that they use when they drive DD occasionally and that's family.
ETA: Just realized you were talking about a car seat for YOUR child. Yes, that would be your responsibility. Ditto pps on the Cosco Scenera. This is actually the seat my parents have in their car and it's worked very well for us.
Thanks ladies! I love the idea of balloons and doing special activities for the day. I could always get some coloring books, too.
Louise- I hadn't even thought of moving our convertible seat back and forth, but its a giant beast (graco myride 65) so I think that would be a hassle to do everyday. I'll look into the Cosco Scenera seat.
Thanks again for the input!
I just want to give you a world as beautiful as you are to me.