TTM about Nannies

Re: TTM about Nannies

• cynthi213 member

  August 2014

  My DH and I went through an agency to find a nanny (Perfect Fit Nanny). We told them exactly what we were looking for, including price range. After a day, we had several women calling us to setup interviews. After we found a couple that we liked, we ended up paying for a background check (it was also through the agency) and made a decision after those results came in. It was really a lot easier than I thought. I, personally, was getting really overwhelmed with looking through websites trying to find someone. The agency took the hassle out of the prescreening process.
  I have a pretty thorough list of questions that I used during interviews. PM your email address and I can forward it to you, since it'd be too much to post here :-)
  GL!!

  

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• sdlaura member

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  Just to play devil's advocate here, why are you convinced that he needs a lot of one-on-one interaction during the day?  I'm assuming that your baby is getting one-on-one interaction in mornings, evenings, and on weekends and holidays.  Why not have him be around other kids during the workday?  It might not seem like a big deal now, but as he gets to crawling and walking stage, you may really value that interaction.  It's amazing how much my DD learned just from observing other kids, especially in terms of things like language.

  Have you looked at licensed in-home daycares?  My kids go to one where there are two adults and six kids, and I feel like that is kind of the best of both worlds. 

  We've decided against a nanny for a few reasons, even though it would be cheaper and more convenient.  I like the interaction my kids get, I don't want to supervise an employee and have someone alone in my home all day everyday with my child (I already don't feel like I have time to effectively communicate with and manage other household people like our pool guy or housecleaner), I don't want to have to worry about sick or unscheduled time off for a nanny, and if I were to have a nanny and have my kids still get a lot of interaction with other kids, that nanny would have to drive my kids around, and I'm not comfortable with that.

  I'm sorry this wasn't really what you were asking, but thought some of these things might be useful to think about   Good luck, whatever you decide.

  Edit: In my opinion, a week or a week and a half is also a very short period of time to determine whether your son is doing well or not in daycare (assuming no safety/regulatory concerns or whatever).  Just another thought...

  BFP #1 9/2010 (lost our baby at 21 weeks) BFP #2 8/2011 (ectopic pregnancy) BFP #3 10/2011 (chemical pregnancy) BFP #4 12/2011 (Abigail born 8/15/12) BFP #5 5/2013 (Griffin born 1/23/14 with heart defects, now repaired!)

  
  

   

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• ShePersisted member

  August 2014

  Word of mouth is the best way to find a nanny in my opinion. However that does not mean online resources are not good. I just am saying ask around in your local community, mom groups, meet up groups etc. Someone or the other is bound to know a good nanny. This could be something you could do parallel as you interview folks you see online.

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• Metreky21 member

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  cynthi213 Thanks so much! YGPM!

  
  

  @sdlaura Thank you for playing devils advocate. I definitely want to look at this from all sides. A lot of the things you mention are reasons I didn't go with a nanny to begin with, including cost. But my opinion has changed since having LO. That being said, I will definitely check out more at home daycares in my area just to make sure I'm making the right decision.

  
  

  @hg45 You are totally right. I've put out feelers to my mom's groups so FX something happens there. That would be the best way to find someone.

  
  

  @psk Thanks for taking so much time to respond. I'm glad to hear you feel like your kids get out and about and socialize. On the tax front, I'm not sure I understand. So do you pay her under the table if you don't pay taxes? Is that what's written in the contract? Do you also have a contract with the family you nanny share with? I feel like finding a compatible family would be even harder than finding a nanny. Do you switch off whose house you're at or do you stick to one?

  
  

  ETA: @psk YGPM!

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• Metreky21 member

  August 2014

  Thanks @bluedot818 and @armfruit‌ I love hearing from the nanny perspective.
  
  My DH and I talked more last night and we are going to look at some in home daycares. I just don't know at this point if any of them would have space this last minute. Most places in my area have waiting lists.
  
  I would love to do a nanny share but not sure how to go about it. Working with a family I don't know and a nanny I don't know all at once seems scary. But none of the moms in my two moms groups are looking to share. So we'll see.
  
  Thanks again!!

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• emar129 member

  August 2014

  I was a nanny and basically had the exact set up @psk described. It was such a good job!
  
  I took the girls somewhere almost daily (if there was 2 feet of snow...probably not!). I made plans with other nannies to meet up and have the kids play. We also made play dates with kids from their preschool (I know this may not apply to you). They still had plenty of interaction with other kids, along with tons of one on one attention from me.
  
  You could even stress the importance of interaction with other children during interviews. Ask them how they would encourage this, see if they have good ideas! If you talk to the person long enough, I think you will be able to get a good feel as to if they will be the right fit.

  September 2014 Siggy Challenge: Goats

  
  

  
  

  
  

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