yeah, work out my a$$ January 31, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise , trackbackI am going into panic mode here. Someone talk me down from the ledge!
It is 8 months until my baby (ie, Soleil) goes to Kindergarten. I want a nanny to pick up Luna from daycare and then get Soleil from the buss stop and finally they go home and snack and play until we get home.
Great. Sounds wonderful on paper.
How do I hire a Nanny? I look at the services and I nearly fall over. $2000-$2500 for placement fees. Oh My G-d!
That would be like a 50" plasma HD flat TV! Hmm, ensuring my children’s safety? Or a kick as$ TV? Fortunately, we don’t have the space for a 50" plasma HD flat TV. Yet. But I digress.
The point is, I don’t know how to hire a nanny. This is frustrating. I want a person that I can trust and work with. Really. I want someone that can take care of the girls in a loving manner. I want the girls to be in OUR house after school.
Why is this so hard? Why am I panicking?
I think my eyeballs will fall out from the stress of this. Jay, on the other hand, isn’t worrying about this at all.
"it will work out"
AHHHHHHH!
Comments»
Oh this is a hard one. You are entrusting your most precious cargo to what is essentially a stranger. I only ended up hiring a mother’s helper when I inherited her from a friend who moved away. That friend had done the rigorous screening process for me, and I’d had a chance to watch the helper in action for a while. Now that she is gone, I’m so freaked out by the idea of looking that I’ve basically decided to forgo one, even though I could really use the help. My advice is to interview, interview, interview…be clear about discipline issues (as in, it’s not her job, clearly state how they will and will NOT be treated) then check and triple check all references. Then arrange to spend time together so you can watch her with the girls. Finally, do some short-term trial runs while you “pop in” on them. Good luck and hang in there, this is a tough thing for a mama to do!
What about a highschooler (or even someone in college). I did this in highschool–picked up 2 little ones from school, took them home, gave them snack, did homework, and played until mommy came home. I loved it and adored those kids! I did it for 2 years. Can you put some feelers out?
I’ve had 3 nannies over the last 8 years. Each time, she was referred to me by a friend or friend’s nanny. If you have friends who have nannies or you live in a neighbourhood with lots of nannies, ask around. I personally like the idea of hiring someone that comes with some connection, in that someone else knows them or knows their work. I think you’ll see that you’ll have pretty good instincts. Ask loads of questions, including various scenarios, and check references. As dumb as it sounds, I have a friend who asked a potential nanny: you’re bathing the baby and the doorbell rings downstairs - what do you do. She said: go answer the door!! (leaving baby in tub alone apparently!). She of course did not get the job! It’s also great if you can hang around to some degree in the early days or at least have a flexible schedule so that you can pop in and check things out at various times of day. The good thing is that your girls are a big older - if the nanny in any way does anything they don’t like, they’ll tell you. Good luck!!
Julie
Wow that’s a lot of money. I wish I could send you a nanny from here…
My only assvice is to ask all the big questions, interview, etc., and then go with your gut. Watch how they interact with both you and your kids, and go with the one who gives you the warmest, fuzziest feeling. I’ve been very happy with the nannies I’ve hired, our main one was practically a substitute grandmother for several years, until health problems forced her to retire early. When she did have to leave suddenly after an injury, I was in a real bind and forced to take my friend’s former nanny, who I’d gotten a bad vibe from. That unfavorable first impression only got worse, thank god we only had to use her for 2 weeks before I found someone better. I have an unfair advantage though in that I work from home, so serious child safety type issues weren’t a fear as I could hear their interactions. Since you work out of the house, I’d say have a trusted friend or neighbor pop in completely unannounced a few times in the beginning, just to get an objective view of how things are really going. And of course just ask your kids, they’re old enough to tell you.
Good luck, I hope you find your Mary Poppins quickly and easily.
Robin from Israel
Well this probably sounds dumb, but we hired our Mother’s Helper from Craig’s List. The nanny agencies around here wanted a ridiculous amount (5 weeks salary sticks in my mind) for placement and I thought they were insane. We placed an ad and also reviewed people’s ads, then interviewed a bunch of people, checked references, and hired someone. I’m here all day with her, though, so it’s slightly different. Anyhow, good luck - it’s a tough one.
Nance… I’d be happy to talk to you about the process if you’d like an insider’s opinion, especially an insider Nanny LOL Email me for my phone # if you don’t still have it ok?
(& honestly, don’t panic, it’s really not as hard as it may seem or feel… I promise!)
-Amy & Ruby Cate
I had no idea that you cancelled the whole password thing on here - can I link to you now? I have lots of bright ideas on how to hire a nanny as well as a list of great questions to ask (being a nanny for the better part of five years)we should chat about this!