Questions about using a nanny
As I said earlier, we are just heartbroken to be losing our current babysitter as she is moving away. Her daughter was definitely Eliana's best friend and she was like a second mother to her. She was also my best friend and was so good to me while I was pregnant with Jacob and while he spent so long in the hospital...I am devastated to be losing them.
I have found a possible nanny for us, and am most likely going to hire her, but I have never had childcare full time at my house before, so I have some questions if there are any readers out there who have used a nanny:
What is the usual expectation regarding cleaning? Am I going to come home to toys strewn all over the place? When I asked her she said that she would clean up after the kids, do the dishes and their laundry. Does that sound about right? Does that actually get done?
What do you do with things like your checkbooks and stuff? Do I need to “hide” them more than normal?
What about food? I expect her to feed the kids, do I need to have food for her too? Should I be asking her what groceries she wants or will she just work with what I have?
Any other advice? We have a few more options…one of which sounds very good to me too..a SAHM, former nanny, to a 2 year old girl, same age as Eliana. However, I do like the idea of someone coming to the house so I don’t have to pack the kids up in the morning…
I also worry about Eliana not getting the social interaction she did previously since the sitter had a daughter her own age...should I be concerned about this? What should I do about it? Or will she be fine a year until she can go to a preschool for part of the day?
I have found a possible nanny for us, and am most likely going to hire her, but I have never had childcare full time at my house before, so I have some questions if there are any readers out there who have used a nanny:
What is the usual expectation regarding cleaning? Am I going to come home to toys strewn all over the place? When I asked her she said that she would clean up after the kids, do the dishes and their laundry. Does that sound about right? Does that actually get done?
What do you do with things like your checkbooks and stuff? Do I need to “hide” them more than normal?
What about food? I expect her to feed the kids, do I need to have food for her too? Should I be asking her what groceries she wants or will she just work with what I have?
Any other advice? We have a few more options…one of which sounds very good to me too..a SAHM, former nanny, to a 2 year old girl, same age as Eliana. However, I do like the idea of someone coming to the house so I don’t have to pack the kids up in the morning…
I also worry about Eliana not getting the social interaction she did previously since the sitter had a daughter her own age...should I be concerned about this? What should I do about it? Or will she be fine a year until she can go to a preschool for part of the day?
posted by Katrina | 8/03/2008 10:10:00 PM
1 Comments:
I have a few tips from the point of view of the nanny. I was a nanny several years ago when I was doing my 'world travel stint'.
Cleaning - what she has offered is about right. Realistically, you're paying for her to give attention to the kids, not the state of the house. The more time she spends cleaning, the less time she has to interact with the children.
You should have a reasonable amount of trust in the nanny. If you're worried, take things like the checkbook with you. If you don't trust her with your belongings, you shouldn't trust her with your kids.
I think she should be fed during the time she's at your house. If she has any odd diet, she can get that herself, but I don't think basic food, coffee etc should be off limits.
Check her credentials. See how she interacts with the children. Start small - leave them with her for an hour or two for the first couple of times and see how the kids are when you return home (as opposed to how they act when you leave). Have a contract. Trust her, but trust your instincts, too.
Sorry this is a saga. Hope the info helps, though. Good luck!
-Tanya
www.purplegiraffes.wordpress.com
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