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Nanny Questions

Loves Vintage

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
4,568
We are fairly well set on hiring a nanny for the first two years or so. The only issue now is finding one. I'm wondering what others have experienced.

How soon did you start looking for a nanny? A friend who has a live-in nanny told me I should start looking now! I'm just entering the second tri, and it seems quite early. If a nanny is listed with an agency, I assume she is looking to start work asap, not 6 months from now.

How did you find your nanny? There are some agencies in my state, but not really in my area. I am familiar with Care.com and have also perused Craigslist, but did not find anyone who I would even want to interview.

Will it be harder to find a part-time live-out nanny? This is probably a nanny-specific question, but maybe others have experience. I am contemplating working part-time and staying home 2 days per week. Will it be more difficult to find someone willing to work only 3 days?

How many potential nannies did you interview before finding the right one? Just curioius. :))
 

cdt1101

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
1,160
We have a nanny. She does not live w/ us, but she does work Mon-Fri, 9 hours a day. However when we hired her she knew it was for short-term since I already knew I would be losing my job (it was a 5 month contract w/ her). She's was fine w/ our terms and was just grateful to have a job. We got lucky though and found her thru a reference from a close family friend. Initially we were looking into care.com and I was in contact via e-mail w/ 4 candidates, but before we even had a chance to set up interviews we got the reference for our current nanny and just "knew" we wanted her so hired her on the spot. It's worked out GREAT! I would not hesitate to do the nanny route again in the future.

FWIW, we did daycare from 6-9 months of age (I stayed home the 1st 6 months), we didn't have the greatest experience but that was mainly because he was sick a lot and DH and I just couldn't manage taking days off anymore. That's what prompted us to switch. Having done both I would much before a (great) nanny in the future. Good luck w/ your search and if you have any other questions let me know!

ETA - I don't think you need to look so soon, most of the nannies I communicated w/ wanted to start right away. In fact ours started within a week of being hired. I would think that it's way too early at this point, but that was just my experience.
 

sugarpie honeybun

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
299
We had a nanny from the time DS was 3 months until he was 7 months (he's 9 months now), then my hubby lost his job so we got rid of her, but now hubby has a new job and we’re back in the process of searching for a new nanny. That said :cheeky: we have had a very easy time getting responses from very qualified nannies using the Care website. It seems, at least in our area, there are tons of nannies looking for work right now. We plan on interviewing as many as possible until we find the right one.
 

ChinaCat

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
1,829
Loves Vintage said:
We are fairly well set on hiring a nanny for the first two years or so. The only issue now is finding one. I'm wondering what others have experienced.

How soon did you start looking for a nanny? A friend who has a live-in nanny told me I should start looking now! I'm just entering the second tri, and it seems quite early. If a nanny is listed with an agency, I assume she is looking to start work asap, not 6 months from now.

How did you find your nanny? There are some agencies in my state, but not really in my area. I am familiar with Care.com and have also perused Craigslist, but did not find anyone who I would even want to interview.

Will it be harder to find a part-time live-out nanny? This is probably a nanny-specific question, but maybe others have experience. I am contemplating working part-time and staying home 2 days per week. Will it be more difficult to find someone willing to work only 3 days?

How many potential nannies did you interview before finding the right one? Just curioius. :))

1) We started looking after DS was born, but about 2 months before I planned to go back to work.

2) Word of mouth, recommended by a friend. I sent out a mass email to every mom I knew and was shocked at how many responses I got back. Moms know everything. :halo:

3) I don't think so, I know at least 2 nannies of friends that only work 3 days a week. Some work 2 families, some only want to work part-time.

4) We interviewed 2, and hired the 2nd one but I think we got lucky. I was pretty specific in what I wanted, she fit the bill perfectly so we hired her immediately.

FWIW, my son ADORES our nanny and she has made a hard transition much easier. There are obviously good things about daycare too, but we couldn't be happier with our nanny.
 

MustangGal

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
2,029
I don't have a nanny, but use a SAHM that takes in a few extras. Similar hunting requirements though, so thought I'd weigh in.

I started looking after DS was born, about a month before I needed to go back to work. I checked craigslist, care.com and the local state certified provider list. I had 1 interview from craigslist that was OK, none of the people from the local registry were available, and 2 interviews and lots of calls back from care.com. We chose the 3rd interview, and DS has been going to her for 14 months now.
 

Mara

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
31,003
LV I am looking for one right now and I have about 4 weeks before I need them to start. Most people told me to look 1-2 months in advance but as others have said typically if you find someone they want to start almost ASAP, I can't imagine looking for one before the baby is even born. Daycare I could see that though because a lot of daycares are booked out 6mo to a year in advance depending on where you live.

I have a few friends who are big into the mommy community who have sent me recs and also a few friend of friend recos, If none of those work out I will look on care.com. I would prefer to find someone who knows someone I know or similar.
 

Gayletmom

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
735
Hi LV,

I have four children (the oldest is 14) and am on my third nanny who has been with me for 7 years. When I was searching, care.com wasn't around yet so I posted flyers at a university nearby in the College of Education office, spread the word among friends, and posted an ad in the paper. Surprisingly, I found 2 of my 3 nannies through the newspaper. I did short phone interviews with everyone who called (discussed experience, availability, references) and weeded out most applicants that way-it's amazing what people will tell you if you ask. Then I met with each in person for 30 minutes to an hour. I then asked the top candidates to come to the house and meet the kids.

There's a good book out there on hiring and maintaining a nanny that covers everything from negotiating salary to letting her go. It's called The Nanny Book by Susan Carlton. I have also found it helpful to talk to others who have hired nannies to find out about pay ranges, holidays, etc. It seems to differ widely from city to city but some nannies expect vacation pay, holidays, sick days, etc. Best to ask around.

In my area, finding a part time nanny is difficult. I did have luck with a college student who was working on her masters in education.

I also found that most candidates were looking for near term employment. It can't hurt, however, to put the word out among your friends and associates so that they can keep their eyes and ears open.

Good luck in your search!
 

Loves Vintage

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
4,568
Thank you everyone for responding to my nanny questions. There are just so many different things to research. It can be so overwhelming!! And, ahhh, I knew my friend was nuts for suggesting that we look now! I think her nanny has a friend looking for work. Maybe that's why she said it? I told her that uhh, we wouldn't really be needing someone for a while, which is when she was like, noooo, you have to start looking now. Ohhhh-kay,

Anyway, it's interesting to hear how everyone found their nannies. Sounds like nanny-networking with other moms may work for me.

Gayletmom - I will definitely check out the book you recommended. Off to half.com next! :wavey:
 
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