Long term nanny needs to be currently marketable - parents please advise

[Anonymous]

Hello parents!

I’m a nanny who has been with the same family for 16 years. I’m currently 47 years old but appear/act much younger. No current health issues. I often hear families talking about wanting a young nanny, and want to know how I can get around this in my job search?

The children in my care are currently 19 (off to college), 17, 15, and 13. Wwlhile the children are at school, I work for families with newborns and toddlers, to keep my experience current. Im looking for my next forever family and I’m concerned parents with younger kids won’t want an older nanny who has been with older children. What can I do to make myself stand out? You would think that my long term experience with once family would be a plus, but families want tons of references and young kids, and I just don’t have that. I have 3 recent references (current family, plus morning young kids jobs).

What would you like to see on an applicants CV? Is there anything I can do to make myself more marketable? I currently earn $35/hr for my current job and any side jobs my rate is the same.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I would hire you in a heartbeat... but not for $35 per hour!!!

That's crazy, crazy high. I think the primary thing you're going to have to adjust is your expectations of pay. We pay our nanny $25 and she's amazing. You might be able to find someone to pay you $30, but you're not going to find higher than that.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about your age. 47 is not 77. Refresh your infant CPR course, read some books written about infants and preschoolers that were written within the last decade and wrap your head around the idea that the likelihood of anyone with an infant or toddler paying you $35 is slim.

[Anonymous]

Nanny again- Thank you for the responses! Sorry I should have mentioned I’m in SF, so the going rate here is $30-40/hr. Honestly I’m ok with a lower rate, as long as the family is a good fit.

[Anonymous]

My good friend is 60 and is highly sought after as a nanny. She never wants for highly-paid offers. She's slim, fit and active. Her families are typically the sort to bring her on first class vacations. It's all by referral.

[Anonymous]

You could have a DUI on your record and desperate parents would hire an experienced nanny right now. I know people who hired 70-year-olds as nannies because the market is that tight.

If you really want to stand out, with permission from their parents, start a nanny Instagram or TikTok reel.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you have anything to worry about! Received wisdom in my circle (FWIW) is that nannies in their 40s-50s are the BEST. Experienced, wise, unflappable, but still really energetic. Our current nanny is actually in her 60s and is still great with our high-strung toddler even if she's a little slower physically. I have friends who've hired 20-somethings and not one of them has had a good experience; they're all unreliable, demanding, and fall to pieces when the kids act up as kids will do. (Which is kind of weird because, I mean, all these good nannies were in their 20s once too and were presumably decent even when they had less experience...I don't know where the young good nannies are these days. But anyway, 47 is a great age in my book.)

Re: the question about your CV, what we loved to see was evidence of a nanny's creativity. Our first nanny brought an entire binder with her to her interview showing the types of crafts she made with kids, the "lesson plans" she used for various ages/stages, examples of the kinds of theme weeks she did (like, mermaid week = learning about sea life, etc.). That was very impressive. Way more impressive than my own resume, LOL.

[Anonymous]

Your age is not a problem, the biggest obstacle is your rate. $35 is very high, so most families won't be able to afford you. You need to target a specific segment of families.

[Anonymous]

Considering the ever growing “issues” kids are having these days, parents should reconsider just how critical the early years are. Stability, competence and love are ALL crucial.

Thirty-five dollars an hours is a small price to pay for the most important thing in your child’s life. Of course, few parents can afford that. If I couldn’t afford solid care, I’d try to find a relative or good friend who’d be invested in my child’s success in life.

[Anonymous]

I’m in the Bay Area and we are sadly saying goodbye to our long term nanny (10+ years) who earns the same as you. She also got insurance and paid vacation, FWIW. Our kids are about the same age. We would have had her stay longer, but she thinks for her career she needs another long-term family and I think she is right. She also did interim jobs at other times.

She has had no shortage of offers. However, what she said was that working with an agency was better in general, but that she liked the families from care.com better because they were more engaged in the process. The agency did not blink at her rate. So, my suggestion is to use one of the high end agencies but also care.com.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you have anything to worry about! Received wisdom in my circle (FWIW) is that nannies in their 40s-50s are the BEST. Experienced, wise, unflappable, but still really energetic. Our current nanny is actually in her 60s and is still great with our high-strung toddler even if she's a little slower physically. I have friends who've hired 20-somethings and not one of them has had a good experience; they're all unreliable, demanding, and fall to pieces when the kids act up as kids will do. (Which is kind of weird because, I mean, all these good nannies were in their 20s once too and were presumably decent even when they had less experience...I don't know where the young good nannies are these days. But anyway, 47 is a great age in my book.)

Re: the question about your CV, what we loved to see was evidence of a nanny's creativity. Our first nanny brought an entire binder with her to her interview showing the types of crafts she made with kids, the "lesson plans" she used for various ages/stages, examples of the kinds of theme weeks she did (like, mermaid week = learning about sea life, etc.). That was very impressive. Way more impressive than my own resume, LOL.

Makes sense to me. Nannying is one of those things you can only get experience with 1 kid, or 2-3 if you're in a nanny share, every year! And people stay with families on average 3-4 years and get used to the proclivities of each of their kids. So really over 10-15 years you're only getting experience with 6-8 kids. Meaning the younger you are, the less overall experience you have at being effective.

Unlike say...a mechanic - who can work on 15 different cars in a day during their peak periods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you have anything to worry about! Received wisdom in my circle (FWIW) is that nannies in their 40s-50s are the BEST. Experienced, wise, unflappable, but still really energetic. Our current nanny is actually in her 60s and is still great with our high-strung toddler even if she's a little slower physically. I have friends who've hired 20-somethings and not one of them has had a good experience; they're all unreliable, demanding, and fall to pieces when the kids act up as kids will do. (Which is kind of weird because, I mean, all these good nannies were in their 20s once too and were presumably decent even when they had less experience...I don't know where the young good nannies are these days. But anyway, 47 is a great age in my book.)

Re: the question about your CV, what we loved to see was evidence of a nanny's creativity. Our first nanny brought an entire binder with her to her interview showing the types of crafts she made with kids, the "lesson plans" she used for various ages/stages, examples of the kinds of theme weeks she did (like, mermaid week = learning about sea life, etc.). That was very impressive. Way more impressive than my own resume, LOL.

Um, who is this magical person? This is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Currently hunting for a nanny in DC and would have no concern with your age whatsoever. We are happy to see candidates with years of experience and longevity with a family (which you've got). We are also interested in candidates who take an interest in childhood development and know age appropriate activities to help our baby development and hit milestones. As much as I wish we had a massive budget, your hourly rate would also be a deal-killer for us (which I know you didn't specifically ask about). I don't think you'll have an issue with your age! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I would much rather have an older nanny. More experience, more confidence/initiative, and often, less drama and flakiness. My previous nanny was in her 60s. Don't view it as a weakness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could have a DUI on your record and desperate parents would hire an experienced nanny right now. I know people who hired 70-year-olds as nannies because the market is that tight.

If you really want to stand out, with permission from their parents, start a nanny Instagram or TikTok reel.

Are you out of your mind?!