Benefits of keeping your nanny FT after child starts school

[Anonymous]

If you did this, can you tell me why, and what benefits it provided your child? And also, what if any additional tasks you asked if the nanny to fill the 40 hours?

[Anonymous]

Extremely hard, next to impossible, to find reliable PT care for after school if you need it. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

Well, let's put aside online school during a pandemic which the nanny handled completely. DH and I didn't miss a day of work.

If the kids are sick and can't go to school, if they get sick at school and have to come home, if there's a teacher prep day or random other days off - the nanny can handle all of that.

It's in our contract that we can ask the nanny to do half a dozen non-child related tasks per week. Receiving and putting away groceries, post office, dry cleaning, random other errands.

[Anonymous]

Back-up coverage for sick days, snow days, pandemic days, civil war days, dirty bomb days, divorced days, vacation days...

Someone to drop-off to school so that the kid does not have to get up an hour early to catch the bus.

Needs of child met (laundry, dressing, dr. appointments, meals, homework), not too many changes when school starts. nanny can take over other light house manager duties.

If you have the money, then it is always good to have a team of people who can help with the logistics of domestic life.

Nanny can function as a home care manager, child care manager, elder care manager.

[Anonymous]

If the nanny is willing to do errands / housework / cooking prep, and also could shift the hours to start later but then handle pick up and after school activities.

[Anonymous]

We transitioned her to ‘house manager’ but the first year nanny just super organized kids rooms - kid centered spaces in the house while still doing care as needed. I’d honestly still have her (her specifically) to this day but she bought house and does small in-home care now. She has such a wonderful personality and so thoughtful and hard working. I’m glad she got a house-just selfishly sad for us!!

[Anonymous]

My friends with very big careers so this because the nanny can handle sick days, snow days and any other emergency. Keeping the nanny on a salary is worth it to them. It is kind of like having someone on call always. They can also ask nanny to stay late for dinners and occasional overnights.

I don’t ask if they pay extra for evenings.

I’m a sahm now but I used to have a demanding job. Dh also has a demanding job. Dh has never took the hit for a snow day or sick day. If the school calls because DS has a fever, I would always pick up and miss work the next day. I am pretty resentful over this. Dh is a surgeon so he won’t cancel a full day of patients or surgeries because our kid has a fever. He is also unreliable in picking up the kids.

[Anonymous]

We still have our nanny full time even though our kids are in elementary school. If we didn’t have Nanny our kids couldn’t do sports or piano lessons and would get stuck in aftercare. Also, nanny covers all sick days and school holidays as well as summer break. Our nanny was an elementary school teacher so she handles homework and tutoring too. Her hours shifted to noon to 6:30 plus a weekend date night. She now handles all the grocery shopping, ordering supplies, keeping kids schedules and payments for lessons, pays the weekly housekeeper, empties the dishwasher, prepares the kids lunches and bakes healthy snacks for them. She still does their laundry, linens and towels and cleans their rooms.

Every night, I come home to two kids whose homework is done (and in their backpacks) and piano practice out of the way.

An example of what nanny does for us: I freaked out on Friday night because I forgot my youngest had a close friend’s ice skating birthday party at 10AM the next day. Nanny said, “oh, I know - her gift is wrapped on the dining room table and Larla made her a beautiful birthday card. And her skates from last year were too small so [older kid’s] skates are cleaned and sharpened in the garage. I tucked her skating socks inside”.

Am I freaking lucky or what!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We still have our nanny full time even though our kids are in elementary school. If we didn’t have Nanny our kids couldn’t do sports or piano lessons and would get stuck in aftercare. Also, nanny covers all sick days and school holidays as well as summer break. Our nanny was an elementary school teacher so she handles homework and tutoring too. Her hours shifted to noon to 6:30 plus a weekend date night. She now handles all the grocery shopping, ordering supplies, keeping kids schedules and payments for lessons, pays the weekly housekeeper, empties the dishwasher, prepares the kids lunches and bakes healthy snacks for them. She still does their laundry, linens and towels and cleans their rooms.

Every night, I come home to two kids whose homework is done (and in their backpacks) and piano practice out of the way.

An example of what nanny does for us: I freaked out on Friday night because I forgot my youngest had a close friend’s ice skating birthday party at 10AM the next day. Nanny said, “oh, I know - her gift is wrapped on the dining room table and Larla made her a beautiful birthday card. And her skates from last year were too small so [older kid’s] skates are cleaned and sharpened in the garage. I tucked her skating socks inside”.

Am I freaking lucky or what!!

I want your nanny. I want your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We still have our nanny full time even though our kids are in elementary school. If we didn’t have Nanny our kids couldn’t do sports or piano lessons and would get stuck in aftercare. Also, nanny covers all sick days and school holidays as well as summer break. Our nanny was an elementary school teacher so she handles homework and tutoring too. Her hours shifted to noon to 6:30 plus a weekend date night. She now handles all the grocery shopping, ordering supplies, keeping kids schedules and payments for lessons, pays the weekly housekeeper, empties the dishwasher, prepares the kids lunches and bakes healthy snacks for them. She still does their laundry, linens and towels and cleans their rooms.

Every night, I come home to two kids whose homework is done (and in their backpacks) and piano practice out of the way.

An example of what nanny does for us: I freaked out on Friday night because I forgot my youngest had a close friend’s ice skating birthday party at 10AM the next day. Nanny said, “oh, I know - her gift is wrapped on the dining room table and Larla made her a beautiful birthday card. And her skates from last year were too small so [older kid’s] skates are cleaned and sharpened in the garage. I tucked her skating socks inside”.

Am I freaking lucky or what!!

I want your nanny. I want your life.

Same! Actually, I'd like the nanny to do my job, so I can do all of the parenting stuff!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We still have our nanny full time even though our kids are in elementary school. If we didn’t have Nanny our kids couldn’t do sports or piano lessons and would get stuck in aftercare. Also, nanny covers all sick days and school holidays as well as summer break. Our nanny was an elementary school teacher so she handles homework and tutoring too. Her hours shifted to noon to 6:30 plus a weekend date night. She now handles all the grocery shopping, ordering supplies, keeping kids schedules and payments for lessons, pays the weekly housekeeper, empties the dishwasher, prepares the kids lunches and bakes healthy snacks for them. She still does their laundry, linens and towels and cleans their rooms.

Every night, I come home to two kids whose homework is done (and in their backpacks) and piano practice out of the way.

An example of what nanny does for us: I freaked out on Friday night because I forgot my youngest had a close friend’s ice skating birthday party at 10AM the next day. Nanny said, “oh, I know - her gift is wrapped on the dining room table and Larla made her a beautiful birthday card. And her skates from last year were too small so [older kid’s] skates are cleaned and sharpened in the garage. I tucked her skating socks inside”.

Am I freaking lucky or what!!

Basically this...we now call the job nanny/household manager to make the household tasks clear up front.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friends with very big careers so this because the nanny can handle sick days, snow days and any other emergency. Keeping the nanny on a salary is worth it to them. It is kind of like having someone on call always. They can also ask nanny to stay late for dinners and occasional overnights.

I don’t ask if they pay extra for evenings.

I’m a sahm now but I used to have a demanding job. Dh also has a demanding job. Dh has never took the hit for a snow day or sick day. If the school calls because DS has a fever, I would always pick up and miss work the next day. I am pretty resentful over this. Dh is a surgeon so he won’t cancel a full day of patients or surgeries because our kid has a fever. He is also unreliable in picking up the kids.

It is illegal to pay a nanny on salary. The IRS is very clear that nannies are non-exempt domestic workers who must be paid hourly and are entitled to overtime. There are some people with "big careers" who still illegally 1099 or pay under the table, but most do not. If the nanny is staying late, they are probably getting paid overtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We still have our nanny full time even though our kids are in elementary school. If we didn’t have Nanny our kids couldn’t do sports or piano lessons and would get stuck in aftercare. Also, nanny covers all sick days and school holidays as well as summer break. Our nanny was an elementary school teacher so she handles homework and tutoring too. Her hours shifted to noon to 6:30 plus a weekend date night. She now handles all the grocery shopping, ordering supplies, keeping kids schedules and payments for lessons, pays the weekly housekeeper, empties the dishwasher, prepares the kids lunches and bakes healthy snacks for them. She still does their laundry, linens and towels and cleans their rooms.

Every night, I come home to two kids whose homework is done (and in their backpacks) and piano practice out of the way.

An example of what nanny does for us: I freaked out on Friday night because I forgot my youngest had a close friend’s ice skating birthday party at 10AM the next day. Nanny said, “oh, I know - her gift is wrapped on the dining room table and Larla made her a beautiful birthday card. And her skates from last year were too small so [older kid’s] skates are cleaned and sharpened in the garage. I tucked her skating socks inside”.

Am I freaking lucky or what!!

I want your nanny. I want your life.

Same! Actually, I'd like the nanny to do my job, so I can do all of the parenting stuff!

You actually can have that-easily!

So you quit, allow your company to hire the person of their choosing to do the job, and then become a SAHP.

[Anonymous]

I’m so confused. So according to dcum: SAHM of school children = does nothing all day, waste of time. Nanny to school age children = priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends with very big careers so this because the nanny can handle sick days, snow days and any other emergency. Keeping the nanny on a salary is worth it to them. It is kind of like having someone on call always. They can also ask nanny to stay late for dinners and occasional overnights.

I don’t ask if they pay extra for evenings.

I’m a sahm now but I used to have a demanding job. Dh also has a demanding job. Dh has never took the hit for a snow day or sick day. If the school calls because DS has a fever, I would always pick up and miss work the next day. I am pretty resentful over this. Dh is a surgeon so he won’t cancel a full day of patients or surgeries because our kid has a fever. He is also unreliable in picking up the kids.

It is illegal to pay a nanny on salary. The IRS is very clear that nannies are non-exempt domestic workers who must be paid hourly and are entitled to overtime. There are some people with "big careers" who still illegally 1099 or pay under the table, but most do not. If the nanny is staying late, they are probably getting paid overtime.

Not the poster you’re responding to. You’re correct, but when the nanny has a contract for minimum 35 or 40 hours per week, and the family usually does not require more hours than that, then it feels like a salary. Nanny gets paid her 40 hours regularly, unless she works more in a rare week. When kids are in school full time, it’s rare when overtime hours are required. Nanny ends up getting paid the agreed amount of full time hours.