I interviewed a babysitter, and she checked her phone multiple times during the interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look for an older woman and be prepared to pay her more.

This is no longer the case
Every nanny young and old are constantly on the phone
Talking loud, texting, pushing strollers with their elbows, etc

From what I see it’s the older ones that are plugged in and lazy

Absolutely not my observation at all! In fact I’m home with my toddler and see nannies all the time. At first I though the most engaged were the childrens grandmothers but latter found out they were nannies. They are always running around and playing with the kids. No phones in sight.

+1. I agree. The best nannies I know are the older nannies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title says it all. I am looking for a part-time morning babysitter for my toddler. She should be off her phone at the playground if he falls off the playground structure. Is that impossible to get these days because everyone is addicted to their phone?

Part time morning? Unless you are paying $50/hr, whatever babysitter you get will be on their phone while they are on the playground. Assuming it’s an age appropriate play structure, it won’t matter if they fall and will let everyone know if they are hurt but won’t be in need of constant vigilance.

And every nanny young and old is on their phone, as are parents, when kids are on play ground. Parents in prior generations had a romance novel or newspaper or knitting — but that was a reasonable time to not be eyes locked on the kids.

Is this your first child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title says it all. I am looking for a part-time morning babysitter for my toddler. She should be off her phone at the playground if he falls off the playground structure. Is that impossible to get these days because everyone is addicted to their phone?

Part time morning? Unless you are paying $50/hr, whatever babysitter you get will be on their phone while they are on the playground. Assuming it’s an age appropriate play structure, it won’t matter if they fall and will let everyone know if they are hurt but won’t be in need of constant vigilance.

And every nanny young and old is on their phone, as are parents, when kids are on play ground. Parents in prior generations had a romance novel or newspaper or knitting — but that was a reasonable time to not be eyes locked on the kids.

Is this your first child?

That is simply not true. I’m a nanny who is never on her phone unless my older charge is in preschool and my younger charge is napping.

[Anonymous]

This is where babysitter vs. Nanny comes in

[Anonymous]

No, not appropriate.
My standard question when faced with office colleagues fiddling with their [personal] phones is along the lines of PP's suggestion: Are you expecting an urgent message? [Answer is almost never yes, but if so: "Could you please set your phone to vibrate so you'll know if an important message comes in?]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title says it all. I am looking for a part-time morning babysitter for my toddler. She should be off her phone at the playground if he falls off the playground structure. Is that impossible to get these days because everyone is addicted to their phone?

Part time morning? Unless you are paying $50/hr, whatever babysitter you get will be on their phone while they are on the playground. Assuming it’s an age appropriate play structure, it won’t matter if they fall and will let everyone know if they are hurt but won’t be in need of constant vigilance.

And every nanny young and old is on their phone, as are parents, when kids are on play ground. Parents in prior generations had a romance novel or newspaper or knitting — but that was a reasonable time to not be eyes locked on the kids.

Is this your first child?

DP. This is untrue. Good nannies/sitters are not full time or bust. I’ve had excellent luck with part time over the last couple of years. We don’t do part time because I’m trying to pay less: we do part time because our needs are part time. With good pay (though not necessarily $50!) and good benefits and good communication, you can find someone good at a range of schedules, particularly if you have some flexibility. Yes, the most experienced and seasoned nannies usually want FT but even there, there can be a range (nanny moms are sometimes happy with less). Not everyone is looking for a FT position.

Also to be clear I don’t expect no phone use ever, which I find insulting, but not paying attention to the child is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title says it all. I am looking for a part-time morning babysitter for my toddler. She should be off her phone at the playground if he falls off the playground structure. Is that impossible to get these days because everyone is addicted to their phone?

Part time morning? Unless you are paying $50/hr, whatever babysitter you get will be on their phone while they are on the playground. Assuming it’s an age appropriate play structure, it won’t matter if they fall and will let everyone know if they are hurt but won’t be in need of constant vigilance.

And every nanny young and old is on their phone, as are parents, when kids are on play ground. Parents in prior generations had a romance novel or newspaper or knitting — but that was a reasonable time to not be eyes locked on the kids.

Is this your first child?

That is simply not true. I’m a nanny who is never on her phone unless my older charge is in preschool and my younger charge is napping.

+2. Another nanny here who never looks at her phone for the nine hours a day I’m working. And I know plenty of others like me.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I think I'll do part-time preschool. This thread is scaring me. Paying loads of money for someone to sit on their phone doesn't feel like a good use of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think I'll do part-time preschool. This thread is scaring me. Paying loads of money for someone to sit on their phone doesn't feel like a good use of money.

That’s fine, OP. But several nannies are telling you they don’t use their phones - you just need to find someone like those nannies. But preschool is a fine choice for an older toddler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think I'll do part-time preschool. This thread is scaring me. Paying loads of money for someone to sit on their phone doesn't feel like a good use of money.

Not a choice I would make (our nanny is never on her phone) but lots of toddlers do well in daycare. I hear the constant colds are an issue but I’m sure you can work that out. Not everyone is cut out to be a manager of employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The title says it all. I am looking for a part-time morning babysitter for my toddler. She should be off her phone at the playground if he falls off the playground structure. Is that impossible to get these days because everyone is addicted to their phone?

I would have stopped the interview the first time she checked. Not only is it rude but it screams that her phone will take precedence over caring for children. Itutn my phone off when I go to doctor or dental appointment and if I have a business meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think I'll do part-time preschool. This thread is scaring me. Paying loads of money for someone to sit on their phone doesn't feel like a good use of money.

That’s fine, OP. But several nannies are telling you they don’t use their phones - you just need to find someone like those nannies. But preschool is a fine choice for an older toddler.

Of course, they say that, but it's a job with no oversight. If my child were a year older, I would probably be okay with that, but what happens when he falls off the playground structure, and I have no idea if it could have been prevented? At daycare, there are cameras and other children they can play with. I would be paying for a nanny to take him to a playground that rarely has children playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did you say when you asked her about it? Because you did ask her about it, right? Not just stew quietly until you could make an anonymous posting on the interwebs?

“You keep checking your phone when I’m talking. Is there an emergency you need to take care of?”

I didn't ask her. When is it ever okay to constantly check your phone during an interview? She lacks common sense.

You lack common sense. You noticed something that you thought was a red flag in an interview. That means you either ask or end the interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look for an older woman and be prepared to pay her more.

Yes, older women never check their phones during the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think I'll do part-time preschool. This thread is scaring me. Paying loads of money for someone to sit on their phone doesn't feel like a good use of money.

That’s fine, OP. But several nannies are telling you they don’t use their phones - you just need to find someone like those nannies. But preschool is a fine choice for an older toddler.

Of course, they say that, but it's a job with no oversight. If my child were a year older, I would probably be okay with that, but what happens when he falls off the playground structure, and I have no idea if it could have been prevented? At daycare, there are cameras and other children they can play with. I would be paying for a nanny to take him to a playground that rarely has children playing.

I don’t think they’re lying. And your kid is going to fall with a daycare teacher looking after six other kids too.

But whatever you think is best. Nothing wrong with group care.