looking for a mommy's helper- where to start?
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Anonymous
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Hi-
We are looking to hire a mommy's helper to work approx 2 hours total per day- getting kids ready for school in the AM and taking them to school 7:30-8:30 am, and picking them up in the afternoon and giving them snacks at home and getting them settled 5:45-6:45 pm. Anyone who can cook small meals would be a plus. Any candidate suggestions or suggestions on where to start or how to proceed? Thank you!! |
Anonymous
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You will either need to pay a very high hourly rate, offer more hours, or find more than one person. No one who needs the money will want only two hours a day, it's a pain to have the hours split up like that, and it would be hard to squeeze in a full-time job plus commuting time.
If school is within walking distance, and the local high school isn't too far away, you might be able to hire a high schooler. Or a couple of college students, although you might have to be able to replace them every term as their schedules change. |
Anonymous
That's a nanny, not a mommy helper. You are out sourcing all the unpleasant work and want to pay peanuts. When I had a helper she was 13 and just played with my 3 year old when I took care of my infant. She did not get anyone ready for school or pick them up or feed them! Nobody wants that job unless you pay a lot! |
Anonymous
That's not a nanny. There is no nanny that works two hours a day. The OP wants a babysitter, which is fine, but it will be hard to find someone willing to work those hours every week. A professional nanny will want more hours, a HS student might have after-school activities some days, and a college student will have classes (and might not want to get up that early). Ordinarily, if you want a mother's helper, I'd suggest a middle-school or high-school girl, but it seems like you want someone who can drive and cook, and it's not clear whether you will be there, too, which is normally how a mother's helper works. |
Anonymous
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Yeah, you aren’t going to find someone who will work just those hours, sorry.
If I were you, and those hours were my family’s pressure points, I’d see if I could find a nanny or housekeeper who could come daily from 7-11am, and look to pay around $25/hr (but stay flexible). The job would be helping with getting ready, drop of kids, and then return to the house to do some cleaning and meal prep. She could probably help ready afternoon activities too as long as you did the planning and procurement. Use her time to make the evening easier for you even though she won’t be there. And I’d post to nanny boards and talk to cleaning services and housekeepers too. You aren’t really looking for a nanny, more of a housekeeper. But you obviously want someone good with kids. If you are lucky, you might be able to get done one who would be willing to do 7-9 or 7-10. Maybe post to college job boards as well. |
Anonymous
| Are we still using the term "mommy's helper" in 2021? I really dislike that term bc it seems to put all the responsibility for childcare on the mother--both spouse and I work FT in demanding jobs and need the childcare help. |
Anonymous
| I have to be honest-I don’t think you will find anyone to do that unless you pay a ton. And that’s a part time nanny or babysitter not a mother’s helper (you are more likely to find it if you advertise correctly.) |
Anonymous
Well, I've never heard the term "mommy's helper" before, but "mother's helper" is, while sexist, a useful term because it's not the same as a babysitter. The MH usually watches some or all of the kids while a parent is home, allowing the parent to get chores done or care for another child, or maybe run short errands. "Parent's helper" doesn't really roll off the tongue, but if you have another term to suggest, I'm all ears. |
Anonymous
| I would do this for $125/he. What's your budget? |
Anonymous
| Another option is to look into an AP, OP. You only want 10 hours per week, but it makes far more sense to pay $20/hour than $30+. |
Anonymous
| You also might want to lock down your FB account. Most of us don't post names around here... and I found you very easily. Trolls troll hard around here. |
Anonymous
I'm pp and you are right. No nanny would work those hours and no teen girl would either. I would discourage my dd because it is a thankless job and you will be paid very little. |
Anonymous
| LOL. This not a mommy's helper job. A mommy's helper is an 11yr old girl who walks to her neighbor to play with the babies while Mom or Dad make dinner or take a work call. |
Anonymous
| Your best bet is to pick the more challenging of these two time periods and look for a college student, nanny or housekeeper willing to do one larger block of time. So either you pay them to come early in the afternoon and meal prep, maybe do light housework (at a different pay rate) before they get the kids from school, then do school pickup etc, or you pay them to prep food after AM school drop off that can go in the fridge and be tossed in the oven when you get home, maybe do some laundry and prep snacks for afternoon too. You are unlikely to find someone willing to split up their day the way you are describing, and it will be difficult to find less than 3-4 hour blocks. |
Anonymous
No. 1 is that you find out what a mother's helper is! |