Reply to "Professional" nanny vs. one who helps with housework

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Reply to ""Professional" nanny vs. one who helps with housework"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, this all comes down to being up front and having ongoing conversations about expectations...and finding the right person. My kids are 3.5 and almost 6, and we've had the same FT nanny since I went back to work with my oldest. She's US-born and educated, so English etc is not an issue. She's smart, with some college, but she does not have an MA or anything.

We were up front about needing help around the house in addition to childcare, but childcare always came first. She did meal prep from early on, but this rule meant that sometimes veggies weren't chopped when I came home from work and dinner took longer. My DC1 is in full day school, and DC2 is in half-day. Nanny does drop-off and pick-ups, and a lot more housework/errands than before. But there is still tons of time for crafts, outings, and overseeing older DC's HW (because it starts ridiculously young). I don't see errands/chores as undermining child development, because I know I helped my mom with them and my kids help me and nanny. It's actually really good for development to have kids try to pick matching socks out of laundry, for example. And my kids *love* helping put groceries away.

This has worked really well for us. My kids are young, but so far the feedback from their schools is that their academic skills are advanced. And their nanny has reinforced our home rules and good behavior (which I think is actually one of the more important things a nanny can do). In exchange, we pay well and offer regular raises and bonuses. We are also pretty flexible, which is important to her since she's a parent as well.

In the end, many approaches can work. [b]But, for me, I wanted to prioritize using the time I have with my kids to read to them, answer their "why" questions, and play with them. This meant finding a loving nanny who is not above doing dishes, folding laundry, and prepping meals.[/b] [/quote]

OP here, and this statement exactly describes me. DH and I have pretty intense (but flexible) jobs and make the effort to switch off when we are at home - we’d prefer to focus on DC only rather than have to also deal with laundry dishes blah blah blah. I do agree that I won’t get the highest echelon of educated nannies by having these requirements, but not sure that level of education is required to be a good nanny.[/quote]

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