Where do you find these exceptional nannies?

[Anonymous]

Thank you I agree with you!!100
They are bunch of morons talking about age !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we please PLEASE stop with the older nanny trope? I'm surprised none of you have also said the key is hiring a white nanny. Stereotypes are stupid, and the QUALITIES that make an excellent nanny can be found in a nanny of any age, any race, and any background. There are amazing 50 year old nannies with many years of experience and degrees. There are also mature and professional talented 20-something nannies who take direction well and want nothing more than to do a good job. Try not to be an ignorant bigot.

People, like me, were just giving their experiences with exceptional nannies. And name calling doesn't really help your case that young nannies are mature enough to care for my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please PLEASE stop with the older nanny trope? I'm surprised none of you have also said the key is hiring a white nanny. Stereotypes are stupid, and the QUALITIES that make an excellent nanny can be found in a nanny of any age, any race, and any background. There are amazing 50 year old nannies with many years of experience and degrees. There are also mature and professional talented 20-something nannies who take direction well and want nothing more than to do a good job. Try not to be an ignorant bigot.

People, like me, were just giving their experiences with exceptional nannies. And name calling doesn't really help your case that young nannies are mature enough to care for my children.

Please tell me where I called you a name? Saying something you don't like =/= name calling. Using an adjective =/= name calling. You are an idiot. That is name calling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please PLEASE stop with the older nanny trope? I'm surprised none of you have also said the key is hiring a white nanny. Stereotypes are stupid, and the QUALITIES that make an excellent nanny can be found in a nanny of any age, any race, and any background. There are amazing 50 year old nannies with many years of experience and degrees. There are also mature and professional talented 20-something nannies who take direction well and want nothing more than to do a good job. Try not to be an ignorant bigot.

People, like me, were just giving their experiences with exceptional nannies. And name calling doesn't really help your case that young nannies are mature enough to care for my children.

Please tell me where I called you a name? Saying something you don't like =/= name calling. Using an adjective =/= name calling. You are an idiot. That is name calling.

Not PP but your "try not to be an ignorant bigot" is name calling (and terrible name calling at that). I felt you were immature when I read your initial post as well. I'm soory, PP, but that is how I felt when I got to the end of your post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our secret is that we hired someone with zero nanny experience who was very driven to do a good job and open to both coming up with their own ideas and implementing ours.

WRONG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another endorsement for the older nanny. Our nanny is a former preschool teacher with graduate school credits in Early Childhood Development. She has a masters degree in Liberal Arts but hasn't finished her ECD masters (and probably won't due to the internship requirement).

I found out about her from the librarians who do story-time at our library. I asked if the knew any great nannies and her name was the first the both said! I met with her but she was not willing to leave her charge -- so I had to hire another nanny -- but would use this nanny on weekends whenever possible to keep up the relationship (I had just a newborn at the time and knew we wanted another child at some point). The day she told me that her charge was starting school and she would be looking for another job, I grabbed her!

This is a great idea! Ask librarians who do story-time, teacher at Music Together or Kiddie Gyms, as well as other good nannies. You are getting expert recommendations from people who see how the nanny interacts with the child away from home when knows her employers cannot be watching her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please PLEASE stop with the older nanny trope? I'm surprised none of you have also said the key is hiring a white nanny. Stereotypes are stupid, and the QUALITIES that make an excellent nanny can be found in a nanny of any age, any race, and any background. There are amazing 50 year old nannies with many years of experience and degrees. There are also mature and professional talented 20-something nannies who take direction well and want nothing more than to do a good job. Try not to be an ignorant bigot.

People, like me, were just giving their experiences with exceptional nannies. And name calling doesn't really help your case that young nannies are mature enough to care for my children.

Please tell me where I called you a name? Saying something you don't like =/= name calling. Using an adjective =/= name calling. You are an idiot. That is name calling.

Not PP but your "try not to be an ignorant bigot" is name calling (and terrible name calling at that). I felt you were immature when I read your initial post as well. I'm soory, PP, but that is how I felt when I got to the end of your post.

That was not name calling. Saying you are ignorant and bigoted would be name calling. I was saying that the practice of stereotyping based on any superficial quality is bigoted is not name calling. You simply take offense to what I had to say. That does not mean that I was wrong to say it. You all have done nothing to argue your points, you've just used this name calling straw man to distract. Yet I'm immature. Not to mention you actually called me a name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please PLEASE stop with the older nanny trope? I'm surprised none of you have also said the key is hiring a white nanny. Stereotypes are stupid, and the QUALITIES that make an excellent nanny can be found in a nanny of any age, any race, and any background. There are amazing 50 year old nannies with many years of experience and degrees. There are also mature and professional talented 20-something nannies who take direction well and want nothing more than to do a good job. Try not to be an ignorant bigot.

People, like me, were just giving their experiences with exceptional nannies. And name calling doesn't really help your case that young nannies are mature enough to care for my children.

Please tell me where I called you a name? Saying something you don't like =/= name calling. Using an adjective =/= name calling. You are an idiot. That is name calling.

Not PP but your "try not to be an ignorant bigot" is name calling (and terrible name calling at that). I felt you were immature when I read your initial post as well. I'm soory, PP, but that is how I felt when I got to the end of your post.

That was not name calling. Saying you are ignorant and bigoted would be name calling. I was saying that the practice of stereotyping based on any superficial quality is bigoted is not name calling. You simply take offense to what I had to say. That does not mean that I was wrong to say it. You all have done nothing to argue your points, you've just used this name calling straw man to distract. Yet I'm immature. Not to mention you actually called me a name.

NP here. Please stop, PP. You are embarrassing yourself.

[Anonymous]

The best way to find the best nanny is to ask well connected nannies for reccomendations. Nannies are like a mafia, they know the neighborhood, the families who live there, and the nannies who work there. A vetern nanny is better then an agency.

[Anonymous]

We have a great nanny, whom we found through word of mouth neighborhood referrals. I wouldn't go so far as to say she is exceptional, but she is great.

Don't set yourself up to expect/find perfection - you'll just be disappointed.

I think a major key to hiring well is to knowing exactly what you want, what you value, what you consider exceptional (your must haves won't be critical things to someone else for instance), what you will/can reward, how clearly you can articulate your expectations, etc...

If you can do all of that then you stand a much better chance of hiring someone who could be exceptional for your needs and family.

[Anonymous]

Word of mouth--do you know of a family with older kids who doesn't need their nanny anymore?

As for age, I think that the more accurate metric is number of years with a particular family. Our nanny was with her former family for 10 years (!), which speaks volumes. Sure, it would have been possible for her to be horrible, but in general a nanny that keeps her family for a long, long time can be a good indicator or reliability and quality.

[Anonymous]

I have to say, I agree that older nannies are a better choice.

There will ALWAYS be exceptions to the rules when making any types of generalizations....ALWAYS...And I know this.

But for the most part, older nannies do not have their Smartphones attached to them like extra limbs, they do not have to be connected on social media at all times + they have the maturity and life experience that only age can give. They are much more responsible in general and have much wisdom to impart on their younger counterparts.

A bonus for me is a mother who has already raised her own child(ren.) vs. some college student w/a Child Development Degree. I much prefer someone who has real life, hands-on childcare experience vs. someone who only studied it from a book or learned it in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say, I agree that older nannies are a better choice.

There will ALWAYS be exceptions to the rules when making any types of generalizations....ALWAYS...And I know this.

But for the most part, older nannies do not have their Smartphones attached to them like extra limbs, they do not have to be connected on social media at all times + they have the maturity and life experience that only age can give. They are much more responsible in general and have much wisdom to impart on their younger counterparts.

A bonus for me is a mother who has already raised her own child(ren.) vs. some college student w/a Child Development Degree. I much prefer someone who has real life, hands-on childcare experience vs. someone who only studied it from a book or learned it in a classroom.

+1 Although my older nanny both raised her own child and has a ECD degree.

I would add the "no-drama" quality that a PP noted above. Just look the the reaction from two younger nannies in the above exchanges with several mothers. I do not want ANY cheap drama from nanny. No hurt feelings, no tears, no recounting of fights with boyfriend... I want a total No-Drama-Nanny (and I have one). She states what she wants, is clear in her needs and expectations, is not afraid of me and always, always follows through.

[Anonymous]

We hired our outstanding first nanny through an agency.

Unfortunately, when she moved on the agency was unable to send us any suitable candidates and the person we hired turned out to have some very serious mental disorders that endangered our children. We parted ways with them both (agency and nanny) and found a perfectly adequate nanny on our own.

I'd say, based on our limited experience, that finding our "Mary Poppins" was just blind luck.

[Anonymous]

Best way is word of mouth from neighbors, friends, etc. Failing that, I've had good success with sittercity.com. I always go by reviews and references.