Transportation for nanny and 2 yo to preschool: advice?

[Anonymous]

My DD will start preschool in Sept. We unfortunately were placed on a the wait list for the school up the street, within walking distance, and were given a spot at the partner school 3 miles away. Our nanny, whom we love, does not drive. We live 1 mile from each other and she either walks or takes the bus. I work 3 days/week and can take DD to school on my 2 off days. In order for her to get DD to school, she has to take 2 buses from NW DC during rush hour traffic, which isn't ideal. Often times those buses are so crowded that 3 will go by before they stop, so I don't want to ask her to do this.

The upside is that the waitlist for school moves until Feb, so if we can put together a reasonable plan for a few mos, it may become a non-issue when we can both walk DD to the nearby school. I looked into a car service but it is expensive, and she'd have to lug the car seat back and forth. Last alternative is doing a carpool with other parents, whom we'll meet once the school year starts, but my work schedule is irregular which makes coordination with others tough. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I'd ask the school for ideas. Surely other parents must be in the same predicament.

[Anonymous]

Carpool.

[Anonymous]

OP here, yes, that's what I'll likely do. I'm just a planner when it comes to these things, so trying to brainstorm in advance.

[Anonymous]

I would have hired a nanny who could drive. When kids get older, a nanny who can't drive is a waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have hired a nanny who could drive. When kids get older, a nanny who can't drive is a waste.

+1 Even though I know this is not helpful to the OP.

So I have one suggestion - hire someone to drive nanny and 2yo to preschool. I see jobs like this on care.com every once in a while. You can list it as a driving job. Usually they are similar to your situation - my nanny doesn't drive and I need someone to drive her and kid to school and then back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have hired a nanny who could drive. When kids get older, a nanny who can't drive is a waste.

+1 Even though I know this is not helpful to the OP.

So I have one suggestion - hire someone to drive nanny and 2yo to preschool. I see jobs like this on care.com every once in a while. You can list it as a driving job. Usually they are similar to your situation - my nanny doesn't drive and I need someone to drive her and kid to school and then back.

This is a great suggestion. I will look into Care.com. Regarding having someone who can't drive, yes, it's an inconvenience. But she brings so much else to the table that I'll work around this. She works with my irregular schedule and occasionally long hours, occasional overnights. Has constant flexibility and I trust her implicitly with DD. Is as honest as the day is long and a genuine, kind soul. I am a single working parent and rely on her heavily to help me raise DD. She's worth the hassle of this issue.

[Anonymous]

Yup, wait until August, see if your child gets into the closer school (this might happen if others decline because they get off the waitlist at another school).

Hire someone to drive nanny.

Carpool - but if you can't offer much in the way of taking your turn because your work schedule is irregular, I'd go back to hiring someone to drive.

[Anonymous]

Is biking a possibility while the weather is good?

[Anonymous]

I would love to bike, PP. I actually used to commute to PG county on my bike from DC, so I'm not afraid of traffic. But with DD on the back, biking in NW DC during rush hour could get hairy. I also mentioned the idea to my mom who absolutely went white that I would even suggest such a thing. But yeah, in my dream world, I would totally bike with DD. Think of the quads I'd have!