Has anyone been able to hire and retain a before-school caregiver?
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Anonymous
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Our elementary school bus schedule is such that we really only need childcare from 7am to 9am Monday to Friday. I'm happy to pay $25/hour with ten hours guaranteed for those hours, but I'm wondering if that's even going to be adequate and whether anyone's had success with that type of a schedule in terms of finding someone reliable and long-term? Anymore than that just seems silly (not to receive from the perspective of the nanny - I understand that higher pay is needed for those part-time hours, etc); I mean silly from a perspective of paying that much given that before care is a third of the price, etc).
Maybe it would be more advisable to add more hours for child-related housekeeping duties like laundry, for example, just to bring the pay up? Any experiences would be helpful. Thanks! |
Anonymous
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Not a nanny, but I think the biggest challenge for you in that set up is that 7-9 means the nanny can't get to another job at a reasonable hour. I think 6-8 could be appealing to a nanny with a time job who was looking for extra hours, and she could still get to job #2 by 8:30/9, which would give her bosses time to get into the office by 9-9:30am. But with what you're proposing, she'd get to job#2 at 9:30/10, which would get her bosses into their jobs at 10/10:30 and that's a really late start for an office job. Not sure what families that would work for, and what nanny would find that appealing. Maybe there are candidates out there.
Do you need aftercare? Maybe you could do a split schedule and offer more hours. |
Anonymous
| What neighborhood are you in? |
Anonymous
| Thanks, PP - I totally agree and that's why I posted actually. Just wondering if anyone's been able to find anyone reliable that would want that type of schedule. I don't need aftercare - I get home right when their bus arrives. I really just need those two hours in the morning. I might just do beforecare and be done with it, it just seems a shame that that's the only option. |
Anonymous
| close-in Montgomery County |
Anonymous
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Do you also need the nanny for when DC is on break from school or home sick?
PS Every working couple needs coverage either before or after school for close to eight years. The competition is TOUGH. We all want the same thing for the longest period of time. The highest paying job usually gets the best applicants. |
Anonymous
I really don't, although I could certainly use the nanny if necessary. I have a pretty flexible job and my husband's parents live close and are happy to take the kids. Totally agree with your last statement - that's good perspective. |
Anonymous
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The BEST advice I ever received was to hang on to my children's nanny after they started school. And I did. In some ways I need her more than I did when my children were toddlers. The amount of driving to after school activities increases every year that they get older. And I trust our very longterm nanny and know her devotion to my children.
Pay her when you don't actually need her to keep her for when you do need her. |
Anonymous
| You make have luck with another professional who has a later start time in the morning. I'm in sales and my hours are flexible. Most of the time I don't go into the office until 9:30 or 10:00. I'd definitely be interested in something like this if I lived in your area. How about a retired or semi-retired person in your neighborhood? |
Anonymous
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Have you tried just posting the job on Care & SitterCity and seeing who responds. You can ask how the hours would fit into the candidate's other commitments to get a sense of whether this would be a short-term thing for her, or if it could fit into her longer-term lifestyle.
Perhaps some one who works at the local library, running the children's story time, would be available? Our neighborhood library doesn't open until 10am. Or some one who's working on her degree and just wants to babysit for the next two years for spending cash? |
Anonymous
| I'm contemplating the same arrangement for next year. But I live on Capitol Hill, so I thought some underpaid Hill staffer who lives nearby could get my kids ready and drop them off at school at 8:40 am, then go work for pennies stariting at 9 am. |
Anonymous
What will you offer to pay? |
Anonymous
Haven't thought it through yet, and not positive I will go this route -- but likely $20-22 per hour (or $200/ week). Good extra money for a Hill staffer. Young staffers typically supplement their day jobs with waitressing or something. An early morning (7:15-8:45 am) job before going into work would likely (hopefully) get some good candidates. I live on Capitol Hill and my kids' school is a short walk from the Capitol itself. |
Anonymous
I suggest going to 25/hr if you can. She needs to wake up at least by 6am, don't you think? That's quite a stretch for most of these young persons you're hoping to attract. |
Anonymous
Actually, $200/week for 7.5 hours of work would be $25/hour, now that I've done the math. Job would not appeal to everyone, but it might beat a waitressing job -- especially since those often eat into crucial socializing hours. I had a regular weekend babysitter for almost a year who worked for a Senate Committee. She had a grad degree and was lovely, and was great with my kids. Eventually she went on to a higher paying career, so such a person is never long-term. But hopefully I can find another high-energy, responsible staffer just looking to make ends meet. |