Older nanny for infant -- pros/cons?

[Anonymous]

Currently hiring, and one of our candidates is in her early 60s. I like her quite a bit. We have never worked with someone of this age, however... previous nannies have been former au pairs, usually late 20s, early 30s.

She would not be working with our preschooler but with a newborn. One thing that worries me is that she doesn't seem to have recent infant experience, although she's been with kids in the 1-3 range, and raised several of her own. It is hard for me to see (since baby isn't here yet) how her physical stamina would be. I remember endless hours bouncing my first child on a ball during the colicky stage, and a lot of lifting/carrying with car seat, stroller, etc. Also, would she find this stage tedious and/or be annoyed by constantly shifting schedules? (I suppose that last issue is more of a personality thing, but sometimes I feel people in different stages of life have different tolerance levels.)

Curious to hear of any experiences you've had, pros or cons, with an older infant nanny.

[Anonymous]

We have one now. She started when dd was 5 months and dd is 11 months. The nanny did have recent infant experience though. She's wonderful. Very patient, very loving, very timely, not phased by much. She's bounced and rocked the baby to soothe for naps and helped with transition to solids etc. she's been great at working with me on babys changing schedule. A lot of infant care is pretty physical so she has to be in decent shape to carry the baby all day but if you like her go for it.

[Anonymous]

Have you spoken to her references? How recent was her last one year old experience? I would talk about her energy level and physical strength with her more recent references to get an idea of how she is handling those issues.

[Anonymous]

If you have a doable schedule that allows her enough time to go home and recharge (so not 7am-9pm type of thing), her energy levels should be absolutely fine - she's only early 60s, not 70s. Infants are a lot easier this way than toddlers who require a lot more movement and just energy.

When you speak to references, though, you need to ask how willing the nanny was to take direction - since she's got so much experience and raised several of her own children, she probably has very set ideas of what should be done with babies, and it is crucial that she is able to follow your instructions even if she feels that 4mo is too early to introduce solids or whatever. But if she's a good career nanny then that is unlikely to be a problem.

[Anonymous]

Our nanny was 60 when DD was born and has more energy and strength than I do! Age should not be a factor in hiring or not hiring anyone.

As far as experience, that is a different issue. I was a FTM and needed an educated and experienced nanny (with newborns and beyond) and could not have settled for less.

[Anonymous]

Our next president is 70. Keep that in mind.

I adore having an older nanny. She has more stamina than anyone I have ever met of any age and is super strong. She is also NO DRAMA - no boyfriend angst, no late nights so she's wiped the next day, no fighting with friends, no sudden money issues - no drama. It is a joy to have a grown up in the house instead of our previous nanny who was a hot mess. Our 62 year old nanny is not addicted to her phone either. She works 11 hours a day and is always fresh and happy when she comes to work the next morning. My kids adore her! So do I.

[Anonymous]

We didn't have an official Nanny but had a Grandma type person care for our DD when she was 4 months until 17 mos. There was a lot more nurturing than I probably would have done myself. I think because she was older she was content to just sit and hold DD and give her lots of snuggles. I didnt love this at the time but looking back I think it was great for a baby. One of the downsides for me was that she would let DD fall asleep on her, and I wanted her put in the crib drowsy but awake. Again that, this was a family friend who we paid but wasnt actually a professional Nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn't have an official Nanny but had a Grandma type person care for our DD when she was 4 months until 17 mos. There was a lot more nurturing than I probably would have done myself. I think because she was older she was content to just sit and hold DD and give her lots of snuggles. I didnt love this at the time but looking back I think it was great for a baby. One of the downsides for me was that she would let DD fall asleep on her, and I wanted her put in the crib drowsy but awake. Again that, this was a family friend who we paid but wasnt actually a professional Nanny.

I am a PP with an older nanny and your post made me smile! Nanny used to hold DS for his naps, too. In fact, he now looks at a book where a mother in holding a child and lovingly says, "That's me and Nanny when I was a baby". I never asked her to put DS down so she wasn't disregarding an request.

DS is no worse for the holding, I can say that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our next president is 70. Keep that in mind.

I adore having an older nanny. She has more stamina than anyone I have ever met of any age and is super strong. She is also NO DRAMA - no boyfriend angst, no late nights so she's wiped the next day, no fighting with friends, no sudden money issues - no drama. It is a joy to have a grown up in the house instead of our previous nanny who was a hot mess. Our 62 year old nanny is not addicted to her phone either. She works 11 hours a day and is always fresh and happy when she comes to work the next morning. My kids adore her! So do I.

OP here. Well, our next president is also always on his phone and embroiled in drama, so not sure if this is a good comparison

[Anonymous]

OP again...just wanted to say thanks to all for the reassuring comments. Yes, her recent references say she is very good at taking directions, good at keeping to schedule parents set, and so on. She seems to be a lot less ego driven than other younger nannies we have had. I don't anticipate conflict with her on that level. I am mainly worried about the physical aspect but I can see how this is more of an issue at 1.5+ than now. Good things to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our next president is 70. Keep that in mind.

I adore having an older nanny. She has more stamina than anyone I have ever met of any age and is super strong. She is also NO DRAMA - no boyfriend angst, no late nights so she's wiped the next day, no fighting with friends, no sudden money issues - no drama. It is a joy to have a grown up in the house instead of our previous nanny who was a hot mess. Our 62 year old nanny is not addicted to her phone either. She works 11 hours a day and is always fresh and happy when she comes to work the next morning. My kids adore her! So do I.

OP here. Well, our next president is also always on his phone and embroiled in drama, so not sure if this is a good comparison

Either Hillary or Bernie would have been around the same age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again...just wanted to say thanks to all for the reassuring comments. Yes, her recent references say she is very good at taking directions, good at keeping to schedule parents set, and so on. She seems to be a lot less ego driven than other younger nannies we have had. I don't anticipate conflict with her on that level. I am mainly worried about the physical aspect but I can see how this is more of an issue at 1.5+ than now. Good things to think about.

I think you are being a little silly and quite ageist. Unless this nanny is 80 or in poor health, I don't see where the stamina issue comes into play. My mother is 60 and still runs marathons. I would hire an older nanny in a heartbeat if I could find one.

[Anonymous]

Our first nanny was older and was fantastic. We had newborn twins and she was utterly amazing with them. She was with us for 3 years, at which point she started having some health issues that made it hard for her to keep up with racing toddlers so we had to make a switch.

But I would absolutely hire an older nanny again. I think the only thing you need to think through is whether you anticipate employing her for just a couple of years, or whether you'd like to find someone who could be with your family for many years. The longer you hope to employ someone the more possible it could be that age could be a factor. But for someone in good health in their early 60's I would have no concerns about newborn care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again...just wanted to say thanks to all for the reassuring comments. Yes, her recent references say she is very good at taking directions, good at keeping to schedule parents set, and so on. She seems to be a lot less ego driven than other younger nannies we have had. I don't anticipate conflict with her on that level. I am mainly worried about the physical aspect but I can see how this is more of an issue at 1.5+ than now. Good things to think about.

I think you are being a little silly and quite ageist. Unless this nanny is 80 or in poor health, I don't see where the stamina issue comes into play. My mother is 60 and still runs marathons. I would hire an older nanny in a heartbeat if I could find one.

Thanks for your opinion. My question is based on the fact that I'm not as fit as I was at 20, and the same goes for the vast majority of people I know. Maybe you know something about the general rules of aging that I don't?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again...just wanted to say thanks to all for the reassuring comments. Yes, her recent references say she is very good at taking directions, good at keeping to schedule parents set, and so on. She seems to be a lot less ego driven than other younger nannies we have had. I don't anticipate conflict with her on that level. I am mainly worried about the physical aspect but I can see how this is more of an issue at 1.5+ than now. Good things to think about.

I think you are being a little silly and quite ageist. Unless this nanny is 80 or in poor health, I don't see where the stamina issue comes into play. My mother is 60 and still runs marathons. I would hire an older nanny in a heartbeat if I could find one.

Thanks for your opinion. My question is based on the fact that I'm not as fit as I was at 20, and the same goes for the vast majority of people I know. Maybe you know something about the general rules of aging that I don't?

Apparently, I do know something more than you about general rules of aging!

It is not age but overall health that matters. We are taking about taking care and teaching little ones here - not sharp shooting or professional sports! Of course, general health and fitness matter more than age for a nanny. If you are a mother or young children and not as fit as you were in your twenties, that is your fault - not a product of your age. My mother who will be 61 next year ran the NYC marathon while my next door neighbor who is clinically obese and only 29 had a heart attack. Fitness not age.