Interview Question I should have asked
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Anonymous
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FTM here and obviously first time interviewing a nanny. I lucked out and got a truly great nanny in all ways but one way in particular that makes my life so much easier (and I never asked either the candidates or references about this quality) is her ability to problem-solve.
Our nanny is really great at independently solving problems! Here is an example - we have a 1960's house that was DH's bachelor pad prior to our marriage (we are in the process of building a new house). The bathroom has an old tub that is peeling enamel and I didn't feel comfortable bathing DD in that old tub once she outgrew her infant bath. Two days later an inflatable bathtub to go into our tub was delivered along with a rubber faucet cover. Nanny ordered both. I didn't even know such things existed. I questioned the faucet cover and nanny explained that since the inflatable tub had to be right under the faucet that DD might bump her head on the faucet. And sure enough, a week or so later, DD did hit her head against the faucet cover which could have really hurt if it was still the bare metal faucet. I could give so many examples like this on how our nanny is a problem-solver and proactive! Nanny is one step ahead of DD's milestones and growth and has us prepared. Just thought I would pass that on to other parents beginning the interviewing process. |
Anonymous
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Dear god, I hope you reimbursed her...? Honestly I would be really put off by a nanny who bought things she thought I needed for my house/child, especially without consulting me first. Imagine your boss: "hey, I saw you needed a new printer so I went ahead and bought you one! It was $100, just reimburse me!"
It'd be even weirder if she didn't want to be reimbursed. But whatever, to each their own, I'm glad that's a quality you value. |
Anonymous
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great proactive nanny.
not clear what your subject line is - you want a list of good questions to interview a nanny with? |
Anonymous
| You leave me speechless, OP! |
Anonymous
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Did you give her permission to buy things as needed?
I would have hoped my nanny would have talked to me, or, if we rarely had time, texted/emailed me info about the items and then let me decide to purchase them or tell her to go ahead and order them. Yes, great on the problem solving. Very strange on the implementation. Perhaps you will be thrilled with your new $350 jogging stroller, too, but my budget doesn't run to nanny making those decisions. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Yes, of course, I let her buy things for my child as needed. Why wouldn't I? I trust her with the life of my child so trusting her with a credit card is a given.
I honestly worry about some of you mothers. |
Anonymous
| As a nanny I'm not aloud to spend my bosses money. I can make a suggestion of course . But my employers are far to cheap to buy anything I suggest so I keep my mouth shut. |
Anonymous
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Stay on point, Ladies!!
Am I the only MB who thinks a proactive, problem-solver ion a nanny is important? |
Anonymous
Why wouldn't I? Because my experience with domestic employees of all types is that they think I have an unlimited amount of money. I understand why they think that, but in my case, at least, it's not true. Even if everything she bought were useful, I might not think it was necessary, or might want to shop around a little. My nanny does have a card for outings and supplies like snacks and for art projects, but no, I would not be thrilled if she decided we needed baby gates and ordered and installed them without first asking me. |
Anonymous
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Personally I don't think it's a nanny's place to buy things for the house or baby, unless she's more of a housekeeper where buying groceries, household items, etc. is part of her job description. Making suggestions is fine if asked, but ultimately I think it's up to the parents to decide how you want to spend your money. If I wanted a bathtub set, or anything else, I'd go research and buy it myself.
I can see how a super busy parent who is never home, works too much & doesn't pay much attention to detail/what the house needs could value a person like this. (Not a diss, just some parents dont have time to think about these little things outside of work). But for the normal 9-5 working parent, who plays a big role in the home, I would think this would be overstepping boundaries. I'm a nanny and even if my MB gave me her card and told me to make any purchases I see necessary for the house, I would still want to run them by her and discuss them first. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I consider myself a self-starter and great problem solver, but I would still never spend someone's money without giving them a heads-up first. |
Anonymous
| I give up. Bye bye |
Anonymous
Allowed. |
Anonymous
Please don't give up. You are you of the SMART parents, OP. Believe me. |
Anonymous
Exactly, why would any nanny buy stuff for their boss. I don't think it professional. You are paid because you work. |
Anonymous
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I still don't see a point to this thread.
Actually, it sounds like a nanny who bought a bunch of stuff for her boss, is posting pretending to be a boss enamored with something she did. |