Advice for summer nanny/babysitter/au pair care with grandparents

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are expats in Asia with two children who are 9 and 11. We are from DC and still have our condo there. The country we are now in is quite restrictive and traditional, so it is not easy to find a local nanny or babysitter for the summer months.

We would like for our kids to go back to DC for the summer and participate in summer day camps and have the opportunity to be back home. However, we are both working and cannot come back with them. We have family who could stay with the kids, but they are older and not capable of taking care of the kids full time. Anyone been in this type of situation? Did you hire a nanny or au pair to get kids ready in the morning, drive them to camp, pick them up and bring them home, or any other alternative scenario? I’m just looking for ideas or others that have been trying to balance out the summers in this unique situation. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Do both of your kids want this?
Only if yes, I’d consider one month, not two or three. Do you have any trusted friends who would help with this?

[Anonymous]

At 9 and 11, if the kids are in full day camp surely the old grandparents could give them dinner and tell them to shower at night and kiss them goodbye in the morning. At 9 and 11 the kids can make their own breakfast and lunch. So they shouldn't need a nanny.

But, why haven't you considered sleep away camp?

[Anonymous]

You could certainly hire a good, responsible nanny for the months the kids will be back in DC. I am assuming that a family member would live with them and be there at night so the nanny would work somewhat traditional hours. The nanny could handle laundry, supplies, grocery shopping and cooking for the kids which would really help your family member living with the kids.

I’d look for a teacher on summer break, personally. It wouldn’t be cheap but she could also do tutoring so the kids don’t fall back in the summer.

[Anonymous]

You can’t have an aupair unless you commit to a year . You only need summer care. Either hire a sitter for morning and afternoon/ evening or better bet would be sleep away camp .

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think the 14:22 post is exactly what we need, and we could definitely use the additional tutoring for both kids and help for the relatives that would be there for the summer. Could I ask where you would search for a teacher on summer break, or another well-equipped nanny that would be available for the summer months only? Would you go through an agency? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all of the responses. I think the 14:22 post is exactly what we need, and we could definitely use the additional tutoring for both kids and help for the relatives that would be there for the summer. Could I ask where you would search for a teacher on summer break, or another well-equipped nanny that would be available for the summer months only? Would you go through an agency? Thank you.

Yes, in your situation I would absolutely go through an agency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all of the responses. I think the 14:22 post is exactly what we need, and we could definitely use the additional tutoring for both kids and help for the relatives that would be there for the summer. Could I ask where you would search for a teacher on summer break, or another well-equipped nanny that would be available for the summer months only? Would you go through an agency? Thank you.

Yes, in your situation I would absolutely go through an agency.

Although I should add that a friend did find a summer teacher/nanny on care.com as well.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Do you happened to have any agencies that you would recommend? I used White House Nannies in the past, but not sure if there are other agencies that are better suited for this type of request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could certainly hire a good, responsible nanny for the months the kids will be back in DC. I am assuming that a family member would live with them and be there at night so the nanny would work somewhat traditional hours. The nanny could handle laundry, supplies, grocery shopping and cooking for the kids which would really help your family member living with the kids.

I’d look for a teacher on summer break, personally. It wouldn’t be cheap but she could also do tutoring so the kids don’t fall back in the summer.

But I thought the OP wanted the kids to go to summer camp during the day? It sounds like OP wants the "split shift" that's so hard for working parents of school age children to find; someone to arrive early in the mornings to make sure they get dressed/breakfast/off to camp, and then the afternoons/early evenings. And since OP seems of sure of the relatives ability to fully care for the kids, I'd imagine she'd want the nanny to possibly work some weekends too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Do you happened to have any agencies that you would recommend? I used White House Nannies in the past, but not sure if there are other agencies that are better suited for this type of request.

No, I’m sorry - I’m in LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are expats in Asia with two children who are 9 and 11. We are from DC and still have our condo there. The country we are now in is quite restrictive and traditional, so it is not easy to find a local nanny or babysitter for the summer months.

We would like for our kids to go back to DC for the summer and participate in summer day camps and have the opportunity to be back home. However, we are both working and cannot come back with them. We have family who could stay with the kids, but they are older and not capable of taking care of the kids full time. Anyone been in this type of situation? Did you hire a nanny or au pair to get kids ready in the morning, drive them to camp, pick them up and bring them home, or any other alternative scenario? I’m just looking for ideas or others that have been trying to balance out the summers in this unique situation. Thank you.

24/5 or 24/7 live-in nanny here.

Hire a 24/5 or 24/7 nanny who drives and either a biweekly cleaning service or housekeeper. Nanny will do laundry, cooking (if your relatives don’t want to), arrange play dates, etc. Make it clear that your relatives will be available to authorize treatment for illness/injury. Make a list of the types of activities you want your kids to do on non-camp days (July 4, weekends, sick days). Talk to your relatives about how much they WANT to take responsibility for doing with/for kids, and make sure it’s written in a contract.

Make sure you hire someone who has references with those ages and a parent out of the household for at least a month at a time.

Au pairs can only work 45 hours per week. They have yearlong contracts and are here for a cultural exchange. They’re not a match for your situation, but if you’d like verification, you can contact APIA, APC, CCAP and the others.

If you’re interested in a nanny agency, try NannyPoppinz. You could try White House nannies, but I doubt they’d list this position.

[Anonymous]

Why would this situation warrant 24/hr coverage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would this situation warrant 24/hr coverage?

I'm not the PP who mentioned 24 hr coverage, but OP says that the relatives are older and can't care for the kids full time. I'm unclear on what that means; OPs kids are older, it's not like the relatives will need to be changing diapers or chasing after a toddler. Can OPs relatives be trusted to drive safely to the camp and other activities? Are the able to respond appropriately if there was an emergency (call 911, drive to the ER, etc?)

[Anonymous]

MetroParentRelief might be a good resource for you OP (an agency that does short, emergency, and long-term nanny placements.)