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Anonymous wrote:Not changes worth a raise, PP.
Normally, I would suggest a $1/hr raise for a new baby, but, since the nanny has a decreased workload, I would offer no more than $.05/hr. PPs are right. The market is swarming with experienced, legal nannies looking for work.
Yeah, because a 5 cent an hour raise is DEFINITELY appropriate. I mean, a new baby is only worth $2.50 a week for extra work.
And yes, there are warm bodies, novice nannies, and even nannies with some experience willing to work for peanuts. They'll even stay a little while. Until they find a job that doesn't pay peanuts.
Plus, unless your "nanny" is truly disconnected and pretty useless (or your family simply goes through a new nanny every 4 months or so, meaning your kids don't bother getting attached at all), losing a nanny is a pretty big transition. Is it worth the savings to have to re-train, re-orient, and re-adjust for just yourself, not to mention your kids?
Postpartum Depression???
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:she has a Bachelors in Child Development but didn't find teaching in a classroom setting fulfilling so she has chosen to nanny.
Translation: she's willing to do this until she finds a better job. No one with a a Bachelors is going to be willing to watch someone else's kids all day, she's lying. If she gets it she'll last until a real job comes through.
The older woman will be a better choose, she's already proven to be a serious nanny, she's old but experience is good.
Also, why does everyone always insist on choosing Foriegn people to watch their kids?
OMG, hope my bosses don't see this! They'll start to wonder when I'll be skipping out to find a "real" job, since I've had my bachelors degree for 11+ years!
OP, I would do a trial with each candidate and see who you feel comfortable with. And not to be a downer, but it's truly hard to make definite plans for nanny care for 5+ years. Your lives could change, any nanny you hire could have a lifestyle change...Don't choose based on the far future, choose who you'd want to have caring for your kids for the next 2 years or so.
OP, if you've already decided to find a new job, I wouldn't give them any more free passes. Next time this happens, bring them their kids wish them all a good evening. If this is a regular thing, nothing will make them change other than direct, complete chaos that they bring on themselves.
OP, I think you're handling things really well, and as far as your MB goes, your charge will soon learn who she can and can't manipulate with tantrums. Do you step back and let MB handle it when she's home, or does she come in and overrule you? If it's the later, you need to talk with MB about needing to let her child know who is in charge when nanny is here. Be as empathetic as possible, but ask her to either let you manage it or to be clear to your charge that MB is always in charge when MB is around.
I would also not discuss the tantrum when she comes to you afterwards. I would give her the reassurance she needs with a hug and then verbally re-direct her to the task she still needs to manage.
I would also not discuss the tantrum when she comes to you afterwards. I would give her the reassurance she needs with a hug and then verbally re-direct her to the task she still needs to manage.
It's an important question to ask because it's going to help potential nannies discover your particular "non-negotiables". (Yes, safety should always be assumed to be non-negotiable, but many parents are less safety conscious than nannies.)
"Our last nanny was fired after she broke XYZ safety rule/demonstrated a lack of basic safety awareness." Then give more details as you feel comfortable doinbg so.
"Our last nanny was fired after she broke XYZ safety rule/demonstrated a lack of basic safety awareness." Then give more details as you feel comfortable doinbg so.
"Hi bosses. I noticed this week that you've installed a drop cam. Is there an issue with my job performance that we need to discuss, or is there something else I need to be aware of that is the reason behind your use of a camera when you are working?"
13:17, YOU know that's the economic reality, and *I* know it as well. But many nannies (and I'm going to sound snobbish here, but oh well...) don't look at economic realities. They can be shortsighted when it comes to wages, and if a family that they work for is paying $14/hour for 2 kids, and adds a 3rd child for $40 more per week, that nanny will choose to leave on the chance she can find work with either equal or better pay and fewer kids to care for.
Is it smart to job hop like that? No. Is it economically savvy? No. Does it still happen? Yes.
Does it put parents into a bind when they have to replace nanny after nanny after nanny because the wage the parents offer doesn't fit what the nanny feels the job is truly worth? Yes.
As a "seasoned" nanny, my advice to parents is to offer generous wage increases that fit into your budget, IF you have a nanny who you want to keep for the foreseeable future. If you aren't crazy about your nanny but don't really want to fire her, then offering low-ball raises will eventually solve your problem and force you into the hiring process when your nanny quits.
Is it smart to job hop like that? No. Is it economically savvy? No. Does it still happen? Yes.
Does it put parents into a bind when they have to replace nanny after nanny after nanny because the wage the parents offer doesn't fit what the nanny feels the job is truly worth? Yes.
As a "seasoned" nanny, my advice to parents is to offer generous wage increases that fit into your budget, IF you have a nanny who you want to keep for the foreseeable future. If you aren't crazy about your nanny but don't really want to fire her, then offering low-ball raises will eventually solve your problem and force you into the hiring process when your nanny quits.
No, 15:33, I am trying to say that nanny raises are never cut and dried, since families all have different numbers and ages of kids, as well as different childcare needs.
I am also attempting to tactfully suggest to the OP that it's better to offer a slight bit more than what a PP suggested doing. Using a mathematical formula to determine exactly how many hours nanny will have each child is, IMO, pretty foolish, unless, as I said, there is NO WAY that nanny would EVER have more work to do than was mathematically determined.
Nannies know when they are being given minimal raises despite their having to exert maximum effort. If a family simply cannot afford to pay their nanny a reasonable rate, they need to examine other childcare options. If a family simply wishes to minimize what they pay their nanny because they feel they don't need to offer money equal to the job being done, then they need to make other childcare choices.
If the PP above could truly not afford to give a $2 per hour raise for all hours worked in a week, then she did the best she could, and her nanny can choose to stay or go. But if the PP could easily afford to give, say, a $100 ($2 x 50 hours) raise, and simply decided that she didn't feel like the work involved with the new baby was worth that much, even with older kids in school who may be home more often than her formula indicated, and chose to give $40 then she may be seeking new childcare.
Parents/employers don't seem to like to hear this, but nannies KNOW what you spend on yourselves/your house/your kids. Personally, I don't calculate my raise amounts based on what I see employers spending, but I am in the minority. Most nannies, faced with a minimal raise for a new baby and seeing huge expenditures on new electronics/home renovations/clothes, will decide their employers are cheap, and will leave for a better paying job.
That's just reality.
I am also attempting to tactfully suggest to the OP that it's better to offer a slight bit more than what a PP suggested doing. Using a mathematical formula to determine exactly how many hours nanny will have each child is, IMO, pretty foolish, unless, as I said, there is NO WAY that nanny would EVER have more work to do than was mathematically determined.
Nannies know when they are being given minimal raises despite their having to exert maximum effort. If a family simply cannot afford to pay their nanny a reasonable rate, they need to examine other childcare options. If a family simply wishes to minimize what they pay their nanny because they feel they don't need to offer money equal to the job being done, then they need to make other childcare choices.
If the PP above could truly not afford to give a $2 per hour raise for all hours worked in a week, then she did the best she could, and her nanny can choose to stay or go. But if the PP could easily afford to give, say, a $100 ($2 x 50 hours) raise, and simply decided that she didn't feel like the work involved with the new baby was worth that much, even with older kids in school who may be home more often than her formula indicated, and chose to give $40 then she may be seeking new childcare.
Parents/employers don't seem to like to hear this, but nannies KNOW what you spend on yourselves/your house/your kids. Personally, I don't calculate my raise amounts based on what I see employers spending, but I am in the minority. Most nannies, faced with a minimal raise for a new baby and seeing huge expenditures on new electronics/home renovations/clothes, will decide their employers are cheap, and will leave for a better paying job.
That's just reality.
As a nanny, I would suggest that you look at a 5 - 10% new baby raise, regardless of how long older kids will be in school.
Why? Because generally a nanny is STILL responsible for the care of older kids even if they attend school. For example, if one of the older kids is ill and doesn't go to school, will a parent be staying home with that ill child, or will nanny be responsible for that kid as well as the infant? If an older child is on school break, will a parent be skipping work to care for that older kid, or will nanny be in charge?
The sole exception to this rule is for a nanny who is more of a "mother's helper" to a SAHM, and will truly not see any time "on duty" with older kids when they haven't got school.
If you simply can't afford to give a new baby raise that covers all of nanny's working hours, you will need to explain that to her and give her your reasoning. If you simply offer a small raise that doesn't compare to what she has gotten before or to what her nanny friends get, you may find that she will seek greener pastures when she can.
Why? Because generally a nanny is STILL responsible for the care of older kids even if they attend school. For example, if one of the older kids is ill and doesn't go to school, will a parent be staying home with that ill child, or will nanny be responsible for that kid as well as the infant? If an older child is on school break, will a parent be skipping work to care for that older kid, or will nanny be in charge?
The sole exception to this rule is for a nanny who is more of a "mother's helper" to a SAHM, and will truly not see any time "on duty" with older kids when they haven't got school.
If you simply can't afford to give a new baby raise that covers all of nanny's working hours, you will need to explain that to her and give her your reasoning. If you simply offer a small raise that doesn't compare to what she has gotten before or to what her nanny friends get, you may find that she will seek greener pastures when she can.
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