Reply to How do we find an Alice from the Brady Bunch?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You can absolutely find this person in your price range -- and I speak from experience (and yes, I will prepare for the outraged Nanny deluge in response to this post, but here goes):

Everyone here is right that your price range is way low for a career Nanny/household manager/housekeeper like Alice.  But the reality is, you don't need an Alice, you need an organized self-starter who is responsible and good at herding cats.  Um, I mean kids.  We have had great experience with mature college kids (set up your interview and reference questions to discern whether your applicant really understands what it takes to run your house and herd your kids).  It's not rocket science, but it does require a certain personality and skill set.  I have also had good experience with 30 something's looking to make a career change.  I.e. They've been overseas teaching or are making a geographic move and waiting to start school of some sort.

Most of these applicants are not looking for a long-term career as a Nanny, and most who will accept your pay range will not have experience as a Nanny.  But that doesn't mean you can't find a smart, capable person who will commit to working with you for a year.  But in your price range, you probably have to resign yourself to finding a new Nanny every year or year and a half.  And you will have to work with your new Nanny to make sure the expectations on both sides are understood.  But I have found quality Nannies every time I've looked, and my kids stay in touch with our past Nannies -- my kids are older, so they understand why our Nannies move on -- the Nannies are usually great role models -- they're moving on to school, new careers, etc.  I ask for a one year commitment, but most of our Nannies stay on a bit longer.

BTW, I also ask that my Nanny housekeepers make my kids pick up after themselves -- which is actually harder on the Nanny than if she just did the work herself.  I can't be home to supervise my kids after school or drive them to activities, so my Nanny's job is to teach them to be self-sufficient -- just like I would, if I was home.  But this requires a particular type of personality.

You need to prepare yourself for a pretty intense search process weeding through applicants -- but you can absolutely find someone.  I have found my last 3 Nannies on care.com -- be very particular in your job description, including the rate you're willing to pay.  It generally takes me 40-50 hours to find my Nanny.  Good luck!![/quote]

To add to this, you will probably need to have a translator there with you when you interview these applicants so you can get your point across regarding duties and such. Good luck.[/quote]

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