Anonymous wrote:I would honestly fire my nanny is she did any housework beyond child-related. I am dead serious about that. I hired a college graduate with a degree in education to to a teacher to my child -- I do not want or hire a housekeeper/maid.
DS's nanny is brilliant. She always has his best interest at heart. She seeks out places and classes to take him. And she is funny, kind and very imaginative. She is also never late, never in a bad mood, never uses her cell phone for personal calls, insisted that we get nanny cams, and is pretty much loved by everyone. When I am walkng with my son on weekend, strangers have come up to me to tell me what an amazing nanny we have (first they assume she is our son's grandmother - when I tell them she is his nanny they are shocked). My son's face lights up when she arrives in the morning.

I have a Super Nanny. The care and education of my child comes is more important to me than loading a dishwasher.

Anonymous wrote:I didn't mean a high end nanny.

You can make $10 an hour and still be a great nanny.
I meant what do you love most about your nanny that she does with your child/for you?

What makes a parent say " damn, I am so glad I have this nanny. I feel bad for other ppl who have crappy nannies" (in their heads)

Anonymous wrote:I would honestly fire my nanny is she did any housework beyond child-related. I am dead serious about that. I hired a college graduate with a degree in education to to a teacher to my child -- I do not want or hire a housekeeper/maid.
DS's nanny is brilliant. She always has his best interest at heart. She seeks out places and classes to take him. And she is funny, kind and very imaginative. She is also never late, never in a bad mood, never uses her cell phone for personal calls, insisted that we get nanny cams, and is pretty much loved by everyone. When I am walkng with my son on weekend, strangers have come up to me to tell me what an amazing nanny we have (first they assume she is our son's grandmother - when I tell them she is his nanny they are shocked). My son's face lights up when she arrives in the morning.

I have a Super Nanny. The care and education of my child comes is more important to me than loading a dishwasher.

nannydebsays wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess that the expected things are that nanny is dependable, arrives on time, and truly cares about my children. If those things are met, I can forgive almost anything else. If those aren't met, then I am probably looking for someone else.

After that, I think a nanny can excel in three areas:
a) housework. the above vaccuming, cooking, general tidying of the house. Also, being kind of a manager of the house, and being able to be there and tell the plumber what the problem is when he arrives, point out the stains when we get the carpets cleaned, etc.
b) playing with the kids. Doing crafts, making up fun games, teaching the kids their colors and numbers or math. Playing dress up, practicing for the school play or getting that t-ball hit just right, being right on with when to discipline and when a kid is just having a rough day.
c) managing the kids schedules. Knowing when the school/preschool Christmas and Valentine's day parties are and getting the kids ready, making sure that they eat early on Wednesday nights because they have football, knowing when the try-outs are for baseball, writing down when we are out of things like diapers/wipes or laundry detergent or peanut-butter.

The trouble is that often people expect 1, 2 and 3 for the price of #2. #2 is a nanny's job, for kids under 5. #2 + #3 is a Nanny Manager's job for kids 5 - 12+. All 3 job subtypes put together are a Household Manager's job, with kids who need after-school care and vacation care, and parents who need help keeping their home running. Expecting 1 + 2 + 3 from a nanny being paid only nanny rates who is wrangling multiple kids under 5 50+ hours a week is a great way to burn nanny out completely.

Anonymous wrote:I guess that the expected things are that nanny is dependable, arrives on time, and truly cares about my children. If those things are met, I can forgive almost anything else. If those aren't met, then I am probably looking for someone else.

After that, I think a nanny can excel in three areas:
a) housework. the above vaccuming, cooking, general tidying of the house. Also, being kind of a manager of the house, and being able to be there and tell the plumber what the problem is when he arrives, point out the stains when we get the carpets cleaned, etc.
b) playing with the kids. Doing crafts, making up fun games, teaching the kids their colors and numbers or math. Playing dress up, practicing for the school play or getting that t-ball hit just right, being right on with when to discipline and when a kid is just having a rough day.
c) managing the kids schedules. Knowing when the school/preschool Christmas and Valentine's day parties are and getting the kids ready, making sure that they eat early on Wednesday nights because they have football, knowing when the try-outs are for baseball, writing down when we are out of things like diapers/wipes or laundry detergent or peanut-butter.

Anonymous wrote:The things I love most about our amazing nanny is that I come home to a clean, vacuumed house, dishes put away, sink empty, dinner prepped or cooked, clothes folded, etc.

Funny thing about it all is this nanny was cheaper than my previous nanny PLUS my kids are learning spanish for free.

We truly have the best nanny.

Anonymous wrote:The things I love most about our amazing nanny is that I come home to a clean, vacuumed house, dishes put away, sink empty, dinner prepped or cooked, clothes folded, etc.

Funny thing about it all is this nanny was cheaper than my previous nanny PLUS my kids are learning spanish for free.

We truly have the best nanny.