I would definitely do number two.
I would just reserve that specific time frame for you & not make other plans.
After all, I would be compensated for my availability.

I could also do number three as my children are both grown & living outside of the home.

I can usually be flexible but to those Nannies w/minor children - these options may not be doable.

Anonymous wrote:Au pair?

No more au pairs until next year. No visas.

Au pair?

Anonymous wrote:Would we have a better time finding someone if this were a live in arrangement? Thanks again for your insight.

Yes!

I posted option 5. Btdt, a wonky schedule is one of the biggest reasons that parents elect to look for a live-in nanny. If you do that, you’re more likely to find someone who could work with option 2 or 3, especially if you find someone doing college classes who only wants part time. Living in the home with the children will allow to create a tentative bond, even if they only work occasionally.

Would we have a better time finding someone if this were a live in arrangement? Thanks again for your insight.

Anonymous wrote:Option 1 will leave you scrambling frequently and lead to inconsistent care for kids. You kids would likely have to get used to someone new each time. With so many families hiring in home care, it would also be hard to find someone last minute for sick care.

Option 2 seems to be the best of your proposed choices. However, I would want to know when you would let me know if I'm needed to work. Will you let the nanny know by 8am each day if she's needed? Or could she be called at anytime throughout the day if kids get sick and need to come home? I wouldn't be bored per se, but it might be hard to plan my day if I'm not sure when you might need me or when I'm off. It should be made clear up front how much notice nanny will have if she is needed at work.

Option 3 I would never personally accept. If it was an occasional change (e.g., wanting some date nights), I would consider that. But not switching from before care, to after care, to middle of the day care. It would be extremely hard for the nanny to schedule personal commitments with this schedule. You might be able to find this, but you should expect to pay a premium for the flex schedule.

We would definitely let the nanny know by 8am if they were needed. If someone got sick after that, then we'd be on the hook. I see why Option 3 would be problematic and ultimately unrealistic.

Thank you all for your comments. We have a lot to think about.

Option 1 will leave you scrambling frequently and lead to inconsistent care for kids. You kids would likely have to get used to someone new each time. With so many families hiring in home care, it would also be hard to find someone last minute for sick care.

Option 2 seems to be the best of your proposed choices. However, I would want to know when you would let me know if I'm needed to work. Will you let the nanny know by 8am each day if she's needed? Or could she be called at anytime throughout the day if kids get sick and need to come home? I wouldn't be bored per se, but it might be hard to plan my day if I'm not sure when you might need me or when I'm off. It should be made clear up front how much notice nanny will have if she is needed at work.

Option 3 I would never personally accept. If it was an occasional change (e.g., wanting some date nights), I would consider that. But not switching from before care, to after care, to middle of the day care. It would be extremely hard for the nanny to schedule personal commitments with this schedule. You might be able to find this, but you should expect to pay a premium for the flex schedule.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option 5:

Nanny is scheduled full time. Nanny is with kids on days home. On days kids are in school, nanny is scheduled to do kids’ laundry, batch cook kids’ meals, do kids’ shopping, etc in the mornings. Nanny will pick up the elementary school child after school on the days she goes (likely a/b), but picks up the younger two for lunch and nap at home.

Nanny will be happy with full time hours. You won’t have to worry about illness if the nanny is scheduled for full time anyway.

No, option 3 with moving the schedule around while paying part time will not be well received. You may find someone, but they’ll leave when they find someone more stable. And much as I hate to say it, option 2 is even worse. Either your nanny will resent when she’s asked to work (because she’s going to make plans in her on call time, that’s natural) or she’ll just look for something that allows her to actually bond with the children.

OP here. What you say about option 2 is exactly my concern. Option 5 is appealing though I know that blurs the lines between housekeeper and nanny, which I understand is not appealing to many.

It’s not general housekeeping, OP. Even highly educated nannies usually don’t have a problem handling anything and everything for the child. Our nanny has a masters degree and feels my DD’s laundry, food, shopping and closet upkeep(weeding out the outgrown clothes) is her job. Our nanny also handles all ordering and (pre-covid) class payments and birthday party gifts (she even wraps them).

What nanny would never do is my laundry, my dishes or my cooking.

Anonymous wrote:Option 5:

Nanny is scheduled full time. Nanny is with kids on days home. On days kids are in school, nanny is scheduled to do kids’ laundry, batch cook kids’ meals, do kids’ shopping, etc in the mornings. Nanny will pick up the elementary school child after school on the days she goes (likely a/b), but picks up the younger two for lunch and nap at home.

Nanny will be happy with full time hours. You won’t have to worry about illness if the nanny is scheduled for full time anyway.

No, option 3 with moving the schedule around while paying part time will not be well received. You may find someone, but they’ll leave when they find someone more stable. And much as I hate to say it, option 2 is even worse. Either your nanny will resent when she’s asked to work (because she’s going to make plans in her on call time, that’s natural) or she’ll just look for something that allows her to actually bond with the children.

OP here. What you say about option 2 is exactly my concern. Option 5 is appealing though I know that blurs the lines between housekeeper and nanny, which I understand is not appealing to many.

Anonymous wrote:None of your options would appeal to me. While the option of being paid even when not working is appealing on one level, the inability to form a routine with the children would not be.

How do you feel about PP’s option #4?

Thanks for your feedback. We don’t wish to pull them out of the daycare as it’s run by family. We also really love the social aspect of daycare (our kids love the other kids and are related to others there too). And again, the curriculum for ages 2+ is excellent and well-known at our local elementary school.

But you bring up an excellent point about routine that is important to both nanny and children.

Option 5:

Nanny is scheduled full time. Nanny is with kids on days home. On days kids are in school, nanny is scheduled to do kids’ laundry, batch cook kids’ meals, do kids’ shopping, etc in the mornings. Nanny will pick up the elementary school child after school on the days she goes (likely a/b), but picks up the younger two for lunch and nap at home.

Nanny will be happy with full time hours. You won’t have to worry about illness if the nanny is scheduled for full time anyway.

No, option 3 with moving the schedule around while paying part time will not be well received. You may find someone, but they’ll leave when they find someone more stable. And much as I hate to say it, option 2 is even worse. Either your nanny will resent when she’s asked to work (because she’s going to make plans in her on call time, that’s natural) or she’ll just look for something that allows her to actually bond with the children.

Pull the toddlers out of daycare and get a nanny who would also care for your older child should the need arise.

All of your other options are unworkable.

None of your options would appeal to me. While the option of being paid even when not working is appealing on one level, the inability to form a routine with the children would not be.

How do you feel about PP’s option #4?

Option 4? Pull them out of daycare/aftercare and just have a full-time nanny.

Hi all, like many (many) others, we have been working from home while our 3 girls are home from daycare/school. We're lucky to be able to work at home, but it's been very tough to watch 2 very busy toddlers plus engage our 1st grader while trying to work.

Our daycare opens back up next week, but the rules are MUCH stricter about illness, as they should be. The new rules are basically if ANYONE in the ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD (parents included) has ANY symptoms of illness (including runny nose! congestion!), the girls cannot go to daycare until several days have passed with no symptoms. Obviously, this is going to be an issue for our family as kids ALWAYS have runny noses, etc in the fall/winter, to say nothing of snow days, etc. We do not wish to pull them out of daycare altogether because it's run by family and an excellent program (my daughter was reading at 4, etc.). But we know that we need dependable, long-term backup. Just last year, I used at least 1-2 vacation days each week from Dec-Feb due to colds/stomach bugs, etc. I cannot imagine how many days I'll need to use this year when ANY of us have the slighted symptom. We had been wanting to get a Spanish-speaking au pair (our family is S. American) but obviously that option is out now due to visa restrictions.

It would seem we have a few options for backup care for the next year or five:
1). use care.com or a service on days/weeks that we need it and hope for the best
2). hire and pay someone who is available full-time (as if they were our sole provider) but only utilize them when illness/closings occur, which could be no days per week or full weeks and any variable in between. Emphasizing we would pay no matter if we needed them or not.
3). Hire someone with a guaranteed number of hours per week, but the schedule and max hours would adjust according to illness/closures? For example, we would guarantee pay for 30 hours but one week it would be M-F 9-3 on days they cannot go to school/daycare but the next week it would be evenings after school or maybe a date night (can't remember the last time we had one of those).

Nannies, would options 2 or 3 be appealing to you? 2 seems like it would be ideal for you, but then would you get "bored" on weeks we needed you little or at all? 3 might work best for our family but the lack of consistency could be daunting for the nanny. What would you expect in terms of salary or hourly rate? Would there be any variance on days you worked versus being "on call?"

Parents, option 1 isn't doable, right? Or not without stressing out almost every week? Have you had any similar experience with options 2 or 3 or some other variation?

Thanks for your insight.