Is it really the employers responsibility to see that she gets the money, though? Obviously it's the employers responsibility to pay them, but in other jobs, if you quit and don't pick up your check, they are not going to track you down. The paycheck is there waiting for the employee, should they bother to come get it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mail the check "IF"....
Are you deranged?

...did you have trouble reading the rest of the sentence? IF she won't come pick it up. As in, she can get it here or we'll send it there. What on earth is wrong with that? JFC.

The problem is that the op is withholding her pay because she thinks her former nanny owes her something. It is the employer's responsibility to get it to her.

Anonymous wrote:Mail the check "IF"....
Are you deranged?

...did you have trouble reading the rest of the sentence? IF she won't come pick it up. As in, she can get it here or we'll send it there. What on earth is wrong with that? JFC.

That's why you should do it. Only you can do it just like you.

Anonymous wrote:Five nannies in two years? You are the common denominator. Also, I never asked my children to pick up their toys, I told them and I rarely said "please." It's a command not a choice but I did always thank them and they got a blue star on their chore sheet.

I agree, that was part of my reason for asking for advice on here. Now I know that our package is likely the problem.

I realize that when DD is told to clean her room, it's not an option. It's still polite to say, "please." Either way, she would not use manners EVER with DD. No "thank you" when she would pick up her toys. "Move" instead of "excuse me" if DD was in the way. It just comes across as rude to me, and I didn't want DD to pick up on that. I'm sure the woman raised lovely kids, but she did it differently than we do.

The level of ignorance here is astounding. And these are parents?

Mail the check "IF"....
Are you deranged?

I doubt folks on here know your area and the market rate there very well. However, if you are cycling through nannies that fast, it merits examining if you are paying enough. Certainly for the DC area $11/hr for only 36 hours is pretty low (hourly rate wouldn't be so bad if it was for 50 but at 36 it's pretty bad).

Can you pay more? You could also throw yourselves on the mercy of the nanny. Tell her that you are happy to mail her the check if she will take 15 minutes to have a call with you to tell you why the position was not attractive. Explain that you have been through so many nannies and are genuinely trying to understand what YOUR FAMILY can do differently next time to try to keep someone more long term. Make sure you are clear that you are trying to soul search here, not nit pick why she may have quit. Whatever she tells you do NOT argue back with her about the reason. Just listen.

Anonymous wrote:This is simple, you can't afford a nanny. You don't offer benefits, full time hours or a decent wage. So the nannies you hired are only using you until they find a better position because some money is better than no money. Once they find a job they quite without reason or give a fake reason "a member of my family is sick and I need to care for them".

If you really want a nanny you could consider a nannyshare but remember even in a share you have to offer benefits. I think a daycare center would be the best option for you.

+1....I completely agree

Five nannies in two years? You are the common denominator. Also, I never asked my children to pick up their toys, I told them and I rarely said "please." It's a command not a choice but I did always thank them and they got a blue star on their chore sheet.

This is simple, you can't afford a nanny. You don't offer benefits, full time hours or a decent wage. So the nannies you hired are only using you until they find a better position because some money is better than no money. Once they find a job they quite without reason or give a fake reason "a member of my family is sick and I need to care for them".

If you really want a nanny you could consider a nannyshare but remember even in a share you have to offer benefits. I think a daycare center would be the best option for you.

Anonymous wrote:Cheapskate parents. If it was only you, I wouldn't care much. You deserve what you get. But it's your children who are the ultimate victims here. Have they started raging yet? Keep shaking up their lives, and down the road, you will pay a mighty price.

Now, how much was that professional nanny charging?

Do the math. Pay up now, or pay a much, much bigger price later. You pick. No easy choices. If you can't afford a decent nanny, get off your high horse, and do it yourself.

This.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- Do you offer any sort of benefit package to your nannies?

We really can't. If the nanny has to take off, we have to take off. If we take off, we don't get paid, and therefore cannot afford to pay her. It's that way at most part-time positions.

Your position is very nearly a full time position. You're offering low pay, and no benefits, but seem to have high standards for who is an acceptable nanny. You either need to lower your standards (less experienced, no teaching experience, etc), up your package (which you say you can't) or look for other childcare options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- Do you offer any sort of benefit package to your nannies?

We really can't. If the nanny has to take off, we have to take off. If we take off, we don't get paid, and therefore cannot afford to pay her. It's that way at most part-time positions.

You really should put your kids in daycare.
You can't offer enough pay or benefits to attract a professional nanny-or a nanny who won't quit after a week.
Could you live on $1400/month?

Anonymous wrote:OP- Do you offer any sort of benefit package to your nannies?

We really can't. If the nanny has to take off, we have to take off. If we take off, we don't get paid, and therefore cannot afford to pay her. It's that way at most part-time positions.