Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m quickly losing faith in the au pair program after a couple of bad experiences but the problem is what we really need right now is someone who can work a flex schedule (help us in the mornings and then again after school for a total of about 4.5 hours a day. (1.5 in the am / 3 in the afternoon). Is it true that part time nannies willing to work such a job, which requires a strong driver, are very hard to find? And that even if we do find someone, that they might quit on us when a better job comes around. I’ve never actually looked into hiring a PT nanny because of what I’ve heard anecdotally but seriously considering it now if it’s actually a viable option.

Can you detail . your Au Pair experiences. Truthfully, I am thinking about going this route, as it does seem cheaper than some of these nanny prices.

Go ask in the AP section.

Anonymous wrote:I’m quickly losing faith in the au pair program after a couple of bad experiences but the problem is what we really need right now is someone who can work a flex schedule (help us in the mornings and then again after school for a total of about 4.5 hours a day. (1.5 in the am / 3 in the afternoon). Is it true that part time nannies willing to work such a job, which requires a strong driver, are very hard to find? And that even if we do find someone, that they might quit on us when a better job comes around. I’ve never actually looked into hiring a PT nanny because of what I’ve heard anecdotally but seriously considering it now if it’s actually a viable option.

Can you detail . your Au Pair experiences. Truthfully, I am thinking about going this route, as it does seem cheaper than some of these nanny prices.

Yes, but they’re mostly college students.

you need a full time nanny

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for your responses and confirming what I had expected. It seems like my only options are aftercare or an au pair. Am I missing anything?

Are you in a college town? You may not find the same person for mornings and afternoons, but you should be able to find someone for each. BUT... as PP said, “Why would they want your job?” You can fix most problems by throwing money at it. Make it an attractive gig and you’ll find someone (likely 2+ people) who will want the job.

Why didn’t the APs work out? How many did you try? Have you posted on the AP forum about help with issues you’re seeing?

+1. I agree -- the key is to find 2 separate people. We've had this type of arrangement for 10 years.

1. We have a morning nanny who comes for 1 hour (6:45 am to 7:45 am) before she starts her regular nanny job with another family. The morning nanny is supporting many of her family members and so she loves having even an additional hour each day. (We pay $25/hour, and we also use her services on weekends if we have a date night, etc.)

2. We have an after-school nanny (1-6 pm) who preps dinner, does laundry, and drives the kids to their activities. She insisted on a minimum of 25 hours/week, and that's what we guarantee her ($25/hour). In the mornings, she has another job (not babysitting). I know our after-school nanny wishes it were a full-time position with us, but we just don't need that much coverage. We love her, and hope she continues to stay with us (she's been with us for 5 years so far). We hope to be able to persuade her to stay with us until our youngest daughter has her driver's license.

There are a few SAHMs in my neighborhood who p/t nanny/ babysit for the hours you describe. One lady has a middle school-aged child and has a really good gig, as her kid is off to school way before the elementary or preschoolers around here, and then in sports after school. Her husband works from home and can keep an eye on their kid when there are no sports. She's a former teacher and wonderful with children. There is another mom who does the same thing, although the kids she watches come to her house and are around her two younger kids. These ladies only do the childcare/ driving part of it; no household tasks or anything like that. They DO watch the kids on snow days or teacher work days, for an additional price. This arrangement may not be what you're looking for, but if cost is a factor, it's definitely less expensive than hiring someone for an entire day and having them do your shopping and everything else.

Anonymous wrote:Live-in nanny/housekeeper. Fill up the rest of a total 8 hours daily with household maintenance, laundry, and errands. It’ll be cheaper than a live-out nanny or babysitter, more flexibility than aftercare, and you won’t know how you did without her after a short while.

+1

Since your kids are older, look for someone who can not only take care of the kids but do light housekeeping, groceries, meal prep, errands, etc. while they're in school. That's what we did after we moved and the kids started school. It's not cheap but it's so nice to have someone take care of all this stuff.

Of course they're hard to find because who wants to have that kind of schedule and only make part-time money? Perhaps you can find a student, but then you need to be aware that they will not be available for sick days, school holidays, etc., and that you'll have to give them time off for exams. We only need a part-time nanny because our kids are in school now but we pay one full-time because that's the only way we could get one. It's great because she's available if the kids are sick, etc., but it costs an arm and a leg.

I have found a college student to do this who is fantastic (I am also an au-pair program dropout). We pay for 2 hours in the morning, and a varying amount in the afternoon. I don't think it is reasonable to ask someone to come out for less than 2 hours I posted on care.com, and the focused on people who listed their location as close to us. I got responses from people on the other side of the beltway, etc- who said they were willing to travel but I ignored them b/c I thought as soon as they found someone better they would leave.

Live-in nanny/housekeeper. Fill up the rest of a total 8 hours daily with household maintenance, laundry, and errands. It’ll be cheaper than a live-out nanny or babysitter, more flexibility than aftercare, and you won’t know how you did without her after a short while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family. Wish I had free babysitters like some of my friends.

You should have thought about this before you had kids
Also, family should not be your go to babysitter.

I was well aware that my family wasn’t going to be my free babysitter. I said “wish.” It would sure be nice if I had local, involved grandparents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've done something similar in the past. I work overnights with newborns.

Just curious- how much do you charge for overnight with newborns. I have an interview in two days for a position like that. It would be my first time doing overnight. They they have a two months old girl

$32 an hour

Anonymous wrote:Family. Wish I had free babysitters like some of my friends.

You should have thought about this before you had kids
Also, family should not be your go to babysitter.

I am sure you can find someone who will be willing to take on this type of position.

You just may need to be a bit more patient in your search however.

Perhaps a retired older person who would like to make a little extra cash daily?
Or like others suggested, a college student as well.

Good luck!