Anonymous wrote:We are letting ours go who brings her kid. It gets complicated, especially if you bring a child over who is sick all the time and get all the MBs kids sick.

Perhaps you should've thought of that before you hired a nanny with a child. I got screwed by an MB just like you in a similar situation, except that mine was never sick. It was that the MB and DB's child wanted complete 100% attention at all times and never wanted to share toys, so the parents decided it was better to cater to his whims in this manner and find one one one care. Good luck with socializing that kid is all I could think when they let me go with no notice.

I agree with Nanny Deb. How soon is she planning to go back to work? And why, with 6 kids, is DB still away all week long?

Honestly, unless she has help overnight, I don't see how MB will manage a 12+ hour job.

We are letting ours go who brings her kid. It gets complicated, especially if you bring a child over who is sick all the time and get all the MBs kids sick.

Anonymous wrote:To round this out, talked further (numbers, hours, responsibilities) with potential MB and the job is truly not a good fit. She is pregnant and due in August- and Dad is looking into taking an out of town job. Clearly not a good fit.
My shift is now to helping her create a good childcare plan. So it would be 5 kiddos- including a newborn, long work hours (12 +) with the return to private practice, and a husband who will be home on the weekends.
Is there any hope for her?

If I were working with her I would suggest she hire 2 nannies who either each work 2.5 days, or who tag team, with one working 7am - 5 pm and one working from 10 am - 8 pm, or one FT nanny 7a - 5p and a PT afternoon nanny who can come in at 3p and work until 8p. Or even hire a nanny for the 3 kids who are in school, and a nanny for the preschooler, toddler and newborn

Why? Because 5 kids for 60+ hours a week for what is, essentially, a single mom is way way too much for most nannies, and she will burn people out, which will mean lots of nanny turnover.

Not knowing her household staffing budget OR her older children's schedules, I would say the ideal situation would be the following:

FT Full Charge Nanny - 7a - 6p M-F - main responsibility is the 3 under 4, but also helps get older 2 to school/cares for them as needed.

PT Household Manager/Housekeeper - 9a - 6p MWF - Cleans house, grocery shops, runs errands, cooks family dinner MWF nights, pitches in with kids as needed

PT Nanny/Tutor - Works M - F from the end time of school for the older 2 until MB returns home, and possibly FT in Summer and on breaks

And yes, that will cost a LOT of money, but a "single mom" with 5 kids needs at least 2 "wives", IMO.

To round this out, talked further (numbers, hours, responsibilities) with potential MB and the job is truly not a good fit. She is pregnant and due in August- and Dad is looking into taking an out of town job. Clearly not a good fit.
My shift is now to helping her create a good childcare plan. So it would be 5 kiddos- including a newborn, long work hours (12 +) with the return to private practice, and a husband who will be home on the weekends.
Is there any hope for her?