Babysitter or nanny?

In January, I'm going to return to teaching part time. I'll have two classes a week and be gone for at least six hours. My MIL is willing to watch my girls once a week, but I don't want to bog her down twice a week.

Should I look for a nanny or a babysitter? What is the difference really? Does anyone in the Nashville area have any recommendations?

 

I don't think there is really a difference. Nanny sort of implies regular care, while babysitter is more sporatic, but lots of people use the word "babysitter" for their full time caretakers. I have some friends that have gotten wonderful nannies through craigslist. I know that sounds crazy, but I've met these women and they are great.

 

I think Nanny also implies that it is a person's career. But, not sure. My nanny has a lot of experience - she even helped us do some sleep training. She was a life saver for me!

 

The term "nanny" implies a little more than a babysitter. This would imply more full-time care as well as light cleaning around the home. I babysit for a part-time teacher (2 days a week). I am not a nanny because this is not my career, I am not full-time, and I watch them in my home. I believe you can find a great babysitter or nanny on craigslist. That is where I advertised. The family I work with did run a background check (on both me and my husband) and checked out my my home on 2 different occasions. I recently moved here from another state and don't have a lot of connections, so cragislist was the best place for me to find a family to work with.

 

Thanks. I think since I'm looking for someone on a regular basis, a nanny would be the way to go. I'll definitely check Craigslist. I talked to an agency today, but they have a $1000 placement fee!!

 

I have been searching for the perfect nanny forever (OK it's only been 4 months, but you get the idea) and have come to the conclusion that, while the titles mean something different to me (nanny = basically a surrogate mom while a babysitter = the kids will be alive when you return), what the caregiver calls themself is not an indicator of what kind of care a person will provide for your children. Title alone shouldn't lead you to pick someone.

From my experience, I would recommend that you start interviewing now. When you find someone you think like, have them come into your home and care for your kiddos while you are still there. Don't trail the person around and resist the urge to step in and help out. Instead, be there to watch from a distance and hear what is going on. I would even leave the house for periods of time with vague details about when I would return so I could see if that person's behavior would change without me there to watch. Be up front, that it is a trial period. This way you can watch how the person interacts with your kids and decide if they are truly a good fit for your family. We did two-week trial periods. Long enough for someone to get comfortable and for their personalities to come out. I have met more than one person who sounded great (looked good on paper and said all the right things), but that person's actions with my kids told another story. I had one nanny try to recreate a womb like experience during their nap time(sounds good in theory)... by wedging my 4 month old daughters in-between their boppy and their quilted crib bumper (not so good).

Needless to say, we have found one great nanny who only wants to work 3 days a week. Despite her limited availability, she's the best we have found. We are willing to make accomodations to fit her schedule because we have seen what is out there. Good luck!

 

You might try care.com. There is a $30/month fee but you could pull a lot of profile information to make contacts and then not renew - just don't forget to cancel your membership. They do the pre-screening process for you. That $1000 fee for placement is ridiculous! Finding a nanny has been much harder than I ever thought it would be. We have been through a couple - they were both pretty good...one we got from care.com the other from craigslist. Both were grad students so they moved on once school was over. I should say there is a lot more to choose from if you can pay more. We couldn't so we didn't get a chance at all the top-qualified (i.e., teachers, those with multiples experience already, etc.) Also, I ran my interviews formally, with questions I had put together to test for problem-solving, handling difficult situations, etc. Not just "childcare" questions. If people gave me attitude I cut the interview short. I figured if they couldn't sit through an interview on good behavior I didn't want to deal with them when I was handing over instructions for my children. The more I interviewed the more confident I felt...but it is a process that I hated. Good luck!

 

Totally agree with ArizonaTwins!

I am a former "nanny" myself, and I was MUCH more than a babysitter. And I did not clean btw.

I was a surrogate Mom essentially helping to actually RAISE those kids while their parents were working. It's a person who can just walk in and take over. The learn and know your children's habits and preferences, they help to educate them and know what you want to happen for your kids on a daily basis. For example, a babysitter might heat up something that you've already put together for lunch while you're out, while a nanny will come up with new and interesting healthy food ideas to prepare on her own for your kids (obviously always within any parameters that you have set up for that).

I essentially ran a household. Got there when before the kids woke up and was there until dinner time. So, I was the "parent" through pre-schools, other classes, playdates, running errands, meals, bathtime. I grocery shopped with the kids, and prepared meals a few times a week for the whole family. I did laundry and cleaning up after the kids, but mostly it's just someone who is very responsible who offers exceptional cohesion for the family when the parents work a long work week. Every family that I'd worked for always included me and made me feel like a member of the family. I was the 3rd parent. When there were issues with the kid(s) be it eating problems, potty training, behavioural issues, etc we'd often chat about it all together and work out a plan and I always brought new and great ideas to the table as I often had more experience with children than the parents did!

I think if you're working a lot and you want your kids very well taken care of and not just someone who "hangs out" with your kids then you should go for a nanny. If it's not that much time and you really don't want someone else deeply involved with raising, educating, and disciplining your children then I'd get a babysitter. Babysitter will definitely be cheaper! A great nanny is a big investment usually.

 

I'm sure you may have already considered this avenue, but have you asked your friends and family if they know of anybody that might be able to help you? Our nanny is actually my friend's mom, who had just come off of a divorce and was looking for something to get herself back on her feet. I initally was hesitant to ask (don't exactly know why, but I was.) It turned out that she ran a daycare out of her home for over 20 years and it was work that she truly enjoyed. She's worked for me for almost 3 years now, about 16-20 hours per week. She takes wonderful care of my kids, cooks, cleans, basically does whatever I ask. Now with the twins, I don't think I could do everything without her.

I also have a few friends who found wonderful babysitters through their pediatrician, and one even found a gal studying to become a pediatric nurse by posting an ad at a local university. Maybe that is something to consider.

I wish you luck. I know how hard it is to find somebody you trust to watch over your children.

 

:good: I don't think I could put it any better than this. To me a Nanny and a Babysitter are hugely different things (although I think ArizonaTwins made a great point that people may just call themselves one or the other and might not match up with your expectations of that job). I would not be impressed if one of my employers described me as a babysitter, to me nannying is so much more than babysitting.

As to which you should look for, maybe write down a list of what you want (other than someone who will take care of your kids) and see which seems more suitable. It sounds like you won't need very much time-if I read your post right this person would only be watching them for about 6 hours a week-so you may feel that you don't need someone who can organise activities/cook meals/go shopping etc.