How Did You Find Your Nanny?

We'd really like to find a nanny for our one year old twins, especially now that we found out there is another on the way. How do you go about finding a nanny? Do they have to live with you?

Any help getting started on this search would be appreciated!

 

I can't wait to hear your results. We really need some help! I was tempted to post the same thing yesterday.

Good luck,

Crystal

 

QUOTE(Crystal74 @ Apr 13 2007, 08:26 PM) [snapback]218773[/snapback]
I can't wait to hear your results. We really need some help! I was tempted to post the same thing yesterday.

Good luck,

Crystal

I was in the same boat as you are, especially I was put on the bed rest with this pregnancy. I needed not only a nanny, but someone who'd take care of our house too. I placed several ads in local papers and one on craigslist.com . I described all the responsibilities and said how much I'd pay, I also showed my zip code. Someone called just two days later. It's been couple of month now since she's started and everybody is as happy as it possible. She takes care of the twins, and my house is always clean and the laundry is being done every other day. Good luck!

 

Currently we use an au pair agency, but for our first nanny we used a little weekly paper we get here called "The Penny Saver." I don't know if there is something similar in your community (where I grew up we had "The Piggy Back Shopper"), it's where all the tag sales, etc. are listed. Anyway, I placed an ad and got about 100 calls and some very qualified candidates from which we chose who we interviewed and hired.

 

Join your local twins club - someone's kids are always going into pre-school, etc., so it's a perfect resource for nannies who even have twin experience.

Also, you can go to the park or mall play area where kids are and talk to the nannies there and ask if they know anyone (nanny theft is a big problem in Los Angeles, so be nice and don't steal a nanny who already has a job, but they usually have friends who are looking).

Best,
Mia

 

I found mine on Gonannies.com. She is great. She comes to the house two times a week for about 11 hours each day when I go to work. She works for another mom in the neighborhood who works 3 days a week so it is perfect for her. She had previous experience with twin girls and she only lives about a mile away. We love her.

Good luck!!!

 

We do not have a nanny. However, a have a few close friends that have had good experiences with an "Au Pair".
It seems to be very popular in the Northeast. My friends that live outside of NYC in Connecticut...all have one. Have you
consider one?

Au pairs are college aged students from abroad. You can choose from many different countries. I believe they come
over for a year contract. In addition to payment, you provide room and board. It does work out to be more economical
than a nanny from what my friends have said. I believe their au pairs work 40-45hours a week for about $200. That's per
family not per child. My one friend found her au pair through an agency (www.aupairinamerica.com).

 

QUOTE(Debb-i @ Apr 13 2007, 04:52 PM) [snapback]218820[/snapback]
Au pairs are college aged students from abroad. You can choose from many different countries. I believe they come
over for a year contract. In addition to payment, you provide room and board. It does work out to be more economical
than a nanny from what my friends have said. I believe their au pairs work 40-45hours a week for about $200. That's per
family not per child. My one friend found her au pair through an agency (www.aupairinamerica.com).


But part of it is that yes, they have to live with you. It seems the OP is not interested in a live-in. Not all nannies need to be live-in. If you do choose a live-out nanny, you want them to live very close by, which is why I recommend a very local paper.

BUT, if you are (or anyone is) interested in au pairs, the agency we've used is http://www.culturalcare.com -- the one named above, Au Pair in America is also good.

 

I found our first nanny on craigslist, but now my DH's 20 year old niece is our nanny (both live-out).

 

We found our nanny through a local newspaper. I have to say that it is not easy to get the right one at the first shot. We had to go through four to land on this current nanny who has been with us for almost two years now. In my situation, the nanny is a great option for the beginning years, now I am ready to take the boys to a Daycare because this nanny can't provide what the boys needs (reading, talking, playing). She is a very good caregiver, not a good nanny. Keep in mind that for twins at infant ages, good nannies in my neighborhood are very demanding. The first three nannies, either she wasn't capable of handling two at the same, or she asked for raise/less hrs two weeks into her job. The first three I tried were all live-in nannies, but no one could handle both daytime and night time. I either had to help out day shift or the night shift. If you are paying more money for the live-in and you still need to do half of the work, i figured why not just hire a daytime person and I just took over the night shift. This way, you can do whatever during the daytime and she is energized to handle your two, plus it is cheaper as well.

Good luck!