Nanny questions

I don't think our home day care situation is working out very well. I would like to get a nanny, but I really have a lot of questions. I have looked into nanny agencies, and ouch, it sure seems expensive. They take 10% of your nanny's salary the first year. That could well be over $2500 to find a nanny? That seems extreme to me. I don't have any problems running the background checks, etc myself, and I know it does not cost $2500 to do that, but where can I look for a nanny? When I look at Craigslist, it looks like a lot of teenagers looking for babysitting jobs, and more home day cares. Does anyone have any ideas, or can someone suggest a nanny agency that isn't quite so expensive, or give ma good reason for going through a nanny agency. Thanks.

 

Can you ask a local mother-of-multiples club for agency recommendations? We found two agencies who's fees were less than 500 to set up interviews, but we live in Houston. Nanny agencies are typically local, so asking local ladies might help more.

The advantages for an agency is that they do all the background checks and set up the interviews--you just pick who you want! They also usually have a clause in teh contract in case the nanny doesn't work out, they'll help you find another one (no fee).

We went with an agency that actually takes care of paying them as well.. so we pay the agency and they cut a check to the nanny--that way we don't have to worry about figuring out taxes.

Good luck--figuring out the nanny/daycare thing is not easy!

 

I just found a nanny. When looking, I went through 2 local agencies and a group called northside parents network in chicago. I only interviewed a few people from that outside network because I was really impressed with who the agencies sent over. Yes they do reference checks and background checks but I also did my own. I was charged 1.5 X the first weeks salary but they guarantee that person for 1 year. My husband and I just felt better going through an agency and there was definitely more qualified people that came through. It wasn't easy finding people that had taken care of twins or nannyshared and took care of 2 infants at the same time. Depending on where you live, you may have a parents network that you may be able to go through.

 

I was on a nanny search a month or so ago. I found greataupair.com to be very helpful as well as nannies4hire.com. You do have to pay to get the contact info, but compared to the agencies it's a lot cheaper. (Great Au Pair was only $60.)

Good luck!

 

I have gotten 2 nannies through Craigslist. Yes, you have to weed through the teenagers to find a nanny, but I looked for the words "experienced nanny" and skipped everything else. My first nanny was great with my children, just had to cancel too many times because she had things come up with her own kids. My current nanny has been with me a week and so far is doing excellant.

I looked into the agency thing, but it was just too expensive for us. I think the most important thing to do when finding someone on Craigslist is to meet them in a public place and if you like them, call their references and ask if they would hire them again. I had one of my nanny's references tell me that if he ever had any more kids he would pay whatever it took to get her back. I kindly told him that I hoped he did not have any more kids, because she is MINE now. ha ha

 

there are several places online:

nannies4hire.com
enannysource.com
sittercity.com

We went through an agency that required a flat fee for placement. yes, expensive, but worth it. i tried to do it myself and got overwhelmed. we finally found one - and every single person the agency sent us was terrific! we're paying her through payroll that our accountant is handling.

good luck - not an easy task, this childcare thing.

jenny

 

QUOTE(ferfischer @ Jul 22 2008, 10:24 AM) [snapback]889356[/snapback]
there are several places online:

nannies4hire.com
enannysource.com
sittercity.com

We went through an agency that required a flat fee for placement. yes, expensive, but worth it. i tried to do it myself and got overwhelmed. we finally found one - and every single person the agency sent us was terrific! we're paying her through payroll that our accountant is handling.

good luck - not an easy task, this childcare thing.

jenny


Thanks, I'm checking these out right now. I see you are in Colorado also, so there is hope, there must be qualified nannies out there somewhere.

 

I found my nanny on Craigslist. I posted an ad with specifics of what I was looking for and did a whole lot of screening before bringing anyone here for an interview. I then ran a background check for $100.

 

If you're in CO - I'm not sure where you are, but if in denver, i can give you the names of a couple good agencies if you end up going that route. there are a ton of great people - and lots with multiples experience - but, alas, the good ones are always gone quickly - so word of mouth is always best - but i don't know that many people! pm me if you want to talk more about local stuff!

 

We used the nanny agency to find our nanny, who we just hired last week. They required a down payment of $150, and now that they have placed one with us, we owe another $1000 +. A lot of money, for sure, but we were really happy with the nanny we hired and I think it will work out well. She starts in August when we go back to work. We just moved to the area and I didn't want to have to do all the teidous leg-work myself. We personally checked all of their references, however. One nice thing about the agency is that we can now use them to help us find babysitters for evenings and weekends, too. Yippee -- Mommy & Daddy need a night out!