Nanny tips?

Hi,

After 10 months off, I'm headed back to work in three weeks. We've hired a nanny - a lovely young woman who's been a professional nanny for several years and who comes highly recommended. She starts a week from tomorrow so we'll have two weeks to overlap and get the girls used to being with someone else during the day.

I'm wondering if anyone here has any tips or suggestions on how to get the relationship with our new nanny started right? Was there anything you did that really helped? Anything you'd do differently?

Thanks!

 

QUOTE(Trishandthegirls @ Jan 6 2008, 03:51 PM) [snapback]559948[/snapback]
Hi,

After 10 months off, I'm headed back to work in three weeks. We've hired a nanny - a lovely young woman who's been a professional nanny for several years and who comes highly recommended. She starts a week from tomorrow so we'll have two weeks to overlap and get the girls used to being with someone else during the day.

I'm wondering if anyone here has any tips or suggestions on how to get the relationship with our new nanny started right? Was there anything you did that really helped? Anything you'd do differently?

Thanks!

Hi. I have a young woman who works for me 10A-6pm. We're really happy with her. I think it is smart of you to have overlap. It helps a lot, IMO. I don't know how schedule bound you are but I'd suggest a log book for her to keep track of things during the day. I keep a very simple log of up/down times for the children (when they woke up and when they went to sleep). It helps her (and me) keep track of when the children's next nap is likely to be. She could also note any interesting developments of the day or keep track of other things of interest to you (I keep an eye on my DD as she isn't much of an eater).

I would also try to establish really open communication with her at the outset and solicit her ideas (or at least tell her that her ideas are welcome). I told mine that she is a full member of the team and I want her to speak up. While I'm their mother and always have the last say, I appreciate it if she has some ideas and I'm always open to hearing what she has to say. Mine takes the initiative a lot in terms of doing things when the children are napping.

She started working for me early on, so I gave her the HSHHC book and had her read certain sections of it so that we could be consister in our approaches to the children. I'd be clear with her about how you want to approach discipline and things like that. I don't want to over use the word NO but I want the children to know that some things are off limits -- so when my DD approaches the dog toys we know to say a negative sound (can't figure out how to type it here but it is like - uh-nuh- and then we say icky and scrunch up our faces). My DD completely redirects based on that routine.

Hope this helps some. You sound like you have a good one...wishing you all the best.

Sotto

 

Feel free to not answer this question if it seems inappropriate, but how much do you pay a nanny for watching your twins full time?

We are starting ours in daycare (in a center, not an in-home one) and it is costing us $650 a week. I always assumed nannys were more expensive. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Erica

 

I think it depends largely on where you live - I think $12-15/hour is the rate I've seen near Baltimore.

 

Before starting my teaching career and becoming a sahm, I was a nanny soI have some thoughts from the other end...
1. We had a transition time daily that really helped. Each morning, I had breakfast with them. While that may not be possible having some time set aside was really great to help the little girl transition and for us to chat. We had the same thing at the end of the day and that was very helpful.
2. Decide in advance how you want her to handle discipline and discussing issues with you. We had a policy of not talking about things in front of the child. They asked that I use time outs with her so I did.
3. Let her know your expectations in writing. I appreciated having a list of my daily tasks. For example, I did laundry, cleaned her room and kept the kitchen clean.
4. Keep the lines of communication open, address issues as soon as they come up rather than waiting.
5. A communication notebook would be helpful as recommended by a pp.

Good luck!

 

I too was a Nanny before I had my twins and I was actually a Nanny for identical girls from the day they came home from the hospital.

The family wanted to have a strong relationship with me and to this day we still maintain a friendship.

My first day there we all went out to breakfast to get along and not long after they had my hubby and I over for dinner. They also gave me a small amount each week to buy snacks and stuff for myself while I was there.

they paid me well and I love that job!

 

QUOTE(caba @ Jan 6 2008, 08:14 PM) [snapback]560249[/snapback]
Feel free to not answer this question if it seems inappropriate, but how much do you pay a nanny for watching your twins full time?

We are starting ours in daycare (in a center, not an in-home one) and it is costing us $650 a week. I always assumed nannys were more expensive. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Erica

Going rate in my neck of the woods is $12-15 an hour. I'm paying slightly less than you on a weekly basis including gas money. I give mine $ for gas since the prices are so high these days. We hadn't started out this way but her commute is horrendous and she's great and gas is super expensive...

I gave her a bonus at Christmas, a silver framed picture of the twins, and a navigation system for her car.

HTH.

Sotto

 

another follow-up question...

we too are having a nanny starting for us next week. i was wondering, do you give the nanny access to all your food for herself or does she bring a lunch and snacks?

 

QUOTE(allboys @ Jan 6 2008, 10:25 PM) [snapback]560400[/snapback]
another follow-up question...

we too are having a nanny starting for us next week. i was wondering, do you give the nanny access to all your food for herself or does she bring a lunch and snacks?

I give my nanny the full run of the house. Tell her she can eat anything she sees. That's it is all fair game. That being said, she usually brings her own lunch and she'll replenish the beverages she's consumed from time to time (if she's drinking bottle water or diet coke, she'll bring in a twelve pack or something when it is on sale).

HTH!

Sotto

 

QUOTE(allboys @ Jan 7 2008, 03:25 AM) [snapback]560400[/snapback]
another follow-up question...

we too are having a nanny starting for us next week. i was wondering, do you give the nanny access to all your food for herself or does she bring a lunch and snacks?


We tell our nanny to eat anything she finds in the house, unless we've marked it as "Save" (like if we make cookies to bring to work or something). We also ask her to fill out her grocery requests on our weekly shopping list. I think it's standard to at least provider her lunch.

My tips:
- Every week on Sunday I make a weekly menu of all the children's meals. This really helps us all, but the nanny appreciates not having to figure it out several times a day!
- I agree with pp about putting expectations in writing. We provide a very detailed Work Agreement before offering the job so that the nanny understands exactly what we are looking for before she even accepts the position.
- For the two weeks, we provided a daily "checklist" to help her get into a routine. Once she knew what needed to get done and settled into a routine, the checklist wasn't needed. We also have her keep a daily log as pp suggested and it works great - makes it much easier to "hand off" the children between the nanny, myself and DH.
- Our nanny makes a weekly activity schedule and reviews the next week's schedule with us on Fridays. She gives us an estimate for spending money - like entrance fees, crafts & supplies, etc. - this makes it easier for her to plan activities and helps us to keep involved.
- We constantly buy her little gifts, give her a little extra time off and tell her how much we appreciate her. A happy nanny means happy children! Don't wait until Christmas to show your appreciation.

 

Hi, i am a nanny (for twins of course!) and i started when they were 5wks old and the mom was on maternity leave, so we had from the beginning of July til the end of Aug. to all get comfortable. Right from the beginning they let me know that i was a part of the family and was welcome to any food/drink and we tend to eat a lot of the same foods so the will buy extras for me also. I do bring my own food a lot tho b/c i feel bad, but that is just me! They often save me leftovers that i can have for lunch or take home for my boyfriend and i to have for dinner. Im sure u have a 'contract' either written out or that has been discussed between you but i would let her know if you will be giving her gas or spending money and how much. If i am out i might pick up some things that the babies need (food, wipes, etc) and they will pay me back. If i want to buy something that they dont NEED i will talk to them about it first. Also i would say to let her know if its ok w/ u if she uses your phone, internet, exercise equipment, etc.. Again, im sure u have gone over what u expect of her, but just as an example, i only do mine and the twins laundry and dishes. I almost always wash bottles and put in the laundry b4 i turn on the tv or get on the internet.-but if i dont i know their schedule well enough by now to know whether i will be able to get it done later or not. We dont have a log or checklist, but we have great communication and i also will email with their mom at work during the day. She likes to know where we are going so i will usually send her a quick email b4 running out the door.. OH the other thing i love is that we agreed on a set number of hours, so if it goes over that they will either give me extra money or a day off (dad is home a few days a wk) Or if i babysit for them on a wkend they will give me a day off during the week also. What they did in the beginning that was nice to me was inviting me to parties or to stay for dinner, they always tell me 'ur the best' or things along those lines that make me feel great. I also have 'my own' room so if i ever want to stay they have made it clear i am welcome any time i want. Im sorry this is long but i hope it helps!

 

I think paying anywhere between $10-15/hr is standard in most places - it's comparable to having two infants in daycare (at least for us it is). We have a set salary for the week for her typical hours and pay more if she stays late (or give her time off at the end of the week). we gave her vacation days and personal days to use. we gave her a b-day present, a Christmas bonus and some gifts too. We try to treat her like a friend or a third parent (b/c she IS) -- for example, we invited her over for the holidays ("to celebrate, not to work!"). We also ask her about things going on in her life and share things about ourselves with her.

Our nanny has access to whatever food/drinks we have in the house, but she keeps herself on a strict diet, so she rarely takes us up on it. We do make sure to have her favorite diet soda on hand, though. And when I make special treats, I always offer some to her, even when i'm sure she wouldn't be interested.

The 2-week overlap is invaluable - I'd say make yourself very available to her at first, so she can learn what you like/don't like. But then gradually dwindle how much you "interfere" . . . we did the 2-week thing too and by the second week I had really ceded control over to our nanny. i was still there for questions, but wanted her to get a good feel for having both babies at the same time by herself.

Our nanny likes notes - she likes to see lists and instructions in writing (helps her remember everything). We talk about everything but then we also share a notebook. She keeps a detailed list of everything the babies do -- naps, feedings, diapers, how they behaved during the day, and even when they get to go outside. we in turn keep her apprised of changes to the schedule, etc. You need to see what will work best for your nanny.

her responsibilities are -- Number One: Take care of the babies. Everything else is compeltely unimportant!!!! If the babies are being fussy and needy, then she need not do anything except attend to them. But if she has time, we ask that she handle bottles, baby laundry, emptying the dishwasher, and the occasional vaccuuming of the family room and nursery (but only on the weeks that the cleaning lady doesn't come).

Last thought - I don't call her a zillion times a day to check on her. As much as I love updates, I know how hard it is to take care of those two babies and I don't want to interrupt her. I call only once a day and at a time that I know the babies are almsot definitely awake. She knows she can and should call me if there is a problem.

HTH - good luck!

 

I spent a few days with my nanny and the babies before going back to work so that she could see how things worked around the house and with the babies' schedule. I also wrote out a "manual" so that she could refer to it if she forgot where something was located or how to handle our pets. The manual is probably very outdated now that she's been with us for 4 months, but it was helpful in the beginning.

She works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. My husband works in and out of the house, so he is often around if she has questions (and he can keep an eye on how things are going). I call at least once a day to check in and chat about the babies, because many days I don't see her at all since I leave earlier and come home later. It is good to hear stories about what the babies are up to that day or if she has any questions or concerns. She is welcome to eat anything in our house, although she usually brings her own food.

Right now, the babies don't need to go anywhere, but soon I'd like her to take them to story time at the library, the park, and other appropriate places. Once she starts doing activities with them, I will give her extra money for that.

Having a nanny is so much cheaper than day care for us. Plus, I don' t have to pack them up and take them out in the morning (they are usually still sleeping when I leave). We give her paid vacations, holidays, and other time off. Basically when one of us doesn't have to work, she gets the day off paid. She can also bring her 8-year-old daughter when school is out.

Best of luck!
Jessica

 

Thank you everyone! Such good tips... I hadn't ever thought of paying for our nanny's gas money. Her commute is only about three miles so I don't think it's a big deal, but it might be to her, so I'll ask. Paying for gas money made me think of something else... when your nanny takes your kids places, does she drive her car or yours if you have an extra? Do you keep car seats in her car or do you move them in the mornings if she's going out with the kids?

Thanks again!

 

Our nanny transports the kids in her car. We provided two Britax Boulevard carseats for her vehicle and she keeps them in her car all the time. She logs how many miles she drives them and submits a report monthly. We pay $1.00 per mile and every so often give her a few additional dollars to cover the rising cost of gas.

 

The family i work for has 4 carseat bases. 2 r always in the moms car and the other 2 rotate between mine (stay there all wk) and dads (wkends) not sure what they will do when they r into convertable carseats... We go everywhere in my car-they just wanted to make sure i had insurance first. I take them EVERYWHERE-which is another thing u will want to be pretty clear on..for ex. today we just went to the bank and stop & shop. In the summers i take them to the pool club. We (I) do a lot of shopping just to get out of the house, go for walks, go to the park, and im also in a playgroup so we attend those types of things too. I dont, but wouldnt mind grocery shopping for them, since we go to the grocery store about twice a wk anyway!

 

OH I also wanted to add that they dont pay my gas but do pay my health insurance, which is huge for me