We are currently pregnant with twins, due in May. My daughter has been at a Primrose day care since she was 6 months old. She has been accepted into the early preK program for the school district I work in and will start there this August, when she turns 3. I LOVE Primrose, sad to be leaving, but the 2 year olds room is costing us almost $300 a week, the infant and toddler rooms were even more. The early preK program she will be in is only $500 a month - huge savings!
Before we found out my daughter had been accepted into the program, we had planned on having the twins stay home with a nanny for the first year, and dropping my daughter down to 2 or 3 days a week at Primrose. There is just NO WAY we could afford all 3 to be in day care. Now, DD will be in day care 5 days a week, but I still like the idea of the boys being home with a nanny the first year, and then starting at Primrose. I know, since its twins, there is a big possibility they will be a little early, so the last thing I want is them to be in a group day care, getting sick frequently, when they have premature immune systems. Plus, the thought of trying to get 3 kids (2 of which will be infants) ready, in the car, and into the building every morning just makes me tired and a little panicky! It would be so much easier (both physically and mentally) if the twins stay home with a nanny in the beginning.
The problem is, how do you find a nanny? Aren't agencies really expensive? How can I find one without having to go through an agency? What about an au pair, how is that different from a nanny? I need help!!!!!
I know of a couple of great women that would be great nannies.
Email me for more info.
____@____.com
Tricia :)
Care.com is great for finding a nanny - I myself have found nannying jobs there before!
Do you know people with nannies? - can ask where they found theirs or if their nanny has any other nanny friends.
Agencies do cost money to place a nanny, yes. I'm not sure how much, but I'm sure it depends on your location. Can't hurt to call and ask or most places probably have websites. The best thing about agencies is that nannies are pre-screened, are required to have certain CPR type trainings and probably have lots to chose from to find a good match. But if you are willing to do the legwork through word of mouth or care.com, you can probably achieve the same result (require her to get CPR trained, run background checks, etc.)
Good luck and congrats on the twins. How exciting! And I would looooove to have a nanny when our new little one arrives this summer, but with only two kids, it's still not quite financially smart for us.
We used an agency but there's now sitter city.com and another site like that. As well, if you have any local mother's groups, those can be a great resource. I think the other site has the word care in it. Our agency charged I think 5 percent of the nanny's annual salary. It's a lot if you're only keeping her a year. We've had ours 7 years so it's been worth it! I knew we'd have a nanny for at least a couple of years. Good thing about an agency though is they do all the checks and these are professional nannies.
When I lived on the West coast I was a nanny and was placed thru an agency. But I found the best family to work for thru craigslist. I had my resume, CPR/First aid certificate and all my references (including the agency that placed me with my first nanny job). This family that placed an ad (craigslist)interviewed several of us and had the same type of women apply. We were all educated and experienced nannies.
Ask for specifics. 5 work related references, 2 personal, CPR/FA certificate, background check with all alias and past 3 addresses.
Since you are due late spring another suggestion would be to contact a college and ask for the education department and to ask where to place an ad. Educational Majors who need work in the summer might be interested in being nannies.
Hello, I have a few friends that are nannies that do not go through agencies. They may have friends that are looking for work. If you are interested in getting any of their names please private message me. I would need to ask them if I can give out their info but they have all been doing it for years.
Another site is go nannies.com. I found a great person through that site.
We've found our nannies through friends and referrals, we've had quite a bit of turnover because they're either in college or graduating from college and moving on to different careers. They've all been fantastic though.
I think it is the best arrangement for our girls to be at home and take naps in their own beds, etc. You do need to factor in total cost of having a nanny in your home though. You will be responsible for federal unemployment tax, state unemployment tax and SS and Medicare (either 7.65% of their salary or all 15% if you're willing to pay their share too). It does add to the total cost, worth it in our case, but a pain nonetheless.
Good luck!
I used to Care.com to find a nanny for my daughter. A few tips (since you've got some time, hopefully)... sign up for the free account, and once that expires you'll get emails offering discounts for a full account. A full account will be needed to create your own listing and actually see the details about who is applying ($45 of less, I think). My mother-in-law helped me interview the folks that seemed to be the best fit. And one thing I really like is that their listings get searched by job search engines like Indeed.com. The woman I ended up hiring had found my ad specifically then joined Care.com herself in order to apply for it. She worked PT at a local mother's day out program -- so had lots of training and certificiations -- but needed to fill in her weekly schedule. For my PT job, it was a perfect fit. I was also so glad to have someone (my MIL) with me during the interviews... two gut checks are better than one. I was surprised by just how many different nannies used it -- some young, college girls, more mature folks. I got my monies worth, for sure. And wow, our nanny. She was divine.
Hi J.,
Congratulations!!! If you're still looking, feel free to visit our website at GoNannies.com. Even though we're nationwide, we're based in the D/FW area, as well, so you'll find plenty of prospective quality candidates. Please feel free to call us if you need any guidance or if we can answer any questions for you at all (it's our favorite thing to do!).
We had the same problem when our second son was born and we ended up going with an au pair. We didn't want to have to drop them off and pick them up everyday from day care but we coudn't afforda a nanny so the au pair program ended up working out the best. We love the convenience of having someone always around and the extra help with laundry, meals, and driving.
I am also a coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair so if you would like to learn more let me know.
check out www.culturalcare.com
au pair is an great option.
