Hellobee Boards Topic: any nannies in the house?

Hellobee Boards Topic: any nannies in the house? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 11 Apr 2026 21:50:50 +0000 chopsuey on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-294748 Fri, 14 Sep 2012 07:30:15 +0000 chopsuey 294748@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: oh cool, will check it out. Thanks! tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-294362 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:46:00 +0000 tequiero21 294362@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @chopsuey119: my friend told me about missyusa.com. supposedly people around my neck of the woods use it to find korean nannies/whatever else? i'm looking at it now but it's all in korean. not sure how good your korean is. not sure if it's for just the east coast or everywhere. Mrs. Pen on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-292033 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:46:17 +0000 Mrs. Pen 292033@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: Got it!! Well I am still a nanny for a family and the mom is a WAHM, so she is home. So more of what you're looking for is a mothers helper? In that case, I would encourage you to be in charge of discipline. I hated having to discipline kids in front of their parents, totally awkward, but I was asked to several times. The family I'm with now, she handles all the disciple since she is there. I will have talks with the kids about attitude of redirect them but any major discipline is handled by the mom and I really appreciate that. I think that could definitely work! Most nannies are comfortable with that. Perhaps the issue for me was more the family I was with. Because now I work for a family that is a WAHM and we have next to no issues with ill-behaving children. She is a FT working mom who is more involved in her kids' lives than many SAHM's! Mrs. Pen on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-292028 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:41:39 +0000 Mrs. Pen 292028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: I think it was poor timing in the family's lives. I'm still friends with them and see them once a year when I go visit NY. The mom admits that year she was way too consumed with her business and put her family second, she really regrets it and is sorry. Her nanny now is only PT! Crazy that in just a few years so much can change. But I lived and I learned. I'm glad I stuck it out for nearly a year! It was actually one of the best years of my entire life, as funny as that may seem. tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291983 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:18:36 +0000 tequiero21 291983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ i wish u ladies were looking for a job in jersey! haha. tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291982 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:18:18 +0000 tequiero21 291982@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Coco Bee: thanks, extremely helpful!!!! i'm so sorry you were taken advantage of. that's so unfair and i think it says a lot about you that you were willing to stick it out! i'm pretty sure i would have quit! re: sahm, i'm a mom of twins, so i definitely want to be there when the nanny is there. i do want her to take the lead in most things and give me some time to take a nap or run errands. but i want to be involved in the kids' lives. and i want to go out with them too when we go to the park, zoo, museum, library, etc. u know? of course the nanny we decide to use would have to be comfortable with that. Mrs. Pen on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291888 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:19:10 +0000 Mrs. Pen 291888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think a written terms or contract is vital. I was taken advantage of by my first full time family and if I had just made them put in writing they hours they said in the interview - things could have been so different. They SAID 45-50 hours week, and I consistently worked 10-15 hours more than that, and after their fourth baby was born, I consistently worked 70-80 hour weeks. I got a $50/week raise after the baby was born, but it wasn't enough for the increase in hours considering that was never talked about. To include in contract: Specified hours Protocol as far as hours worked outside SET hours - overtime, hourly, part of salary etc Holidays Vacations - generally it's been 1 week my choosing, 1 week family's choosing Play dates - this is a sore spot for me. The mom would constantly plan play dates which meant I was watching 2-4 MORE children without notice or permission. And for the same rate. If you have more children, offer a higher rate. One family scheduled weekly play dates and offered me an additional $10/hr for the hours they were there. It was very considerate. Transportation - can she use your car, must she have her own? Consider doing driving history check. Other benefits/perks - gym? cell phone? vacationing with family? health insurance? Taxes Cleaning/household duties Parenting expectations - discipline, schedules/routines, sleep, rules etc Emergency protocol Quitting notice (generally 2 weeks) There may be more I'm not thinking of :):) Mrs. Pen on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291880 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:11:22 +0000 Mrs. Pen 291880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nanny for the last 7 years :) what do you do for your employer? Mostly play hands-on with the kids. I've nannyed 1-7 children at a time. Moms always seem to love hands on play the most since that's something they struggle with. Transportation to/from school, library, extra cur. activities, childrens museum, play dates, etc. Preparing meals - usually breakfast or lunch. At one job I was in charge from the moment they woke up, to when they went to bed so it was all three meals. Getting them up, ready for school, transportation to school, watching the younger ones at home, picking them up, going to sports/etc, snacks, dinner, play, baths, bedtime. I did everything the mom did and then some! if you ask for an hourly rate, do you get paid overtime (over 40 hours)? if you worked 45 hours, do you get time and a half or something? or do you just get your weekly rate, since you should be salaried? I've been both salary and hourly. I prefer hourly just because I've been taken advantage of. I was told set weekly rate for 45-50 hours. Most weeks I clocked 60+ hours and some weeks as much at 80+ and never paid a penny extra. It eventually forced me to leave because we could never strike a compromise. For the family I was hourly, I never worked OT. I worked 36 hours a week, and if they needed extra hours I just worked them at the normal rate. I always had the option to say "no" if I couldn't work extra hours. For the family I was salary, it wasn't like that. I was young (19) and agreed to everything because I felt I had to. if you get taxes taken out, do you ask for a higher rate? My salary family, no, we didn't deal with taxes :-/ Hourly family, yes - they used a company called Breed Love which I LOVED. It deducted the $$ from the family's account, dealt with taxes then deposited it into my account. So I got "less" than my advertised rate but that's the same with any job. what do you do for lunch? does 40 hours include lunch or do you work 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch? I just ate lunch with the kids. I didn't have time off for lunches. They always provided lunch for me too. If there wasn't much food i the house, they gave me money to get food or if I did go get food, they reimbursed me. what should the SAHM do? join in the fun? clean the house? As in, the mom is a SAHM and wants a nanny? Hm. Never been in this position. But from a nanny's POV it would be easier for the mom to be out of the house. In all my experience, kids tend to behave better with a nanny if the mom is gone than if she is home. Unless the kids are old enough to understand mom is "working" then it becomes a sticky situation and the nanny generally doesn't feel comfortable asking the mom to leave. what does "light housework" mean? does that include vacuuming? Yes. I did light housework and it mostly meant picking up after the kids, doing their laundry, meal prep/clean up, cleaning up after myself, putting things/clothes/toys away, vaccuming, sweeping etc. I NEVER did any mopping, changing sheets (unless there were accidents), cleaning windows, bathrooms, dusting or deep cleaning. One family actually had a housekeeper for all that. @sorrycharlie: @tequiero21: As for holidays, it depends on the family and what is outlined in the terms/contract. For my salary family, I was given my weekly rate even if there was a holiday. However, with that family I generally worked holidays (because the kids weren't in school) and got the next day off instead. For my hourly family, the mom was off work but still paid, so I got paid for the holiday. It was so nice! @tequiero21: I would definitely not hire someone who was half hour late. Maybe 10 minutes I could potentially deal with, but I would expect for an INTERVIEW to be 10 mins early! Only exception is if she had she had an appt before coming over and she didn't know how long it would go. sorrycharlie on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291848 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:50:43 +0000 sorrycharlie 291848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: I'm paid hourly - I'd only expect to be paid on holidays or vacations if I was working them. Otherwise, I wouldn't expect an employer to pay me - I see it as a day off. Frustrating (if say, a monday that's a holiday that I didn't expect..like I'd assume no work/no pay labor day, etc) but expected! tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-291828 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:42:32 +0000 tequiero21 291828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrs. bird: @sorrycharlie: @calsmom: thx ladies, very helpful. another question? if you are part-time and paid hourly, do you expect to be paid for holidays and vacations? i'm assuming for salaried you do, correct? if so, how many weeks/days? THANKS! btw, that lady never showed up so hopefully the lady i'm meeting with today is good! mrs. bird on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290966 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:02:52 +0000 mrs. bird 290966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: as far as sleep training, that is absolutely something that can fall under the nanny's responsibility. Some parents have a preference about the method & whether to CIO or not, others prefer the nanny to take the reigns on it. if it's something you are feeling lost with, bring up your desire for them to get on a schedule during interviews and see where she goes with it, does she seem to have experience with that? Does she seem more like she is looking to you for direction or that she is going to take initiative and get it done on her own? Some nannies are better at following instructions & doing just what they're told and others require less direction but will do things their own way, so it's good to think about what you are looking for so you can best express your wishes. chopsuey on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290917 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:18:18 +0000 chopsuey 290917@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: TArdiness is one of my top pet peeves!! -.- Thanks for starting this thread! We're gonna have to look for someone soon too. I kind of want to hire a Korean ajumma.. someone who's super boo-ji-luhn-hae, never rests and always has to do something! haha. I want her to help with meals, scrub my bathrooms and clean, and help a leetle bit with the kids. Okay.. I guess I'm looking more for a housekeeper/cook than a nanny. :) Good luck with your search!! calsmom on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290893 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:58:49 +0000 calsmom 290893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: what do you do for your employer? --When I was a nanny, I sleep trained according to the parent's preference, bathe, fix meals, plan activities, and try to spend a lot of time outdoors. I loved when I had free reign on where I took the kids. I only had one job like this. I took the kids to various museums, the zoo, parks, etc. I'm a strong believer in exposing kids to culture vs spending hours on end inside the home. if you ask for an hourly rate, do you get paid overtime (over 40 hours)? if you worked 45 hours, do you get time and a half or something? or do you just get your weekly rate, since you should be salaried? --They either will be salary or hourly. It's up to the family/nanny what they would like to do. Same with overtime. If an employee is paid hourly, overtime needs to be paid. With a salary, it is whatever you and the nanny agrees on. if you get taxes taken out, do you ask for a higher rate? --Nope :) what do you do for lunch? does 40 hours include lunch or do you work 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch? --Nannies don't get an hour for lunch. We eat lunch whenever we are able to :). Families normally provide lunch, but there were some jobs I preferred bringing my own lunch/snacks. what should the SAHM do? join in the fun? clean the house? --It's up to you! You're the employer, so you decide :) what does "light housework" mean? does that include vacuuming? --Normally that means strictly child-related chores. Picking up toys, etc. Cleaning up any other messes the kids make. Vacuum if it pertains to children. Kids laundry, etc. sorrycharlie on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290890 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:54:47 +0000 sorrycharlie 290890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MamaMoose: ah, interesting, thanks! I haven't had an issue yet (and my hours are obviously a loooot less than the original 9-5!) so I won't worry too much, but definitely good to know for future! MamaMoose on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290887 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:52:30 +0000 MamaMoose 290887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sorrycharlie: Just FYI the gift tax very specifically doesn't allow for that. From irs.gov: What is considered a gift? Any transfer to an individual, either directly or indirectly, where full consideration (measured in money or money's worth) is not received in return. You are obviously providing a service in return for the money. I know lots of nannies are paid under the table and very few have issues. Just wanted to make you aware of that for your own protection. sorrycharlie on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290870 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:42:02 +0000 sorrycharlie 290870@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: I did nap training alongside mom (she told me how she wanted things done) because I was there 9-5. LO#1 would wake up at 9, and in bed at 6, so I was primarily the one doing the 'training'. I just asked how she wanted things done, and if she was in the house (and within distance) I'd check with her if there was an issue. For instance, if she came into the kitchen and LO was crying-it-out, I'd say "it's been about 2 min - should I let her go until 11:00 before checking on her?" and following her lead. I didn't want her to feel as though I was trying to overstep any boundaries. But eventually, I (and they) became comfortable enough where I could take my own lead and things were fine. ETA about taxes: there's a certain amount you can "gift" per tax year, at least that's what my employer told me. so they benefitted by "gifting" me (the salary they agreed on was within that limit) and I didn't have to deal with filing. sorrycharlie on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290865 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:38:53 +0000 sorrycharlie 290865@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @tequiero21: okay! back. I was 5 minutes early for my interview (only have nannied officially one family) and later found out that they preferred me not to come any earlier than the time they gave me (9 am) because they worked from home, so they were eating/showering/etc right until I got there. but I agree, I prefer promptness on the first meeting too - but also ask her if she found it okay or something (or he!). I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt...if she got lost, traffic, accident etc. If she doesn't have a good reason, then that's not good ;) anyway! ------ what do you do for your employer? The Mom is now a SAHM (but leaves to run errands, etc) so my duties are different. When I started 4 years ago, baby girl #1 was 7 weeks old. I was there from 9-5, and she was on a good schedule..she played, ate, slept. repeat. I was not required or asked to do anything else. As I became more comfortable with them, and them with me, I would do odds and ends if they needed some help. Like for instance, loading or unloading dishwasher, folding the baby's laundry (they would leave it out for me to see, so I wasn't going through their things). Baby girl #1 is now 4! Her younger sister is 1.5 - when she was born, the mom stopped working. But, I still was primary caregiver. Mom worked for her husband sometimes, ran errands, etc. I would take them on walks, and the older girl to gymnastics (while baby stayed home and slept, dad WAH). I generally will load and unload their dishwasher, I made and prepped bottles when they were younger (to make things easier on mom when she got home from work), folded either baby or towel laundry (never mom and dads), and straightened up after the girls. They had a cleaning person so I wasn't asked to do anything else. ------ if you ask for an hourly rate, do you get paid overtime (over 40 hours)? if you worked 45 hours, do you get time and a half or something? or do you just get your weekly rate, since you should be salaried? I get $12/hour under the table. That's what they started me at (when I was only 2 years into my undergrad degree, 20 years old, one baby). I still get that for 2 kids now, but they're super flexible with scheduling, etc. I never get time and a half or paid holidays or anything like that. They are generous with Christmas and birthday gifts (and came to our wedding), as well as gifting us tons of things for the baby on the way. I get one check at the end of my work week. ------ if you get taxes taken out, do you ask for a higher rate? n/a ------- what do you do for lunch? does 40 hours include lunch or do you work 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch? I bring snacks sometimes or I'll eat at their house sometimes. They've always told me to help myself, but I still felt really awkward just eating their food (they spend a TON, all natural and organic!). They'll often ask me if I want subway if they run out for it, too. Sometimes I take them up for it and sometimes not. ------ what should the SAHM do? join in the fun? clean the house? Well, she runs errands (leaves the girls home with me, makes it easier for her), goes to exercise sometimes, and lately they've been through the process of moving so lots of things there. She also works for her husband. Sometimes if she isn't busy she'll hang downstairs with us which I love - I consider us friends, even though she's ~10 years older! ------ what does "light housework" mean? does that include vacuuming? If I read this in an ad, I'd assume vacuuming, straightening up toys, wiping down counters and highchair, dishwasher, maybe baby's laundry. I'd personally feel uncomfortable doing the adult laundry - undies! lol. ------ tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290781 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:42:32 +0000 tequiero21 290781@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrs. bird: @sorrycharlie: thx ladies. ugh @ the lady who was supposed to come today at 11 is still not here at 11:36. big fat negative for me since i like promptness.... even though i'm not the promptest person.... mrs.bird, hehe that's why i didn't really want to ask the tax question. but i think i want to go that route. i am an accountant and don't want to get in trouble if i get audited. especially since i should have "known better".... do u ladies do nap training? is that a responsibility the nanny can do? or get the twins on a schedule? wow, SO hard. sorrycharlie on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290701 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:01:02 +0000 sorrycharlie 290701@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I am! I'll answer when I get home, hate typing a lot on iPhone! mrs. bird on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290671 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 09:40:25 +0000 mrs. bird 290671@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nanny in the house! : ) Best advice I can give you is to have a nanny contract or agreement in place so both parties have expectations spelled out & no one is frustrated or unhappy because they don't feel like their needs are being met. Include times when you'll get together to reevaluate and update your agreement & just touch base on how things are going and keep communication lines open. But to answer your questions: What do you do for your employer? Pretty much what a SAHM would do during the day- kids up, fed, ready for school, pack lunches, send big ones to school, do laundry, go grocery shopping or run errands, dr appts, hair cuts, go to classes/ story times/ parks/ playdates/ library/ museums/ etc, do arts & crafts projects with bigger ones, during naps clean up, start dinner, have a break, get big ones from school, do homework/ after school activities, bath time & then dinner. if you ask for an hourly rate, do you get paid overtime (over 40 hours)? if you worked 45 hours, do you get time and a half or something? or do you just get your weekly rate, since you should be salaried? I have a weekly salary, then any extra hours are at an hourly rate, but not time & a half. I get paid my weekly salary during weeks they choose not to use me & I get 2 weeks of personal time. Part time jobs, I've been paid hourly & they didn't include personal time, but if they canceled at the last minute, I got paid anyway. if you get taxes taken out, do you ask for a higher rate? Not touching this one personally ;) but I will make the gerneral statement that most nannies do not have taxes taken out, but that ones that do are paid a higher rate because of it. what do you do for lunch? does 40 hours include lunch or do you work 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch? I don't get a lunch break. I either eat with the kids or during naps. When I worked for a SAHM, we ate lunch together during nap & took turns making it. It was a nice time to catch up. what should the SAHM do? join in the fun? clean the house? It's your house, you can do whatever you want! : ) I will say some nannies don't like working with a parent home, others don't mind. It's important that your personalities mesh well if you're going to be spending a lot of time together. When I was home with a SAHM, we brought the twins to classes together because you need an adult for each baby at most classes. Sometimes she'd go out on her own, but we spent a lot of time together too. I was the one mostly taking care of the babies, but if they were both miserable, she'd hear it & come in to help with one. I've always worked in homes with a cleaning lady, so they were always the ones to do heavy cleaning. what does "light housework" mean? does that include vacuuming? I hate that term! No one knows what it really means, it just makes people frustrated because it means different things to different people. To me, it means straightening up- making kids beds, wiping counters, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up any messes made during the day. So if something spills, yes vacuum it up, but not the weekly vacuuming. Spell this out in your nanny agreement! OMG! Longest response EVER! Sorry! Hope those answers help, let me know you have any specific questions : ) tequiero21 on "any nannies in the house?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-nannies-in-the-house#post-290545 Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:26:01 +0000 tequiero21 290545@https://boards.hellobee.com/ anyone a nanny here? care to share some info? for example: what do you do for your employer? if you ask for an hourly rate, do you get paid overtime (over 40 hours)? if you worked 45 hours, do you get time and a half or something? or do you just get your weekly rate, since you should be salaried? if you get taxes taken out, do you ask for a higher rate? what do you do for lunch? does 40 hours include lunch or do you work 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch? what should the SAHM do? join in the fun? clean the house? what does "light housework" mean? does that include vacuuming? so many questions, so little time! eek!