NANC Blog: You know you're a nanny when.....

NANC Blog: You know you're a nanny when.....: "You know you're a nanny when...... ...you have a fairly authoritative, slightly scary 'nanny voice' and it can stop everyone around you in ..."

Is that where I am going to sleep?

Okay,

So I was watching "Bethany is Getting Married" on Bravo Thursday night and there was a part in the episode in which a friend of hers brought over her month old son and her baby nurse aka Newborn Care Specialist and the two friends were enjoying each others company and the baby nurse just observing the conversation and keeping an eye on here lil one. Well the mom of the baby was like this women was a god send and Bethany has to have a baby nurse or NCS before her baby comes home and how she was going to steal this women from her friend. Okay so the espd continues to play out and Bethany is hysterical because she wants to make sure the baby nurse is in place b4 she gets home and of course her hubby is like his parents will be there and she is like okay "AND"!!!

So baby nurse arrives at house and Bethany's assistant is so overjoyed that she is there to rescue her from all the baby issues. The Baby Nurse walks in ans says looking at this let out white love seat "Is this where I am going to sleep?" and assistant says proudly yes!! If looks could kill u could tell this women was very displeased and appalled by her temporary living quarters.

Okay let me get this straight the women that came highly recommended and with probably a long list of previous clients and who is going to be your savior to help you make the transition into mommyhood and help your baby get on schedule, does sleep training for your baby and does all the child related care for you so you can sleep and continue your busy life, is going to sleep in a room with nothing in it and on a pull out couch and you think that is satisfactory!!! GET REAL BETHANY!!!

Mother Mistaken for the Nanny of Her Mixed-Race Daughter

Mother Mistaken for the Nanny of Her Mixed-Race Daughter

New Nanny Novel

So I was reading the new Essence Magazine(August 2010) and I came across a new Nanny Novel a brief description of the book was written by Patrik Henry Bass and describes the books like this:


"Lori L. Tharps probably didn't set out to write a modern day horror story. but her first novel Substitute Me (Atria $15), might haunt you for days. In Plausible plot twist, her heroine Zora Anderson 30, accepts a job as a nanny for Kate and Brad a White Couple straight out of a Lands End catalog. When Kate returns to work after maternity leave, all hell breaks lose at home. Both of them increasingly look to Zora for strength, for support with love- although one of them feels latter emotion more strongly than the other."

The book can be found on www.amazon.com and is due out some time in August. I think it will be a fun read for those raining days that the baby or the children are napping and you want to kick back and relax in between washing bottles and folding laundry!!!!!

Shabbat Dinner Invite

Well,
Today I went to spent a couple hours with a family I might consider to work for. They have baby #4 coming on August 3rd via C-Section, if mom makes it. The kids are a lot of fun they are 7,6 and 2, we had a blast today playing with our make believe swords we made out clicks. The 2 year old made me a pretend grill cheese with coffee in her kitchen "very yummy" I got a chance to meet the current Nanny and she was friendly and we got a chance to chit chat while mom took a much needed nap. The one thing I do like about this family is they seem very genuine in their need for some help get themselves organized and really need some help with the kids. They are and observant Jewish family and the house decorum is very simple and observant of their religion. The kids and I talked about Shabbat and the invited me to a Shabbat Dinner and Hanukkah Party!!! Mom and I talked a little bit more about salary and we ironed out some more details. It was good day!!

I have decided to decline your offer

So I decided to call the other family I discussed yesterday about declining their offer for employment and that didn't go well at all.

Family: Hi Shaun how are you I hope your calling with some good news for us!

Me: I am well thank you, I think you have a great family, after careful thinking I have decided that I would like to pursue a different opportunity, I wish you the best of luck of with your search and thank you for offering me the opportuinty to be a part of your family.

Family: May I ask why you have declined our position? Is it the money?

Me: No,its not the salary I just decided to pursue another opportunity, I am very sorry!

Family: Well we turned away a lot of other people in hopes you would accept our position, this is very unprofessional and you could have given us more notice.

Me: Again I am sorry good luck to you and thank you for your time. (I hang up)

>>>RING<<<

Me: Hello

Family: Yes, Shaun this is_____

Me: Yes, how can I help you?

Family: Does this have anything to do with us not letting you speak with our current Nanny?

Me: Like I said I am sorry , but I have decided to pursue another opportunity!

Family: To be honest with you she doesn't know we are looking and we thought it best not to tell her until we found someone.

Me: Well, I think its unfortunate that you have made this decision not to inform your current Nanny that you are not happy with her for what ever reason you may have, and like I said I have decided to pursue another opportunity and I think you should tell your Nanny that you are unhappy with her and that you are looking into other options so she can prepare herself that she is going to be unemployed and start looking for another position. Thank You again and good day!!!


Okay tell me why it is so hard to accept when a Nanny decides not go with your family, I was very professional and polite. I could have been really rude and gave my real reason for me declining, but that would have been unprofessional.

Rule #1 Parents when you are looking for a new Nanny to replace your old. Tell your current Nanny you are looking to replace her and talk to her about your concerns and see if they are rectifiable. Yes, you may have a 50/50 chance she will leave before you find someone to replace her, but eventually your going to run into a Veteran Nanny who will ask to speak with your current Nanny as a reference for the family and if you ignore her request or don't even address the issue it sends off a MAJOR RED FLAG to her.

Rule#2 Just because a Nanny declines your position, don't take it personal she just saying she doesn't feel like its a good fit for her but may be a good fit for someone else.

Rule#3 Keep in mind if you like a particular candidate there is probably another family that likes her just as much, so make sure you have 2-3 other candidates as runners up for your position if your favorite declines.

Rule#4 Make sure you are offering an competitive salary and benefits according to your area and never ever ever quote "DAY CARE" rates, Nannies I repeat don't work for "Day Care Rates"

Rule#5 Make sure what you quote a Nanny is the NET salary and not the Gross and if your not sure check out www.gtm.com and use the Nanny Tax Calculator!!

The higher bidder wins! Maybe not

So here its I have 3 firm offers on the table and they all range in different salaries. So which job do I accept..ummm the one offering almost $200 a week more then the other two or the job that would work better on commute time and put me closer to home after all this is Atlanta and when I tell you traffic is bad that's an under statement! While the extra $800 a month would come in handy since I am trying to get a new car and move into a nicer home, but will I be happy? The family is a nice conservative family with strong religious convictions, they keep Kosher so I will have to be extremely careful not to bring any outside food into their home which isn't a problem at all. I have worked for a Jewish family before and didn't have any issues. Then there is this other family that has 2 children 2.5yrs and 7 month old, young professional couple very vibrant and laid back, but my only reservation is that word we all worry about when the child approaches the age in which it could be a option for the family "DAY CARE"!!! Don't get me wrong I have nothing against my fellow Child Care Providers, but it weighs heavily in ones mind when you live in a big city and there is huge competition between the Nanny Market and Day Care Market not to mention its a cheaper option then having to pay $500-$700 a week for a Nanny vs $140-$250 a week for Day Care. Then the 3rd offer to be honest with you its not even in my thinking process because this family are hoarders and yes I am a Nanny Manager, but not a miracle worker and I may have to call in reinforcements for this household because its just that bad, but they are a nice family...ummm after much thought I think I may call them in the morning and politely decline because there is also the issue that I would be Nanny #4(MAJOR RED FLAG) and somehow talking to the previous Nanny may not be an option after I have asked twice and never gotten a response about this.

So after checking my e-mail this evening I have another 3 people asking me if I am still available and can I please send them my Nanny Portfolio and can they call me this weekend. Should I go ahead and explore these options just in case...ummmm...what's a Nanny to do? I still haven't come to a decision about the other two families I need more time to make a decision and explore my options better because for right now I am still undecided.

This thing called Nanny Tax

Okay, so I have been a Nanny for 13 years and have been working on the books for 13 years before the Nanny Tax laws were as big as they are now. So I am going through the lovely interview process that we all love so much. Well I have been on 4 interviews in the last week and out of 4 families 3 of the 4 don't want to do taxes. So of course I am like what the heck is going on is this a new thing or have I been out the interviewing process for so long that this is the new norm? Okay so now I guess I am must come across as being the Nanny Tax Advocate when talking to parents, because I have no idea why they wouldnt want to do taxes let alone get the Child Care Tax Credit. Well isn't it my responsibility to make sure I educate these families regardless if they take my advice or not? So, now I am faced with negotiating my salary with some of the other families who I have interviewed with who want to do taxes. Okay someone please tell me why $425 a week seems to be the magic number for these families for net salary its driving me crazy. I am like hold up you want me to work 55 hrs a week for $8.00hr for the first 40 hrs and then $12.00 hr for the extra 15 hrs which are deemed overtime in the eyes of the law (Thanks GTM and Associates for the over time calculator ) So the grand total is $500 a week for 55 hrs a week and after taxes your looking at $425-$430 net. I am sorry but umm that's nuts and there is no way I am working 55hrs a week and only bringing home $430 a week and I have 13 yrs of experience. I just don't get why advertise for a Nanny with more then 5 years experience when you really only want to pay for a Nanny that has 1-2 years experience and even then I think those nannies want to make more then that. Oh well back to negotiations