Tag: Nannies

Why You Can’t Find a Nanny

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

Finding the right nanny for your family can be an overwhelming process. You may receive messages from candidates who suddenly stop responding with no discernable reason. Or, you receive zero responses and can’t figure out why no one is interested.

Here are some common mistakes many families make that can sometime limit the amount of nannies interested in working with them.

A Bad Schedule

The standard 9-5 jobs generally have no issues being filled. Many nannies are desperately looking for consistent full time schedules. However, it can be much more difficult to fill a part-time nanny position. Many families work from home these days and prefer schedules like Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. While that looks good on paper, it is a very inconvenient schedule for most nannies.

If nannies are looking for part-time work, it is typically because they have a second job or they are in school. It would be very rare to find a family just looking for a Monday/Friday nanny. If nannies are in school, taking three days out of the middle of the week when they may have classes is incredibly inconvenient.

If you are looking for a part-time nanny, it is best to consider having an alternating schedule. Have a nanny come Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so they can supplement with a Tuesday/Thursday job. Or have a nanny who comes in the mornings, so they can have their afternoons free for classes.

Not Enough Hours

At Wilco Nannies, we require part-time positions to start at 15 hours a week. One of the reasons we do that is because of how difficult it can be to find a nanny interested in less than 15 hours. Many families only see themselves needing a nanny for a single day of the week. For example, maybe they have a consistent meeting on Fridays and simply need a nanny for that time. With few exceptions, nannies are looking for a job as a form of income. So keep in mind, that it will be very difficult for a nanny to pay any bills on less than 15 hours a week. If you are finding you only need care for less than 15 hours, consider looking for a drop-in daycare instead.

Not Enough Pay, or Paying Weekly Rates

Inflation has hit nannies and babysitters too. If you have good hours but still aren’t receiving a lot of interest, consider raising the pay. Another option is to offer nannies extra perks like gas reimbursement or a year-end bonus.

Many family prefer to pay a weekly salary. Unfortunately, that is a giant red flag for a lot of nannies. Some families who pay salary instead of hourly use it as a reason to over work their nannies without fair compensation. Nannies can get stuck working 60 hours a week or spending their working hours cleaning, for little pay.

Also note that, generally, household employees in the state of Texas must be paid an hourly wage.

Wanting to Start Short Term and Then Extend

It can be nerve wracking as a first time parent allowing a stranger in your home to watch your child. Many parents think a simple solution is to post a job asking for a nanny for a few weeks or months. Then if that time period goes well, they want to extend the job for a year. The problem with this idea is that if you post a job for only a few weeks or months, many nannies will pass it because they are looking for long term employment.

It is a much better idea to post how long you intend to have the nanny in your service. Then schedule a trial week with a nanny to make sure it is a good fit. It does not take a few months to know if your nanny will work within your family. If it is a good fit, you will know immediately!

Too Little or Too Much Job Detail

When posting your job, it is important to post just the right amount of information to get the right people interested. The most important things to post are your general location (zip code or neighborhood), how many children, ages of the children, hours, and pay. Forgetting any of these items could cause nannies to express interest and then stop responding when they realize it isn’t enough pay or is too far of a commute.

Many families like to post as many details as possible. Unfortunately, to many nannies, this can be a red flag of a micro-managing family. Keep specifics for during the interview process. Those details are all important and appreciated by your nanny. But in a job post, keep it simple and include the most important details.

Looking for a nanny can be very overwhelming and time-consuming. Here at Wilco Nannies we want to take all the stress and pressure off of your shoulders. Let us weed through the candidates and find the best nannies for your family!

What Should be in Your Nanny Bag

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

When Mary Poppins placed her carpet bag on the table and pulled out a lamp, we knew she came prepared! While the average nanny and babysitter don’t need to pack an entire room in their bags, here are some great items to bring on your next job.

Things for you!

Your nanny bag should always have items you might need while you are in someone else’s house. Packing and extra set of clothes can be a lifesaver. We know kids are the best at getting messy! Many of us childcare workers have come to home to realize we have Cheerios in our shirt, or stickers on our pants. You never know when food, paint, glitter, water, or bodily fluids might get on your clothes and make for an uncomfortable drive home.

There are some items that are always good to have on hand when you are spending your day or evening at someone else’s house. Bring your phone charger so you will always be able to stay in touch with the family and call someone in case of an emergency. If you have any emergency medicines, such as an EpiPen, be sure to pack them. Do you wear contacts? Pack some extra contact solution or your backup pair of glasses.

For those of us working late nights or babysitting on Friday evenings, there can be a lot of down time. Consider packing some quiet activities to do while the children are asleep. While watching the TV is always the easiest option, we’ve all been in situations where we don’t know how to work someone else’s TV. And no one wants to be the person that breaks it! Bring a book, your own tablet, something to knit, or anything else you can sit and do quietly until the parents get home.

Things for the kids!

If you are a crafty nanny, have some ready to go crafts in your bag. Simple projects are always the best. Pack some string and beads to make necklaces. Try some stickers, paper, and crayons to make fun pictures. Try these print outs on how to make paper boats and airplanes! 

Sometimes a single item can lead to a night filled with fun. Bring a flashlight and do all kinds of activities! Make shadow puppets or trace shadows on paper. Grab some bubbles from the grocery store! Or make some homemade bubbles with the kids. 

If you are a baking nanny, bring some ingredients for simple recipes to make. Did you know you can make slime with just glue and baking soda? Or fill some sandwich baggies with ingredients for mug recipes! These are easy and quick for kids to make.

Not much of a crafter or baker, bring your favorite board game or childhood book. Kids love to see other things people are interested in. Pulling out an old game or book they may have never seen before can be very exciting! Be sure that all items are age appropriate.

What not to bring!

As excited as we can get to show our kiddos fun things to do, there are some items that are always good to keep at home.

Never bring anything sharp, such as scissors, or anything that could potentially stain, such as nail polish. If you are with children under four years old, stay away from items with tiny pieces that they could swallow.

Always check with the family to make sure there aren’t any items the children might be allergic to, or that are against house rules.

Never bring headphones to a job. It seems logical to put in headphones while the children are sleeping so you don’t wake them up. But it is always safer to be able to hear everything going on in the house in case of emergency.

What is the going rate?

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

The cost of living has affected everyone, including nannies and babysitter.  With prices rising every day, it can be hard to determine how much to pay a babysitter or nanny. 

At the end of the day, all families must look at their budget to identify what they can afford.  Keep in mind all household workers must be paid an hourly wage.  It is illegal in Texas, and many other states, to pay a household worker a salary. 

Here are some tips to help decide what rates work best for you.

Below $15/hr

This rate should be exclusively for babysitters under 16 years old.  If you have a neighbor who is looking to get into babysitting or a middle school student who wants to start babysitting for the first time, this is the range for you.  Keep in mind how many children are in the house.  If the babysitter is working with two children who will be in bed the majority of the job, the rate can be lower.  If the children are younger, there are more than two, or it is during a time when the children will be awake and active, the rate should be higher.

$15-$20/hr

This is the perfect pay starting for 16 years olds to young adults who are getting into babysitting and nannying for the first time.  This group will most likely have to drive to work which costs gas and car maintenance.  This is also a good pay range for college students who do not have a lot of previous experience working with children.  If someone was a neighborhood babysitter in high school, and now is looking to continue during college, they should be on the higher end of this pay range. They do have school expenses and other living costs to consider. 

$20-$25/hr

Here is the part of the pay range where it can get a little more complicated.  At the lower end of this pay range you will have people who might have some babysitting experience or other child care experience.  This experience includes jobs like church nursery worker, coaching, or camp counselor.  This kind of experience is great training to be a nanny or babysitter.  As we move up this pay range you begin to see people with solid childcare experience.  They have worked for a daycare for more than a year or they have at least one family they worked with long term.  You can also see many people coming from related fields like home health care, teaching, etc..

$25-$30/hr

These are nannies who have already developed great experience in childcare.  They are up to date on their certifications.  They have references they can easily pull from.  They know that working with children is their chosen path.  Determining where they should be within this range should be based on how many children, and the expected duties of the job.  This range is for people who consider being a nanny or a babysitter their job.  Not a side gig, not a hustle, this is their job.  If you are a nanny with at least five years’ experience, this is your starting pay range.

$30+

This pay range is where you start to find your “career nannies”.  Career Nannies are people who have decided that nannying will be their chosen profession.  They’ve worked for several families specifically as a nanny.  They are people with experience not only with children, but specifically with helping families as a nanny.  The range is not only determined by the expectations of the job, but by the experience the people have. 

Perks:

Gas Mileage:  In any nanny or babysitting position where driving is expected to be part of the job, reimbursement for gas should be included.  In the state of Texas, gas reimbursement is 67 cents per mile.

Money for activities:  Many families like for nannies to take their children out to activities or playdates.  Nannies and babysitters should always be reimbursed for these activities.  One option is to provide a nanny with a Visa gift card that you can load money on for your child’s activity expenses.

Bonus:  While not required, it is always a great sign of respect for your nanny to give a bonus at the end of the year.  Something that says “we appreciate you”.

The Great Snack War!

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

The great Snack War has been waging in American kitchens for years!  Kids and adults need snacks throughout the day.  But while we all know we need the healthy snacks, the bad snacks are just……so good!  How do we help not only ourselves to be better eaters, but our kids too?  I have several strategies below to help you win your next Snack Battle!

Don’t Buy It

There is a reason why people are very disappointed when they raid my pantry for snacks.  I have not bought cookies or chips in years.  Why?  Because they last about five minutes once they enter my house.  Self-control is difficult for most adults.  It is next to impossible for kids!  If you don’t want your child to eat the unhealthy snacks, do not buy them. 

Look Out For “Healthy”

The food industry is really good at making bright colorful packaging, slapping some buzz words like “real fruit juice”, and convincing you it is healthy.  But we all know the truth.  Veggies Straw are just skinny potato chips.  Fruit Snacks are just gummy bears shaped like fruit.  It can be hard to market healthy food, because actual healthy food is boring to advertise.  A banana is just a banana.  I suppose they could put some more fun stickers on bananas!  Brand bananas for boys called “The Ultimate Banana” and for girls like “Princess Banana”.  But at the end of the day, there is only so many ways to make healthy food look “cool”.

Snacks For Home

Snacks at home are a lot easier to plan.  You have good storage and are able to prep snacks for the week!  Fruits and vegetables should always be your number one choice for snacks.  Always have a fruit bowl filled with easily accessible apples, bananas, etc.  If your kids don’t like certain fruits, don’t give up!  There are a lot of fruits out there to try.  Great vegetables to have on hand are pickles, carrots or celery.  Dips like hummus or guacamole are filling and perfect to have with your vegetables.  Great items to have stocked in the refrigerator are things like yogurt and string cheese.  Healthy pantry snacks for kids, who need something to crunch, are items like nuts, trail mix, or plantain chips.

Snacks For School

Snacks for school can be a little bit trickier.  It can be tough to plan ahead and schools often restrict certain snacks kids are allowed.  Here in Texas the heat can also play a big factor in what snacks are best for kids to take to school.  While yogurt and cheese are great snacks, school lunch-box ice packs only do so well for a long school day.  Fruits and vegetables should once again be your top choice.  Dried fruits and vegetables are a great option if your kids don’t keep their lunch boxes indoors during a school day.  If nuts are allowed in your school, trail mix is your new best friend!  If not try some popcorn for your kids who need that crunch! 

Controlling The Snacking

While in a perfect world, you’d have a house full of healthy snacks and your child would skip merrily home from school and say “dear mother, might I please have an apple before supper?”  But life happens and we all just do the best we can to keep our household happy and running.  There are other ways to keep the unhealthy snacking at bay.  Having snacks be a part of your normal routine is a good way to start.  If children have expectations of one morning snack and one afternoon snack, the angry demands for more snacks goes down.  Also keep in mind, kids get ravenous when they go through growth spurts.  This is when begging for snacks is at an all-time high!  Best way to see if your kid is going through a growth spurt, offer your kids a healthy snack, if they take it, vacuum it down and immediately ask for more, then it’s a growth spurt.

Another good trick to control snacking is a snack box.  Make a nice box for each one of your children.  Every day fill the box with the number of snacks your children are allowed to eat.  Tell them they can eat these snacks whenever they want.  But once the box is empty, that is all the snacks they get for day.  It helps give some control to the kids.  They pick what snacks are in the box and when they can eat them.  Also take the blame off of you when they eat everything in their box! 

The Snack War is one we all battle.  Best we can do is try and give our kids the tools to fight that battle as well.