thoughts on nannying full time?

[rebellefleur]

I have had a rough time finding full time employment. It's definitely a challenge with a degree in communications. I've been juggling a hand full of part time jobs lately which don't have much room for advancement. I've also thought about going back to school for something more guaranteed in the job field but I'm hesitant with putting out a ton of money for school again.

 

I've been nannying this past week for an old coworker who is looking for a permanent nanny. However she is open to giving it to me full time.

 

I just wanted to see your take on the scenario. Its four days a week at $425 a week. The only downside is there isn't any growth in the business world. is this more of a job for an older woman?

[Seraphim]

Why would it be a job for an older woman? Women of all ages have many careers. If it's not something that you would find valuable or have an interest in doing then don't do it.

[mhowe]

It is a job that pays and allows you 3 days a week to interview.

[Batya33]

I nannied for one summer full time as a teenager (I was live-in). I loved it but it was a really hard job. Several of my friends have nannies and treat them wonderfully but again it is a very physically demanding job and requires a ton of patience. I also think it will not look good on your resume so you would also want to be volunteering in something related to your chosen field or taking some kind of continuing ed courses -something to show development in that area.

 

Also if you accept it's really important you commit to staying unless your future employer knows that you would leave if you got a job in the business world. It's really disruptive to a family if a nanny quits after a short time (even after a long time but at least then you've shown you're loyal).

[Snny]

Working inside ANYONES home, especially with children, is risky. A child can accuse you of something you haven't done and you hardly have any legal protection if a parent tries to sue you. There would be no other witness but yourself and the child. You would have to pay for an attorney and court fees out of your pocket. I personally known SEVERAL colleagues who were wrongfully accused of sexually abusing a child and were placed in jail until trial. Only one of them was found guilty. Another one was a teacher who spent afterschool frequently with a student with EBD, and he set up by the PARENT of that student just to milk money from him. Several training workshops on prevention of child abuse will tell you the golden rule is NEVER be alone with a child. Unfortunately you cannot do that if you are a nanny and there is no other adult present.

 

I am not saying this to scare you, but it is a concern you need to think about whenever you work with children. This stuff really happens and you don't want it happening to you.

 

Also, $425 a week is nothing. I make more than that as a substitute teacher (and subs are paid poorly). If you really want to work with children, definitely do substitute teaching.

[blueidealist24]

I think it sounds better than juggling part-time jobs, and as mhowe said, it gives you three days a week off to interview, volunteer, or whatever. Snny brings up an interesting point but I think that being a female, there's not much risk of you being accused. Unfortunately, it seems like that happens more frequently to male caregivers.

[Snny]

. Snny brings up an interesting point but I think that being a female, there's not much risk of you being accused.

If you think you will be protected because of your gender, you are mistaken. It can happen to anybody. Female teachers have been accused recently- go ahead and Google news articles on it. One of my accused fellows was a young Catholic nun in her late 20s who was also a private school teacher.

 

Seriously, if you really want to be a Nanny, cover ass and find a child abuse prevention training workshop. That will help you deflect potential accusations. But yes, it is reasons like this way I do not do any at-home tutoring and tell families to bring their child to see me at a public library.

[Batya33]

Maybe ask her if there is a nannycam -obviously it would be under her control but that would be proof. I've never heard of nannies/sitters around here being accused like that and I know many. My friend's daughter told her mother that the nanny said certain mean things to her -the nanny said she had, my friend was upset but did not fire the nanny.

[Seraphim]

The same token though this is why I never allowed anyone to babysit my son as a young child,ever. Unless it was my mother or my brother and maybe a handful of times my inlaws had him for a few hours.

 

I think there are far more people that prey on children than children who make false accusations.

[IAmFCA]

Being a full time nanny can be a wonderful life affirming experience and a great way to get from here to there, possibly picking up another support system along the way. Two suggestions I have: (1) Find your family through a network of people you know. Word of mouth introductions aren't fail safe by any means, but at least its not a blind introduction. (You seem to have lucked into this already.) (2) Use your fifth weekday for career oriented networking. Talk to your nanny employer about your long term goals. (3) Be prepared to love someone else's kids. If you love them, and their household has some flexibility, you will be able to keep some association with this family for years, picking up extra cash, business connections, education expenses, whatever. (4) Get clear about the $425/week. This might be good money, depending on whether it is reported income and therefore taxable (both solutions have implications for you), whether you will be using their car or yours, whether you will be eating their food or yours, whether there is any housing associated with this, or tuition money, or other benefits, whether the hours are set or fluid.

 

In my house, i used my nanny as a back up for all things. When work ran late or started early, whatever -- also, she lived in, used my car, and generally joined the household in all respects. I paid for tuition for undergrad and graduate degree, eventually gave her the car, and am now honored to count ourselves as part of one another's family of sorts. She is working full time and has started her own family. We look forward to my kids - who are like her kids too - babysitting for her. (For free.)

 

It can also be a temporary step with little other benefits. Depends on what you create.

[DancingFool]

Snny is correct that it's is a very high liability job. It doesn't even have to go to the extreme of a child deciding to concoct something against you. It can be something much more mundane like they run and fall and get injured and you will be accused of neglect or abuse. You just never know how the parents may react until something like that happens. Even the most reasonable people can turn wild on you when their child is hurt and blame you as the cause or for failing to prevent it. So yeah, make sure you understand the full parameters of your liability. When a child gets hurt, all reason flies out the window more often than not.

 

If I were you, I'd actually focus on figuring out what career track you actually want, work out what you need to do and then roll up your sleeves and get to it. That means setting aside all distractions like flaky men, questionable jobs, etc. Clean house and focus. Otherwise, you are looking at a lifetime of sitting in a never ending rut. The jobs are out there. I see plenty of communication majors in all kinds of career tracks and successful too. You need to get to work on getting into the career track that suits you. If you are doing to interviews, but not getting hired, start figuring out why not.

[sadchick83]

Is she paying you legally or is it under the table? If its under the table, this is a huge no-no. Both of you could be in a lot of trouble with the IRS. If it's legal, don't forget to subtract your taxes and see if its worth it then.

 

I would do it for a couple of weeks, but just temporarily. If you are really tight with cash, do it longer. 4 days of the work week is a lot if you are looking for a job. Depending on how many kids and their ages, you find yourself quite tired at the end of the day.