Summer nannies

[boiler717]

If you have a summer nanny, what if anything have you decided to do? Ours is scheduled to start the Tuesday after Memorial Day. I’m wondering if we should cancel for the summer or not to give her a chance at finding another job. I would be happy to pick her up if it were safe and we were both available, but I also don’t know if I can guarantee employment starting at the end of May.

[waverly]

I have no idea. I am wondering if summer camp will open which is my summer childcare. What do I do if summer camp doesn’t open but my work does? Do I then hire a summer nanny? I am not sure what the rules around daycares and childcare in our state since my kids are school age. I get the impression the daycares are still open, but I’m not sure.

[SusanBAnthony]

Apr 3, 2020 9:40:39 GMT -5 waverly said:

I have no idea. I am wondering if summer camp will open which is my summer childcare. What do I do if summer camp doesn’t open but my work does? Do I then hire a summer nanny? I am not sure what the rules around daycares and childcare in our state since my kids are school age. I get the impression the daycares are still open, but I’m not sure.

This is our situation.

So far we are just waiting. I think it will be easier to find one if we need one.

[covergirl82]

We are still planning on ours starting the week of June 8. I know DH and I will be able to WFH as needed through the end of the school year (assuming our offices open back up before the end of the school year). She'll come M-W, I'll WFH Thursdays, and my parents will come on Fridays (or DH will WFH on Fridays if my parents can't come).

[boiler717]

Apr 3, 2020 9:14:06 GMT -5 turbo said:

Maybe reach out to her and ask? I can’t speak for your area but the nanny market in my area is about to be flooded with nannies, so she may just want to wait it out. If you’re under SIP orders, they usually restrict nannies to only caring for children of “essential” workers (at least our state does). So she may not be able to get another job easily anyway.

If you’re questioning a nanny for something other than COVID-19 related restrictions (like you don’t want to spend the money or you don’t want that extra exposure), then talk to her, but in general if you’re subjected to COVID restrictions most other families in the area will be as well which will make the job market extremely challenging for your nanny.

Even if we weren’t under SIP, I would be nervous about a nanny. We pulled our son from preschool before they closed, for example. But I also have no idea what this will look like in 8 weeks.

[hocus2]

Apr 3, 2020 9:40:39 GMT -5 waverly said:

I have no idea. I am wondering if summer camp will open which is my summer childcare. What do I do if summer camp doesn’t open but my work does? Do I then hire a summer nanny? I am not sure what the rules around daycares and childcare in our state since my kids are school age. I get the impression the daycares are still open, but I’m not sure.

 I've been wondering this too. Since one kid goes to day camp and the other was planning to do sleep away I am wondering what might happen if just one camp opens and the other  doesn't. I wonder if I should get a spot at a local day camp as a fail safe for my older one as a sleep-away seems more likely to close given the dorm like nature of it.

 I hope if camps do not open I am able to hire someone to watch the kids. It just isn't sustainable for us to watch them while i work 40 hours a week and DH works 60+. The limited amount of schooling we get now is a big help is keeping on a schedule. I'm really barely hanging on now. I would very seriously consider asking for reduced time if we're in a stay-at-home situation until September. 

[vamoose]

I would try to be as honest as possible with her so she can make an informed choice. I think the default is that if shelter in place is lifted that she has a job with you as planned. If you want to be more restrictive for your own family, then definitely communicate that to her. What benchmarks are you waiting on to feel comfortable with using a nanny?

[waverly]

Apr 3, 2020 13:59:39 GMT -5 hocus2 said:

Apr 3, 2020 9:40:39 GMT -5 waverly said:

I have no idea. I am wondering if summer camp will open which is my summer childcare. What do I do if summer camp doesn’t open but my work does? Do I then hire a summer nanny? I am not sure what the rules around daycares and childcare in our state since my kids are school age. I get the impression the daycares are still open, but I’m not sure.

 I've been wondering this too. Since one kid goes to day camp and the other was planning to do sleep away I am wondering what might happen if just one camp opens and the other  doesn't. I wonder if I should get a spot at a local day camp as a fail safe for my older one as a sleep-away seems more likely to close given the dorm like nature of it.

 I hope if camps do not open I am able to hire someone to watch the kids. It just isn't sustainable for us to watch them while i work 40 hours a week and DH works 60+. The limited amount of schooling we get now is a big help is keeping on a schedule. I'm really barely hanging on now. I would very seriously consider asking for reduced time if we're in a stay-at-home situation until September. 

My boss has approved me to work from home, but there are parts of my job that I need to be there when we are open.  I suppose I could go in and work half days and maybe bring DD with me (7) and leave DS at home (almost 10).  We have a plan for sleep away camp since it was only a week, and DH and I are off that week anyway.  But not really a plan if summer day camp doesn't open....

[rupertpenny]

Do you have room for the nanny to live in over the summer? If so I would consider that option. Going by what I see on Facebook groups doctors, nurses, etc are asking their nannies to move in for the duration. Obviously this depends a lot on the nanny’s family and living situation, but it would definitely reduce exposure.

[isabel]

My sister is a nanny and her employer is paying her extra to not work for anyone else right now (she routinely babysits on weekends for others). My sister is dedicated to this and she doesn’t go anywhere but her home and their house.

If this isn’t a financial concern, I’d consider keeping her and just make sure there’s a clear understanding that she cannot have contact with other people. Spell out what that looks like. I hate to see self-employed people like that lose their jobs because families no longer need childcare, so I’d see if there’s a way to make it work before giving up on it entirely.

[boiler717]

Apr 3, 2020 20:13:49 GMT -5 turbo said:

Apr 3, 2020 11:50:14 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Even if we weren’t under SIP, I would be nervous about a nanny. We pulled our son from preschool before they closed, for example. But I also have no idea what this will look like in 8 weeks.

I get that, but we also pulled our DS from preschool (and all his other activities) and then kept our nanny right up until the SIP ruling. She was here almost a month after COVID first became an issue in our area. Of course, she’s been with us for three years so we could have very frank conversations about her social distancing and trusted her to act with the best interests of our boys in mind.

I guess the question is - are you (or your H) willing / able to stay at home once the SIP (if you’re subjected to one) is lifted? Will your jobs allow that? If so, then maybe no childcare is the best for you. But if not, I think a nanny working exclusively for your family is by far the safest option. We had planned to put DS1 in camps this summer but I imagine we likely won’t do that, and while I technically am a SAHP, two weeks of doing so without our nanny tells me I’m not cut out for this all summer. We plan to evaluate how we feel when the SIP is lifted and will do what we think is best for our family but... eventually we will have to expose ourselves to the outside world again. Just - like you said - hard to know when. I’d honestly just start a dialogue with your potential. What if you agreed to a severance pay out if you decide not to use her? Could you swing that? Then she wouldn’t be left totally screwed and you wouldn’t have to make a decision until you get closer and have the security of keeping a nanny you know you liked. That’s probably what I would do with a new nanny right now.

So it’s a summer nanny — college student sitting for us for the summer for the second year. I would potentially do that. I do have a friend who needs a nanny if her camp falls through so I could match them if needed, too.
I WFH full time and my boss is understanding...but I still have a FT job. My husband is a clinical pharmacist / university professor. He won’t have any classes in the summer but I don’t know if he will have to be back in clinic. Right now we’ve both been home 4 weeks (he does telehealth) and it’s been manageable but less than ideal.

[boiler717]

Apr 4, 2020 8:35:41 GMT -5 isabel said:

My sister is a nanny and her employer is paying her extra to not work for anyone else right now (she routinely babysits on weekends for others). My sister is dedicated to this and she doesn’t go anywhere but her home and their house.

If this isn’t a financial concern, I’d consider keeping her and just make sure there’s a clear understanding that she cannot have contact with other people. Spell out what that looks like. I hate to see self-employed people like that lose their jobs because families no longer need childcare, so I’d see if there’s a way to make it work before giving up on it entirely.

My friend is doing this and I would consider, but my summer nanny is a college student and lives with 4 other people in her immediate family. I can’t really control what all 5 of them do, and at least one of her parents is in a job still interacting with others.