Advice regarding childcare situation

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tinamn

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I work from home and have for over 5 years now - but I’ve never been able to do it without having childcare of some sort. We started having a nanny come to the house 4 years ago, and it’s been great - I can still be part of the kids daily lives but I am free to take calls or shut a door and work hard if I need to get things done.

Anyway, we hired a new nanny (Nanny A) after our move this past fall - we moved too far for our previous nanny to continue with us. Nanny A is in an online nursing program, so her schedule was flexible. Starting in January, she starting having clinicals, so we had to hire a 2nd nanny (Nanny B) to cover for the times Nanny A couldn’t work. Since then, the Nanny B has ended up doing 3, sometimes 4 of the 5 work days due to the Nanny A’s crazy schedule.

Now that summer is here, for the sake of the budget I need to change up the schedule a bit, plus my parents volunteered to take the kids one day to help save money as well. Nanny A’s schedule has lightened somewhat, so Nanny B now would be down to 1-2 days. She is looking for a new position that would give her more hours.

Here is my dilemma:
Nanny B is in school for elementary/preschool education. She does a GREAT job with my kids - they get outside, go for walks, read books, etc. She also cleans up after the kids and does other little things around the house as she sees them and has time. She will be starting student teaching in the fall.

Nanny A is the original that we had a “contract” with (nothing where she signed it and there is a term, just general guidelines, etc), so I feel somewhat obligated to give her hours now that she is available, but her schedule will change in 6 weeks and she may not be as available. She also rarely takes the kids outside, and usually leaves a mess behind.

Nanny A could be with us (albeit at a random schedule) through the end of next school year. Nanny B starts student teaching in the fall.

If I let Nanny A go in favor of Nanny B, who by all accounts does a much better job, I’ll be looking for new care in the fall. But if I keep Nanny A, I may be looking for a backup person in as little as 6 weeks, and my kids will be bored out of their minds all summer.

The other part of this is that my oldest two will be in school full time in the fall, so it will just be 2 at home - and I’m wondering if they shouldn’t go to some kind of daycare so they get to be with other kids (they’ll be almost 2 and almost 4 this fall).

Writing all this out makes me think I should just go with Nanny B and deal with looking for new care in the fall. I’d still appreciate any advice if anyone else sees anything I’m missing.
 
tinamn said:
I work from home and have for over 5 years now - but I’ve never been able to do it without having childcare of some sort. We started having a nanny come to the house 4 years ago, and it’s been great - I can still be part of the kids daily lives but I am free to take calls or shut a door and work hard if I need to get things done.

Anyway, we hired a new nanny (Nanny A) after our move this past fall - we moved too far for our previous nanny to continue with us. Nanny A is in an online nursing program, so her schedule was flexible. Starting in January, she starting having clinicals, so we had to hire a 2nd nanny (Nanny B) to cover for the times Nanny A couldn’t work. Since then, the Nanny B has ended up doing 3, sometimes 4 of the 5 work days due to the Nanny A’s crazy schedule.

Now that summer is here, for the sake of the budget I need to change up the schedule a bit, plus my parents volunteered to take the kids one day to help save money as well. Nanny A’s schedule has lightened somewhat, so Nanny B now would be down to 1-2 days. She is looking for a new position that would give her more hours.

Here is my dilemma:
Nanny B is in school for elementary/preschool education. She does a GREAT job with my kids - they get outside, go for walks, read books, etc. She also cleans up after the kids and does other little things around the house as she sees them and has time. She will be starting student teaching in the fall.

Nanny A is the original that we had a “contract” with (nothing where she signed it and there is a term, just general guidelines, etc), so I feel somewhat obligated to give her hours now that she is available, but her schedule will change in 6 weeks and she may not be as available. She also rarely takes the kids outside, and usually leaves a mess behind.

Nanny A could be with us (albeit at a random schedule) through the end of next school year. Nanny B starts student teaching in the fall.

If I let Nanny A go in favor of Nanny B, who by all accounts does a much better job, I’ll be looking for new care in the fall. But if I keep Nanny A, I may be looking for a backup person in as little as 6 weeks, and my kids will be bored out of their minds all summer.

The other part of this is that my oldest two will be in school full time in the fall, so it will just be 2 at home - and I’m wondering if they shouldn’t go to some kind of daycare so they get to be with other kids (they’ll be almost 2 and almost 4 this fall).

Writing all this out makes me think I should just go with Nanny B and deal with looking for new care in the fall. I’d still appreciate any advice if anyone else sees anything I’m missing.
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I think you’ve got a good idea on how to proceed. Are there local preschool/nursery programs that you could look into for the 2 and 4 year old? They are less hour-intensive than full-time daycare, but would still give your kids lots of opportunities to play with others and give you time to work.
 
Do you have friends? Talk with them avidly, and religiously. You need to understand the relativity of what morality is. You cannot express what something is needing radical proof of true interest.
 
You should go with Nanny B. As for alternatives to a nanny, if you can find legit Montessori daycares/preschools in your area, they tend to encourage a lot of outdoor time and are priced reasonably compared to nannies and many regular daycares.

The Montessori daycares, in my experience, also have lots of options as their norm (whole or half, 2, 3, 4 or 5 day) so you can mix and match more easily with the time your parents are taking the kids.
 
I’d go with Nanny B for the summer and look for a Nanny C to replace her. She gives better care, she does more work generally for the salary you pay her, and you know when you are going to have her and when you are going to lose her. I think you’d be wise to look for care for the other two in case you cannot find a Nanny C–the best childcare does not just drop from the sky–but if you can afford a nanny I’d say the arrangement is working out rather well for you and gives you more opportunities to parent directly.
 
kdbueno said:
Do you have friends? Talk with them avidly, and religiously. You need to understand the relativity of what morality is. You cannot express what something is needing radical proof of true interest.
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:confused:
 
tinamn said:
Writing all this out makes me think I should just go with Nanny B and deal with looking for new care in the fall. I’d still appreciate any advice if anyone else sees anything I’m missing.
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I think the idea you are obligated to Nanny A is you hang up. They are employees, not friends or family (although certainly being friendly with them is par for the course of having someone in your home extensively).

Nanny A isn’t doing a good job and has a schedule that doesn’t allow her to do the job you hired her to do, requiring you to get Nanny B in the first place-- terminate Nanny A.

Keep Nanny B and look for Nanny C or daycare.

Seems simple to me.
 
tinamn said:
I work from home and have for over 5 years now - but I’ve never been able to do it without having childcare of some sort. We started having a nanny come to the house 4 years ago, and it’s been great - I can still be part of the kids daily lives but I am free to take calls or shut a door and work hard if I need to get things done.

Anyway, we hired a new nanny (Nanny A) after our move this past fall - we moved too far for our previous nanny to continue with us. Nanny A is in an online nursing program, so her schedule was flexible. Starting in January, she starting having clinicals, so we had to hire a 2nd nanny (Nanny B) to cover for the times Nanny A couldn’t work. Since then, the Nanny B has ended up doing 3, sometimes 4 of the 5 work days due to the Nanny A’s crazy schedule.

Now that summer is here, for the sake of the budget I need to change up the schedule a bit, plus my parents volunteered to take the kids one day to help save money as well. Nanny A’s schedule has lightened somewhat, so Nanny B now would be down to 1-2 days. She is looking for a new position that would give her more hours.

Here is my dilemma:
Nanny B is in school for elementary/preschool education. She does a GREAT job with my kids - they get outside, go for walks, read books, etc. She also cleans up after the kids and does other little things around the house as she sees them and has time. She will be starting student teaching in the fall.

Nanny A is the original that we had a “contract” with (nothing where she signed it and there is a term, just general guidelines, etc), so I feel somewhat obligated to give her hours now that she is available, but her schedule will change in 6 weeks and she may not be as available. She also rarely takes the kids outside, and usually leaves a mess behind.

Nanny A could be with us (albeit at a random schedule) through the end of next school year. Nanny B starts student teaching in the fall.

If I let Nanny A go in favor of Nanny B, who by all accounts does a much better job, I’ll be looking for new care in the fall. But if I keep Nanny A, I may be looking for a backup person in as little as 6 weeks, and my kids will be bored out of their minds all summer.

The other part of this is that my oldest two will be in school full time in the fall, so it will just be 2 at home - and I’m wondering if they shouldn’t go to some kind of daycare so they get to be with other kids (they’ll be almost 2 and almost 4 this fall).

Writing all this out makes me think I should just go with Nanny B and deal with looking for new care in the fall. I’d still appreciate any advice if anyone else sees anything I’m missing.
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Let A go; keep B until the Fall and send everyone to school/day care. My grandson has been to 2 different day cares in the past year and both had the children outside for long periods during the day, plus they served lunch, had the kids take naps and were a BIG help in toilet training.
 
kdbueno said:
Do you have friends? Talk with them avidly, and religiously. You need to understand the relativity of what morality is. You cannot express what something is needing radical proof of true interest.
Click to expand...
To that I say:

“How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck, could chuck, wood?”
 
My husband’s name was Chuck (Charles).

How do you chuck wood, anyway?
 
Arizona_Fat_Gir said:
My husband’s name was Chuck (Charles).

How do you chuck wood, anyway?
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To chuck something is just to toss it or throw it in a careless manner. It also means to throw something away. You don’t need a catapult (as in pumpkin chucking).
kdbueno said:
Do you have friends? Talk with them avidly, and religiously. You need to understand the relativity of what morality is. You cannot express what something is needing radical proof of true interest.
Click to expand...
I have no idea what you mean by “the relativity of what morality is” or " radical proof of true interest."

Actually, I don’t understand what kind of avid or religious conversation is wanted, either. I’m totally confused. :confused:
 
tinamn said:
…Writing all this out makes me think I should just go with Nanny B and deal with looking for new care in the fall. I’d still appreciate any advice if anyone else sees anything I’m missing.
Click to expand...
It’s amazing how clear some things become once we try to write out the situation in order to explain it to others. 😃 (This forum has helped me immensely over the years with things that I’ve never actually posted.)
 
ThePCWife said:
You should go with Nanny B. As for alternatives to a nanny, if you can find legit Montessori daycares/preschools in your area, they tend to encourage a lot of outdoor time and are priced reasonably compared to nannies and many regular daycares.

The Montessori daycares, in my experience, also have lots of options as their norm (whole or half, 2, 3, 4 or 5 day) so you can mix and match more easily with the time your parents are taking the kids.
Click to expand...
Or Waldorf’s.
 
kdbueno said:
Do you have friends? Talk with them avidly, and religiously. You need to understand the relativity of what morality is. You cannot express what something is needing radical proof of true interest.
Click to expand...
I will give translation a try 😃

Do you have friends = What is the norm where you live. Doo most people in your neighborhood have nannies or us day care, or are you the only person in town needing day care arrangements

Talk with them avidly and religiously = They would provide the best advice, contact them ASAP

You need to understand what the relativity of morality = look at the whole picture. Nanny A did not do a sufficient job and actually was not even available to do it after a while. who is really being immoral

And now for the difficult one …

You can not express = you don’t now

What something is needing = which issue, ie You give Nanny A secure employment vs Nanny honors her contract give you all hours promised and does good work

radical proof of true interest = is the real issue at hand

So should I be linguist :p:
 
gardenswithkids said:
It’s amazing how clear some things become once we try to write out the situation in order to explain it to others. 😃 (This forum has helped me immensely over the years with things that I’ve never actually posted.)
Click to expand...
Me, too. Once you have read enough threads, you can almost read the answers before you post the question. (And I’ve read way too many threads, LOL!)
 
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