TuscMoms.com

I have been a stay at home Dad for the past 9 months after being laid off. the time I have been able to spend with my 2.5 year old son has been so special. Getting a new job has been great news for our bank account, but I have to say as we cuddled and watched shrek this morning, that I will miss my time with him and my 5yr old girl.

My wife works 45-50 hrs/week and I will be working about the same. I am looking for a nanny/hskpr who would work from about 2-6 during the week, pick the kids up from school/daycare, do some housework (basics, maybe a deepcleaining chore once a week) watch the kids and get dinner prepared.

Any ideas what the going rate is ?
Where I might find someone who id dependable, has a car and I can trust with our kids ?

Chris
vail99@hotmail.com

I have no idea what the going rate is, but I imagine it is hourly and more than minimum. Here it would probably be like 6 or 7 an hour.

I would check out sittercity.com or see if there is a nanny service in town. A place that runs background checks and has a screening process. Otherwise, good places to find babysitters, etc are through friend recommendations and local churches.

I was a nanny all through college and I was paid $10/hour and I took care of two kids - picked them up from school, took to dance, etc. I used their vehicle(they had an extra one), so I didn't have to worry about gas money. I didn't really do any housework, except for the occasional load/empty the dishwasher when looking for bottles and I kept the playroom cleaned up for the most part. I loved doing it while in college because I could schedule my class hours around when they needed me and the extra money was great. Maybe if you know someone with college age kids that might be interested. I was a Education major and a lot of people in that major did that type of job because we all loved kids. Maybe you could contact the University Elem. Ed department and see if they have anyone they would suggest or if you could post an add somewhere.

I loved that job and really miss the kids! Hope you find someone you like and who your kids adore!

Welcome, vail99! It's nice to see a SAHD on here! I hope you'll stick around, even after you go back to work. We welcome all parents, though we're called Tuscmoms.
It made me smile to read your post because it sounds like you have really cherished every day at home with your kids.

I agree with cadensmom - check with the university. I know a lot of moms in town have found wonderful babysitters at the university. And perhaps, like cadensmom said, there is a student who is looking to do exactly what you need.

Welcome Vail99. I was a nanny a few years ago for a military family in MS and I made 10-13 an hour depending on what the day/week held. I took one of the children to school and kept the baby at home with me all day. I did laundry, light cleaning, and ran errands. I used their car or they paid for my gas. I also cooked for the children a few days a week.

I'm not sure if this will work for you, but we have a couple of college women who watch our daughter 10-15 hours per week. I initially advertised in the Crimson White and got an overwhelming response. Having a huge supply of starving college students in town is a great benefit on this front.

The downside is (and why it might not be a solution for you) they sometimes need more flexibility than a non-college student what with exams and social things that come up. That's why we keep a couple on hand. I have some friends who use college students for more hours than us and tend to split it between two regular sitters just so they are not completely at a loss if one of the flakes or needs lots of time off. And you have to factor in that over the Christmas break, they may be gone.

Lest it sound too negative, the upside is that the women we've found are terrific! There's a huge supply of sitters with a real love for and interest in kids. And you can specifically look for ones who are going into education, social work, nursing - professions where they are learning skills they can bring to the job.

We pay $10 per hour (after taxes) for one child. We started out at $8 and had plenty of people who were interested. We bumped it up once we found someone who was working well and we wanted to sweeten the deal to make sure she had every incentive to stick with it. We're now going into our second year with her.

Good luck! And congratulations on the job!