Nanny's hours

[plibble]

I am going back to work soon and DD will be going to nursery (which closes at 6:30). Someone did suggest that as I work "city hours" I might be better off with a nanny. What are a typical nanny's hours?

My nanny works 7am to 6pm. and she lives out (although nearby). Both DH and I work in the city. I think a slightly more normal day would be 7.30/8 to 6.30/7

or a childminder?
we work looooong hours so you may find one local with space for your dd.

Wow - I had no idea that they would do an 11 hour day (shows what I know!). I suppose the nursery is open for that long, but there would be some advantage in having someone come to my house as I would save time in the morning and DD could start getting ready for bed if I was a bit late. It's definitely something to think about...

I'm a live-in nanny and work 7-30 to 7-30 with 2 nights a week babysitting thrown in.

My nanny does 6:30-7:00. If you work in the city (and don't live in the city) then I think a live-in nannyis about the only way to get there on time. I recently pondered the move back to a childminder and found they wanted to start after I wanted to sitting at my desk. (I also found it to be much more expensive than a live-in nanny, but probably not more than a live-out nanny). But, then I have 2 kids and that nearly doubles the cost of a childminder.

Another option would be to get a nanny/au pair who is responsible for the childcare run and so only works a couplr of hours in morning, evening, or both. But, this plan would of course depend on the age of the child(ren).

im a live out nanny and i work 7.30-6 most days

i'm a live in nanny too and I have worked mostly from 7-7, with 2 nights babysitting thrown in too.

i'm a live in nanny too and I have worked mostly from 7-7, with 2 nights babysitting thrown in too.

im a daily nanny and do 8 - 6... daily nannies typically have a 10 hour day... though many are happy to work a few more hours if they are payed a litle more than average pay

live in nannies often work an 11 / 12 hour day + a week night or 2 of babysitting.

plibbel... anotehr adbanatge of a nanny is that we will do your chidlrens laundry, and keep their rooms and toys tidy, so thats one less chore for you 'working mums' to do and means you have more quality wen you are not working with the chidlren, rather than doing mundane child related housework stuff!

plibble - when you say "city hours" do you mean unpredictable too? If that's the case, a nanny is by far your best option, particularly a live in one. I work those kind of hours and being able to phone up and say "I was supposed to be home by 7, but actually it's going to be midnight" has very little impact on her, because once the kids are in bed, she can just do whatever she was going to do anyway. If you have a childminder who has her own family (most do) it would be completely unreasonable to do that at short notice.

If you can afford one (and I know it is a big if) I really think a nanny is the best option for someone with long hours. There are lots of advantages to the one to one care and being in your house, but particularly you get to have a lot of discussions with the nanny about the care they give, and I've found that when we have a problem with one of my kids, the nanny, dh and I can work together to find a solution and make sure we're all doing the same thing.

even if you have a live-in nanny, most would not be overly impressed if you called to say sorry will be back at midnight instead of 7 (or even 8 instead of 7!)

ok we can all cope with it occasioanlly, weather live in or live out, (working for 2 Drs, i understand how sometimes they are late, and thats it...) and our compenasted with our over time hours but we nannies are people with lives, and being live-in does not mean we stay in your home 24/7!

we have evening plans like everyone else, (aerobics, meeeting friends, maybe shopping etc) and given the long hours we work (especailly when live in when it may be a 12 hour day) we deserve a break a time out.... ok the children may be asleep, but we are still stuck loooking after them and cant live our own lives while doing so

do not expect a live in nanny to be happy with you calling late regualry... you may find you get through LOTS of nannies if that is the case, as they hand in their notice and leave!

Though of course if the salary reflects the on-call nature of the work, then it may appeal to some nannies. Was watching Hampton Nannies last night, and some nannies over there (USA) are getting over $100,000 salary. Guess they must be on-call 24/5, 24/6 or 24/7.

I have to say that in 3 years of working since DS1 was born I have only twice called to say oh-my-god-overtime-starts-right-now-please. both those were in "high risk" weeks where I have been able to say to anny in advance DH is abroad all week and I am rushed off my little feet at work

which I do not think is taking the pee, but is the priceless advantage to me of a nanny over any other form of childcare - I am with FredArthur on this one

and then when you are due to be out in the evening for work, your nanny can have scheduled overtime to babysit, which is much less stressful for all concerned, and easier to arrange

I have had daily nannies doing 10 hour days

if cost is an issue, I recommend a nanny share at your house with someone who does not work city hours but wants the control over childcare that a nanny offers

I have to say that in 3 years of working since DS1 was born I have only twice called to say oh-my-god-overtime-starts-right-now-please. both those were in "high risk" weeks where I have been able to say to anny in advance DH is abroad all week and I am rushed off my little feet at work

which I do not think is taking the pee, but is the priceless advantage to me of a nanny over any other form of childcare - I am with FredArthur on this one

and then when you are due to be out in the evening for work, your nanny can have scheduled overtime to babysit, which is much less stressful for all concerned, and easier to arrange

I have had daily nannies doing 10 hour days

if cost is an issue, I recommend a nanny share at your house with someone who does not work city hours but wants the control over childcare that a nanny offers

fridays child... im sure no nanny would mind an occasional running late! (as i mentioned in my post) things happen

(i work for 2 Drs so i understand that sometime the medical needs of the patient come before them (and consequently me) leaving work on time!)

but it is NOT acceptable to regularly be late because its a nanny and she can on stay at your house, cause as ive said we have lives too!

NannyL, I have to say I'm not quite with you that live in nannies would all object to working longer hours at short notice - it all depends what is agreed up front. Whenever we've interviewed nannies, we have always explained that once every few weeks this happens with our family. That is the nature of my job, unfortunately, and hardly something I do on purpose. This is of course a free country, and I could walk out when bad things happened in the office at short notice because I had no childcare cover, leaving the company I'm advising to go bankrupt (this isn't an exaggeration), but I don't think I'd have a job to go back to in the morning! Unfortunately, I need a nanny who understands that up front and is not offended/upset/angry about it. I've had nannies for five years on that basis and for that very reason, and none have ever complained or been (as far as I know) annoyed about it. About other things, yes, but not about that!

What I was trying to say is that if you need childcare that needs to be flexible at short notice, you're much more likely to find a live in nanny who is happy to do that (if explained that this is part of the job) than a live out. The last time we looked for a nanny, we interviewed a number of people who wanted to live out, and decided that even for the ones who said it wouldn't be a problem, it probably would be, because they'd have to stay up and find their way home late, rather than knocking off work an hour or two late and just doing their normal thing then going to bed, without us in the house.

I have worked for 2 Drs too, as a live in. We came to an agreement that when they were on call I would be paid extra to be on call too. This happened one weekend every 6 weeks. And if they were kept late at work, and therefore I was kept late, which by the nature of their jobs happened at least twice a week so was a regular occurance, I negotiated a slightly higher salary to cover the fact I could not plan a regular gym class etc. So there are some nannies out there who will be flexible enough to accommodate a parents unpredictable schedule but it will cost a little more. I didn't mind the unpredictability, and if I had a specific event I needed to go to and could not risk missing, the parents would hire a babysitter in order to accommodate me. So it goes both ways. I agree with NannyL in that live in nannies should not be expected to be on call/on duty past their regular working hours just in case parents need them. However, a live in nanny is the most convenient arrangement to meet a parent's unpredictable needs and as long as you fairly compensate for her you should find one who is happy to offer some flexibility.

Sorry all, I didn't realise this thread was still going. Thank you for all of your input. Fredarthur, my hours are normally very unpredictable but I have agreed with work that I will leave at 5 each day. In the long term, though, this will not allow me to get anywhere in my career. I suspect that when I have another child I will get a live in nanny (since nursery fees for 2 children will exceed £500 p.w. it might even save me a little money).

It is the unpredictability which is the problem. Doctors at least have the advantage of knowing when they are going to be late or on call and being able to plan. It's pretty obvious that unpredictable hours just don't mix with being the primary carer for a child, but you should have seen the surprised looks on my bosses' faces when I brought this to their attention! And they suggested that I get a nanny, but I couldn't imagine a nanny agreeing to work until 2am every night for a week just because I have to. Well, hopefully my deal on hours will work, otherwise it is back to the drawing board, and probably off to see the recruitment agents, for me!

plibble.... Drs dont always know when they will be late.... my boss is a consultant and at 4.45 they did a little tiny routine op last night.... it all went horribly wrong and she was still in theatre at 8pm.... as the consultant she was the one who couldnt leave!

luckily daddy boss (GP, so equally at the last minute something can go wrong when someone needs seeing now) didnt have probs yesturday and was home on time!

but i do understand that pateints come first, and thats it!...