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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Would this be a reasonable request to put to a potential nanny?

28 replies

homemama · 08/01/2007 13:57

We're just starting the process really and I've no idea which are the best questions to ask. One of the things I've been wondering about though is car safety. My car is quite expensive and we bought it specifically for safety. We can't afford a third good quality car to give to the nanny so would it be acceptable to suggest that she/he bring their car then I drive their car to work and they use my car to transport the kids?

Please, Nannies don't be offended that I'm suggesting that you all drive rubbish cars. Just that some cars are not as safe as I would like.

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S88AHG · 08/01/2007 13:59

Do you work far away, could the nanny drive you to work in your car then use it all day then pick you up in the evening?

homemama · 08/01/2007 14:02

I'm supply teaching so I'm all over the place. Also, if the nanny drove me then they wouldn't be back in time to take DS to nursery. Thanks for suggestion though!

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beckybrastraps · 08/01/2007 14:04

I would put a lot of miles on the nanny's car. Not to mention insurance. Hmm. Tricky one.

beckybrastraps · 08/01/2007 14:05

it would

Philly · 08/01/2007 14:06

You need to remember that if your Nanny uses their car or in fact yours then it neds to be insured for business use as she is using it as part of her work.I knew someone who didn't check this nanny hasd accisdent car only insured third party,if the child had been injured there would have been no cover.

uwila · 08/01/2007 14:08

That sounds like a really tangled web that I wouldn't want to be a part of. What if her car breaks down and then you can't get to work? What if her car breaks down while you are driving it to work and then you have to pay to tow it. And, she would have to put you on her insurance. Are you going to pay for that ot is she?

Personally, I think you should hire a nanny who has a car you are happy for your kids to ride in.

homemama · 08/01/2007 14:22

Ok, thanks for your input everyone. I had thought about insurance and of course I would pay it. It just seems silly for me to be driving the brand new car with the extra saftey impact bars when my kids are travelling in another car.

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uwila · 08/01/2007 14:23

Can you take public transport to work?

homemama · 08/01/2007 14:29

Not really as we're quite rural with infrequent buses. Many of the schools (primary) are nowhere near bus routes either.

Is this a stange request that nobody else would ask? Maybe the solution is for me to buy a much older car to drive to work. Is this what other people do?
I appreciate everyone's help here. I'll be on here asking lots more over the coming weeks.

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uwila · 08/01/2007 14:34

Personally, I think I would be happy with nanny driving a normal car and if I was really nervous I'd buy her some top of the line isofix seats to go in it. That would be my safety measure.

Also, I would be more concerned about nanny's driving record than I would her car model. To be honest, this isn't high on my list of nanny requirements. Maybe I should reconsider???

How old are the kids?

Blu · 08/01/2007 14:40

My thinking was alongside Uwila's - but then we are in London and ou nanny was unlikely ever to drive at more than 25mph or meet other drivers going at greater speeds!

She used her own car - she also brought her own child who was in the same car.

homemama · 08/01/2007 14:45

Gosh, I hadn't even thought about the car seats. I assumed that each morning I'd transfer my isofix seats into her car, but she may not have isofix. O.k, need to think again. Kids are almost 2 and 3mths.

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homemama · 08/01/2007 14:50

Thanks, Blu. Most of the roads between the villages here are NSL and can be quite hairy especially if you don't know them.

Maybe I'm just being a paranoid mum returning to work for the first time.

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lapinrose · 08/01/2007 14:57

Our nanny had an unreliable 3dr corsa when she first started but it broke down in her first week and she replaced it with a much more suitable car which she was much happier with - we were lucky as she was v conscientious! We paid insurance and bought car seats for her, if she ever needed to take them out e.g. at the w/e she always asked us to check that they had been put back in properly.

Bluebear · 08/01/2007 19:17

My nanny uses her own car to get to work then uses mine during the day (with our car seats)...but then , I can get to work using public transport.
I would suggest you first, find your nanny and see what he/she drives, and then if you are still worried, consider buying a cheaper car to get you to work and put nanny on the insurance to drive your car.
We also have a rule that the car seats stay in the car as much as possible - every time you take one out and re-fit it there is a chance of it not being put in correctly....especially if you have 1 or 2 children which you are trying to watch at the same time.

NannyL · 08/01/2007 19:42

no i wouldnt personally do it...

im very funny about my car.... NO one (except my dad in emergancies) is allowed to drive it...

just cause it would really irritate me if it was bumped or scraped even in the car park by someone else etc!

also my car is so full of all my random stuff that i like to have access to!

i knew a nanny who worked for a family with 4 kids where they had a mitsibushi shogan and a little 4X4 nanny had shogun (that seated 7) during the week, and swapped cars at weekend. also the mum workeed in london so a smaller car suited her better in London

before anyone jumps down my throat they lived miles up a dirt track and actiually needed a 4X4 just to get up there... no normal car would have made it up, espcially of wet or icey!

nannynick · 08/01/2007 20:09

This is rather a tricky one.

My feeling is that a nanny with a rubbish car, would be quite happy... whereas other nannies with good cars, would not.

Insurance could be a headache, as more and more policies do not allow you to drive someone else's car, so you would need to become a named driver, and nanny be named on your policy.

Not fully sure on the company car rules, but you would need to look into that, as you would be providing your employee with a car.

As you have isofix car seats, switching them between cars is not going to work in the majority of cases. My car is 3 years old, it does not have isofix. I don't know how old many nannies cars are, but I would expect that isofix is not common enough yet for a typical nanny to have it in their car, especially for two isofix seats.

The car itself isn't the only issue, there is also the drivers ability to drive the car. Some nannies are quite young and thus may have only a few years driving experience. In nannying as a whole, experience counts for a lot... driving children around in a car is the same, a inexperienced driver who has never driven children around in their car, could be far more easily distracted.

Tricky one. Depending on what you decide to do, it could severely limit the number of potential nanny applicants.

homemama · 08/01/2007 23:06

Thanks. All useful advice. The car seat thing could be tricky so we'll need to consider that. The good thing there though is that with isofix they click straight in so they're either in or not with no straps to negotiate.

My car is a 2yr old BMW X5 but we're changing it is the summer for the newer version so the insurance may be stupid money if the nanny is under 25 (thanks Nannynick for alerting me to that). Before I'm jumped on, we live up an unadopted road so it's a must in heavy wet weather.

I'll need to think some more. I had better come back on here and check my other requests/questions are reasonable before we interview!

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nannynick · 08/01/2007 23:34

Sorry little off topic, but a query on isofix. How many times can you take out the seat and put back in again, before the fitting wears? Is the fitting designed such that the seat is removed on a very frequent basis?

I don't think that swapping seats between cars is really a sensible option. So in this case, either the nanny drives your car (insurance could be rather high), or the nanny uses their own and you fit the seats, so you feel they are secured safely.

When putting your children in the care of someone else, you have to trust them. You will also need to make some compromises at times, in this case you may need to compromise on having the nanny use their own car, which may not have as good an NCAP rating as your own.

Do post more questions as you come up with them... it's always interesting to hear the questions which parents considering employing a childcare want answered.

homemama · 09/01/2007 11:24

Thanks Nannynick, I will.

Also, the chassis is steel so shouldn't be too much wear but no, they're not designed to be moved around.
Lots to think about and you're right about the trust thing. Thanks again

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Bozza · 09/01/2007 11:31

TBH I think investment in another two car seats would be a fairly small issue. We have always had two sets of car seats on the go.

BMW X5 is a big car. Would the nanny be happy driving it?

homemama · 09/01/2007 11:49

Happy to buy an extra set of car seats. Just would have preferred them to be isofix. As I said, I know I've lots to think about. Thanks

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sarz · 09/01/2007 11:52

I think the best solution would be for you to get a small/old car for yourself to drive. By the time you have put yourself on her insurance and her on yours, changed everything to business cover it wouldnt have cost much more to buy a new car, and probably much less effort. I am a nanny and wouldnt want to use my own car at all, not just because of insurance, but because of mileage and i would even less want someone else to be clocking up the mileage!!

piglit · 09/01/2007 11:58

We bought our nanny a 3 year old car that we are happy for our children to travel in. When she came to work for us she had an old banger and I was not happy about her taking the children out in it. Besides, it also meant her insurance went up because she was using it for work and some nannies I've come across don't like using their own car because of the mileage. Her car died about a week after she started working for us so we bought her one and agreed a reduction in her salary to reflect the fact that she didn't have to buy, tax, insure, repair or MOT a car. She has car seats permantly in her car. It is complicated but so far so good. If and when we leaves she'll hand back the car.

HTH

mitbap · 10/01/2007 12:19

Nanny's we've had drive to work in their own car and drive our car during the day. They have to be named drivers on the insurance policy for our car but it does not qualify as business use. They also do keep their cars fully insured with business use so that if our car has a problem (we run only 1 car - not all families who have a nanny are that wealthy!) she can switch to using it for the duration. This has happened when someone drove into the back of our car when she was driving it. In the period our previous Nanny worked for us she never had an accident but the car picked up more small scratches and dints that you can imagine - never did quite work out why - but it did stop when she left!
You have to have the view that accidents can happen to anyone - my dh has had people run into him twice also - and relax as seething resentment over stuff like this will surely poison relationships lead to the loss of a good nanny!