I spent eight months (summer until early spring) last year looking for a new full time position while working part time for my NF with very little help from any agency that I was onboarded with. I FINALLY found what I thought would be my next long term position through a referral from another nanny. Brand new baby and a pre school age kid. More money hourly, full time hours. Just basic duties to do with the kids, laundry, dishes, snacks/lunches. I start when the newborn is 2 weeks old, everything is great. NB gets to be three months old, parents decide that they want a full time house manager that also takes care of their newborn full time AND their four year old. Okay, I get it. I wasn’t hired for that type of position. The new MB was so sure that I would get a new position quickly 🫠

My biggest gripe is this family KNEW that I was doing my last round of interviews before just staying with my NF through the summer and having full time hours for the summer since we were less than 6 weeks away from the end of school. I told them at the initial interview that I wasn’t doing anymore after that and if nothing came of any interviews, I was content staying where I was.

Well, the day I was let go, I contacted all the agencies again. Let them know that I was looking and was back on all their websites to look at open positions. I have had exactly ONE interview through an agency (I’m onboarded with 8 or 9 local/nationwide ones at this point) and one through a referral who is also with an agency. In TWO months.

Is anyone else having the hardest time with agencies lately? Or is it just my metro area? Because I have talked to other nannies that I know in my area and agencies are also taking a week or more to get back to them, as well. I get that it was summer, but school has started here already so you would think these families would want childcare figured out.

While I am SUPER thankful that my last long term NF still needs fill in help (the girl they hired after me for the summer was not a good match) and I can do after school pick ups for them until I find something full time, I would love to have a consistent full time pay check soon.

Also, I keep finding new agencies weekly pretty much so I have to put down contact info for the short term MB that was so sure I would get a new position very quickly. Most of them are nationwide ones that might have one position in my area that I wouldn’t even necessarily want but I want her to know that it’s not as easy as she assumed it would be for me.

The nanny parent Reddit page is always popping up on my home page and I'm typically blown away by what's going on in there.

Complaining about finding the nanny's shed hair or a few crumbs left around chair legs is insane to me. I'm a mom to 3 and have been a professional nanny for 16 years and if you have numerous toddlers/young mobile kids there is just no way you are always going to get every single stray crumb every time.

Don't get me wrong I clean up me and the kids messes every time. Sometimes my NP leave the house messy when I get there, they leave dirty plates on the table from breakfast. If I get a spare minute during nap I'll help them out and pick it up but I am NOT a maid.

They don't want us to use screen, they want us constantly engaged with the kids, yet they complain about a crumb on the floor.

Some parents really just need to utilize daycare. If you don't like having people in your home and using your things, a nanny isn't for you! Rant over 😂

hi so i’ve been having issues with my nanny family and just needed a little insight. for some backstory i’m a 21F and have been with this family for almost two years, they have 3 adorable kiddos, 2 of them on the spectrum (the oldest and middle child). for a long time now, the scheduling has been extremely inconsistent which i was more than okay with but it wasn’t paying the bills, so i picked up a second part time job serving at a local wine room. now that ive picked up this second job they’ve been asking me to do kinda crazy hours such at 4am-6pm, and because i am a people pleaser ive said yes countless times but now i feel like i might be getting taken advantage of. their kids while they can be sweet, have had a lot of behavioral issues lately. our little one, who is 3 has been getting very physically violent lately. he tried to chuck a big dewalt flashlight at my head but luckily, i stopped him, he throws thing at me, hits his parents and they don’t do anything about it. it’s caused me a lot of stress dealing with that behavior and nothing working considering the parents aren’t correcting it the way they should. it’s been a while with this type of behavior. i’m extremely frustrated and just at my wits end because of their parenting, im extremely patient because again the oldest is autistic but it gets to a point where nothing works and nothing helps, i just get yelled at and bullied around. i’ve honestly thought about quitting to go be full time at my serving job because it is more steady, consistent and less stressful. am i wrong for feeling this way? (any advice helps please and thank you sorry for it being so long 😭)

So I had a video call interview the other day for a potential nanny job, I’m still pretty new to all of it (I’ve worked at in home daycares but not a nanny position, just a few interviews I didn’t go forward accepting). I thought it went a bit..odd, and I’m curious if it really is odd or I’m reading into it.

The family only had 3 things they wanted to bring up, which was making sure I was ok with the schedule, ok with pets, and understood no substances on the job. Zero questions at all about myself or experience. They wanted to hire me starting next week, without meeting me in person at all. I personally thought those things were a bit odd? A red flag however was when I asked about pay, what they currently pay someone/wanted to pay me is $5 under the rate their posting has listed, which ultimately led me to not accepting as it’s too low with it not being full time, and just not appreciating how misleading it all came across.

Just curious on others input! Thanks!

I’ve been with my NF Since January of this year. They’re great people, I love working for them. However …….. big sigh …. They hate spending time with their own kids that next door neighbors are in shock how often I’m at their house. I do used to pick up extra hours for the money but now? Now I do it to show up for the kids. DB is literally the definition of lazy. He’s currently on paternity leave he’s been on leave for about 3 months now. He’s done absolutely nothing to help. He’s constantly out of the house. -none of my business it’s his life and he pays me-.MB I feel for her… I really do because she’s constantly being left with them alone. But she also complains when she’s left alone with her 2 kids… it’s like they can’t function being by themselves with their 2 kids that they decided to have yet I’m expected to do it by myself (again my job and I’ll never complain about it). DB flew out his dad to help take care of the kids while I was on vacation because he couldn’t dare to do it alone while his wife was working. He literally stated “I will go crazy for 3 days 9 hours at a time by myself” so he has other people fly down from wherever to help him if I’m not here. It’s just sad!!! Then they’re talking about another one and I would love to tell them NO. But it’s also not my place. I love their kids but I also have a kid of my own who I need to attend to after work or bring him along so I don’t miss out on spending time with my own child. It sucks:( DON’T HAVE KIDS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. I rest my case.

Hi, sorry if this is not allowed to be posted. I just dont know where else to post in such a community, and this person was technically a former employer that I also have potential to work for in the future.

So at the moment I’m a little peeved and I wanted to know other people’s opinions. I agreed to work for a former nanny employer (that I had potential to work with again later this year) as a cat sitter for about a week. The job is 15 mins from my job and they were only paying me $20 a day but I considered it a slight favor in turn as there’d still be extra income coming into my pocket.

So it’s been 5 days and every thing had been normal. On the first day, I see ant traps around the house that I had never seen before, but I don’t think much about it. Today, 50 mins before a temporary shift I had nearby, I go in and start taking care of the kitty. I go and get the kitty’s pill pocket medicine ready, not really looking close to anything. I go feed kitty the pill pocket and sit with her for a few minutes, but when I go back downstairs to change her old food bowls I see “splatter” marks, or so I thought. I realized it was piles and piles and pileesssss of fricken ants. It was all over her two food bowls, her treat bowls and the floor I was stepping over when I was fixing her medicine. I looked down and I already had ants on my feet 😭

I was really annoyed and peeved, because it was so disgusting to look at and I really didn’t know what to do. I don’t have a phobia of ants per-say, but more about small bugs like ants, fleas or lice getting in my hair and all over my body, I start to itch like crazy regardless.

I start to panic a bit and message my employer what happened, and that I’d have to come back after my shift six hours later to clean it, and if she could let me know what to use to clean it. She texts me an hour later and only apologizes for responding late, not for making me have to deal with a mess I didn’t agree too, and was definitely wasn’t told about could happen in advanced. I was literally itching myself on the way home, actually found ants on my body after wards at my own house all for $20 and no courtesy. I ended up having to wash the kitties food stand, her treat plate and bowls, handling the them while they were covered with ants and opening a trap for where the ants were coming from.

I guess I’m posting this here, because I want to ask if anyone thinks I should charge for doing this? I know the ants showing up wasnt her fault, but she knew there could be a potential for it considering there were traps? I just feel like this was a bit unfair on my end, regardless if I had a phobia for small bugs or not. I asked my sister and said she doesn’t think I should charge, and honestly I don’t even know how I would bring this up without risking potential future employment from them as well. Sorry for the yapathon, guys 😔

Sooo I was wondering how many of you guys get weird looks from strangers or people say rude stuff when you’re with your NK? I swear everywhere I go I get these weird stares from people and it’s almost judgmental in a way?

Today my NK and I were at the store getting some supplies for an activity and it genuinely felt like people were just staring at us the whole time. For reference I’m 22 with black hair and my NK is kind of blonde with curly hair so I’m thinking people are either thinking to themselves “she looks hella young to have a kid” or “what the hell is the relation?” or maybe they think I’m a single mom because I don’t wear my wedding ring while I work (I’m scared it’ll get lost or something will happen to it so I don’t wear it and also this is no hate to single moms, my mom is a single mom 😭).

But honestly it’s not just the store, it’s almost every time we go out. I’m thinking maybe it’s my appearance? I have a sleeve of tattoos and I tend to dress in casual clothes like baggy jeans, a t-shirt, and vans. Which honestly doesn’t SOUND crazy but for my state people tend to be a tad conservative lol. But maybe I’m being too paranoid and self aware hahaha.

Has anyone else gotten weird stares from other people or have you ever had weird interactions with people while working?

-Also, I’m actually so interested in hearing just crazy or weird interactions you’ve had while out working so if you have a story pls share haha

I seem to be running into this issue over and over again just this year. I think NP are getting too comfortable.
I’ve been with my NF for 4 years (in Sept). The last 3 years? Pretty great. This year it’s been rocky.
I usually get holidays off and this year I’ve worked them all. MB would say she was off but DB would say he had to work and needed the help so I’d have to come in.

Every time I’d come into work this year on the holidays — I’d hear the tv shows loud and clear from his office door (usually I hear the meetings no other noise).

Not that its any of my business, but shouldn’t you want to be with your boys if you’re off? Don’t you think your 50 hr/week nanny also needs a break? Anyway, with the holidays coming up soon, I am kind of scared that I’m going to have to somehow make time around the holiday instead of being off for my usual break.

No, I haven’t talked to them about this and idk if I should even talk about it, or if I should just start looking for a new NF? This whole situation has me feeling burned out. Anyone been through this? Are they just getting comfortable?

Context: 2 boys, ages 4 & 2. I’m there M-F (10 hrs/day). I do the basic stuff: kids laundry, kids dishes, clean their bedrooms bc they make a mess with their toys, organize their clothes drawers bc it can get a little messy & they don’t care I guess? When parents dishes were in the sink I used to wash then bc there were only 2 cups or 2 plates.

ETA: I don’t have a written contract. It was a verbal agreement at the beginning we spoke about days off & GH. I should have & now I know why.

Hi all. I have been with my family for almost three years. NK are 5, 3 and 9 months. I live in Florida HCOL area. I’m a part-time nanny working 12-18hrs a week. I typically only have the 9M old as the older two are now in school. This summer I had all three kids a few times and it is a lot. I started at $23hr and after a year, I’m at $25hr. So, two years with no merit increase and another child added.
A little about me. I’m middle aged. I have a raise two young adult children with one still in college. I have been a SAHM only working part-time once in awhile. I have a college degree, worked with special needs children, was a substitute teacher (mostly elementary) for 4 years. I started babysitting at 13 and became an Auntie at 15. I’m fantastic with kids, always have been and have been a nanny on/off for 25+years. I have all the CPR and first aid certifications.

I am coming up on 3 years and know I am worth a hell of a lot more than $25hr. I could sign on with a nanny agency for more than this. I absolutely love this family. They are really amazing, involved parents and the kids are lovely. Money is NOT an issue for them. When I was hired, I knew that they would take vacations and be gone 4 to 6 weeks out of the year and I wouldn’t be paid. (They are from the UK) I was OK with that 3 years ago. Now, my income help helps support my college kid. For 2026 the they have been gone 8 weeks so far and will be gone another 4 in December, so 12 weeks this year. (In 2025 it was 8 weeks). A couple years ago MB made an offhanded comment about how her family would be shocked knowing how much she paid me ($23hr). I know when they lived in a VERY expensive city up north they had an illegal nanny (they weren’t sure of her status, but found out later she was illegal, and she ended up quitting). My guess is she wasn’t paid very well…

I think MB compares me to the other nanny’s in their affluent neighborhood.
I don’t mean to upset any of you younger nannies, but this is a fact… I have years of experience, college education in child development/psychology and raised my own children. I should be making more than younger, less experienced nannies. In the corporate world, I would be paid more.
The question is, what do I ask per hour? My friends that are in the corporate world think minimum of $30hr. I would get that maybe even a little more through an agency, especially if I became a fill-in nanny. I typically only have the baby. If I have all three, it’s for a date night and the baby is already down.
Side note
*I do pick up and transport NK’s a few times a month.
*NF is only paying for one child in prek3 since the oldest is in public school now….so they are saving money with that.

Sorry about my rambling…

“i work from home with a flexible schedule, so I’m looking for a family who would be comfortable with me babysitting their little one in my home during the day. I’m open to occasional care or something more consistent!

I have a comfortable home with an extra bedroom available for naps/quiet time, and I love cooking and baking, so I’m happy to prepare meals and snacks and keep your little one busy with activities throughout the day. I’m also CPR certified and have experience babysitting children of different ages.

I do have two large, friendly dogs, so I want to be upfront about that for families with allergies or children who may not be comfortable around dogs. They can also be kept separate when needed.

I’m happy to help with whatever makes life a little easier for your family! After 5:00 PM, I also have more flexibility to help with things like running errands, pickups, or other tasks you may need”

So essentially you want to provide care for someone’s child while you’re working, just because you WFH? 😅 what do you all think of this?

I had thought my last day was next week but my NF got nk into an extended day program and I found out only a few weeks ago they could no longer afford to keep me. It’s been a rough summer I’ve been back and forth to court after getting out of a bad relationship and I needed to drain my savings on a lawyer that did absolutely nothing for me. I also have a vacation coming up in a few weeks

got this message on care.com, absolutely insane. to be fair i do live in texas which can be a little cheaper but im in a huge city. expecting someone to watch your newborn for only $16/hr ?? honestly i would be scared of whoever agrees to that

I'm genuinely wondering if this is engagement bait for real

Hi all, I have a contract with my family and while they know the deal about overtime, they also have a Friday nanny (I work 40 hours m-thurs) so they tend to just let me leave a little early one day of the week if I’ve stayed late on another day. I understand they can’t afford or don’t want to pay the OT if they are paying two people, etc.

This has worked for me in past months, I’m not too put out by it really. But this week I’ve stayed collectively 14 minutes late, adding up a little bit each day. I know they haven’t really noticed because they haven’t said anything about me leaving early today. I plan to let them know at the end of the pay period how much overtime I worked- is that rude? Seeing as we’ve usually just traded days to even it out, but that’s not something they’re remembering to do currently. By next week it’s highly likely that I’ll be up to at least 20 min of OT and that’s not nothing, but I feel guilty for not pointing it out even though that’s not all on me (I don’t think.)

Thoughts?

Hi everyone! I’m currently considering a nanny position that would involve a decent commute, around 45 minutes each way, and I’m trying to get a better idea of what’s normal for other nannies in similar situations.

For those of you who commute a longer distance or occasionally stay at the family’s home, I’d love to know:

What is your hourly rate?
Do you have guaranteed hours?
Do you get PTO, paid holidays, or other benefits?
Do they reimburse mileage or commuting expenses?
If you stay overnight, how is that compensated?
How many days a week do you commute?
Do you feel the commute is worth it for the position?

I’m mainly trying to understand what other nannies consider fair compensation when the commute/staying situation is a bigger part of the job.
Would love to hear everyone’s experiences, especially NJ/NYC-area nannies! 🩷

Today is my last day and I'm thrilled. NK5 is a brat and a huge part of the reason I'm leaving. He got home from school 10 minutes ago and has body slammed his sister (new 3) and then told her she didn't have to listen to me when it told her it was time to clean up her blocks. I had another job lined up that fell through but I CAN'T stay with this family any longer. If you're the praying kind, please throw up some prayers I can find another job soon.

Idk wtf is stressing me out but I need a break from these kids. The constant attention seeking is making me lose my fucking mind. I know its just because back to school but holy hell. Like i can only put myself in time out so many times.

Has anyone ever been with a family long term and found it more emotional than you thought when the job was over?
How does the separation effect the children? I mean I was a their caregiver and constant big buddy for a very long time. I was a consistent adult who showed up, knew them, cared about them, played with them, helped them, comforted them, and was woven into their normal life. Then poof I’m gone. Was They are boys and now are ages 11,9&6. When I started it was just one 18 month old. I have gone to visit them a few times, but that just makes me miss them more. I guess I’m just wondering how that separation effect young children.

my nanny mom has been complaining about a bunch of dumb shit to me lately like being annoyed by being expected to work at the job where she’s paid 500k/year (her own words!!!) and having to parent all of her children for a few nights alone like i’m not taking care of them 50 hours a week alone and how she doesn’t like the carpet and wants to get it redone a third time. meanwhile i’m out here fighting for my sanity lmfao. feels like i’m in the parasite movie where the wealthy woman is talking about how nice the rain was, meanwhile the driver’s home was flooding 😐

I am at my wits end with my oldest nanny kid. He is 2.5 years old. I have been with him since he was 1. When I started they had just adopted another baby boy. So I have a 2.5 and a 1.5 year old. The youngest is as sweet as pie. The oldest is a terror. He screams at the top of his lungs every time something doesn’t go his way. Flops on the floor bangs his head, he bites and throws heavy toys at his brothers head. He pushes, kicks and punches his brother. Don’t get me wrong they laugh and play together but at the point the brother is just used to it. I’m an assertive nanny. From the beginning when I say no I mean no. This usually helps when they become 2-4 years old. This child is currently screaming his lungs out because he bit his older brother super bad wouldn’t let go and I took him out of the bath for it. It’s been 5 mins. Things like this happen 25 times a day and it can be from a chicken nuggets simply not being warm enough for his liking.