A nanny who is a mom
The other day, we received an email from a parent in Toronto asking what our opinion was about hiring a nanny that is a mom to young children herself.
It can be appealing for parents to hire a nanny that has children of her own. She understands what it is like to stay up all night with a child, she knows what teething looks like, a tantrum is nothing new to her, and she may even give you some tips.
There are a few things to consider when hiring a nanny who has her own young children:
- If she is going to bring her child with her to the job - She really needs to be on the same wave length as you as far as parenting styles and techniques. Behaviour management, nutrition, and other things will need to be consistent between the two children to ensure its fair for both. Generally, the wage for the nanny is usually a little less when she brings her own child with her. Considering having her come a few times with her own child before you hire her - does she show a bias toward her own child? Does her child act like a parent and boss your child around?
- If her child is not coming with her - Determine if she has a backup child care plan when her children are sick or have appointments. The last thing you want is your nanny frequently missing work because her own child is sick.
Before you enter this arrangement, be sure you're comfortable with it. There are different scenarios and you may not be ok with your nanny bringing her child to work with her, and that's ok, it just doesn't work with your family. However, be careful as it is against provincial and federal laws to discriminate against an individual and not hire them because they have children.
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