View Full Version : How to find a Mother's Helper?
I'd love to have someone come for a couple of hours during the week to occupy the kids while I get some things done, but I'm not sure where I'd find someone :shrug
Does anyone have suggestions/recomendations?
jodiemiller
05-10-2010, 11:46 AM
There is an advertisement for a nanny on the notice board at our local general store (Winn Rd), rates by the hour, light household duties included. Very reasonable price for the service, I thought. Will collect details this arvo if you like.
Yes please Jodie. Thanks :-)
mama_bel
05-10-2010, 12:46 PM
A local teenager, in your street? I know a lot of homeschooled teens like this type of work. :)
michelle_j_r
05-10-2010, 01:23 PM
i think i might also go the local teenager option. If you are going to be in the house at the time and just want some space to get stuff done then there would have to be a child of a friend or neighbour that wanted some extra pocket money.
I had a 13yr old girl come and watch my two boys way back ages ago when Jordy was about 2 and Darcy was a newborn and i (naively!) thought i was busy and tired. oh, bring back those days of leisure! :rofl But she had fun playing for just a few hours and i did lord knows what and paid her $10 and everyone thought it was great.
If you were not going to be in the house then it would be a different story....
What about my babysitter E, 18year old daughter of gentlenest? She has great AP ideals.
What about my babysitter E, 18year old daughter of gentlenest? She has great AP ideals.
Great idea S.
How much per hour do you want to pay? A friend and I are considering starting up exactly this kind of gig.
soulmama
05-10-2010, 03:15 PM
Contact your local community centre about programs that help with parenting children under 5. I've had 3 volunteers from Good Beginnings up here on the coast and the kids love the support. :D
Thanks everyone. SM, I'll check that out.
Moo - Probably around $15 an hour? I'm not really sure what the going rate is :shrug
jodiemiller
05-10-2010, 05:36 PM
Didn't get to the shop today, but will tomorrow morning. I think it's more than $15/hr for the blue card holding nanny. More like $20, but I thought reasonable for being able to leave the house.
mama_bel
05-10-2010, 06:25 PM
I had a 16 year old a couple of years ago and paid her $12.50 and hour for 4 hours ($50) once a week. I would expect to pay an adult more. She just sort of hung out with the kids, didn't initiate any activities or encourage them to clean up. ;) If I was home, and kind of available, I think I'd expect to pay a bit less than if I was out and only contactable by phone.
Heaps of great ideas here Madi, hope you find someone!
Mercurious
05-10-2010, 06:36 PM
It sounds like a great idea, but the question is, will your children let you do you thing if they know you are there?
Good question Bec, I'd just have to see I guess.
A good babysitter will intercept them before they get to you. When they come to me I just tell them that E will get them what they want and she gets up and does it. After a while they learn that going straight to her is the quickest way and she says yes more than me too.
I set up a heap of stuff from the craft cupboard and tell them that E will do x,y and z with them. She takes them for a walk to the park. If you have a park nearby, it is a great option. Kids always want to go to the park and she can walk them and bring them back, asleep in the stroller if needed. She will also babywear.
I pay her $25 per hour but that is because she is paid carer wages because Mamre pay her to help me and they have to pay her that wage. You don't have to pay her that much though.
Also as soon as E arrives, I spend a few minutes running down what I want her to do, including snacks and lunch. I make sure she knows where everything is so she doesn't need me.
My kids love seeing her because they get some uninterrupted attention. She is fun.
Do Mamre cover the entire cost, Kali?
Yeah, so it is win win for both of us. My DSQ respite worker gets the same carer wage paid by DSQ.
mama_bel
05-10-2010, 10:24 PM
That's fantastic, Kali! :)
so therein lies the dilemma: pay less for a teen who will supervise kidlets, but likely not much else......OR.......pay more for a blue carded carer who will possibly cover the gamut of what is req'd??? Or a large part of it at least.
boy wrangler
05-10-2010, 10:54 PM
Kali that is great! So good that you get a break and a chance to catch up on stuff.
I'm pretty sure that my two wouldn't go to someone else if I were at home, E especially. If I'm home I have to do everything. Daddy just doesn't cut it, but when I'm not around he's fine!
Hope you find someone you're comfortable with soon.
For me, it was about letting the kids build up a rapport with the carer before I left them and then only leaving them for a short time and then building that up.
I guess it depends on your budget and how confident you feel in the teenager. I was confident because when I arranged it I spoke at length with her mum and we had an understanding that she could ring her mum at any time, and if the worst came to it, her mum could come and help her, so I had an awesome backup carer.
Esther
06-10-2010, 01:22 AM
I get respite but it isn't working out so well. She is only 19 and isn't very mature. I once had another carer around this age and she was so much better. I really need to be able to go out and do things. I am thinking she may grow into the role but I only go out locally so I can get back quickly if I need to. I have said that she can ring me if she has problems (which she did tonight) but she did end up sorting it out. So glad I didn't have to rush back. Also I find that the younger carers aren't so good at keeping the kids busy so you aren't disturbed. Though depends on the person.
Hope you can find someone that will work well with you and the kids.
I have never used this term before but it also exactly what I am after. A "Mother's helper"...
A teenager (anything from 12 to 16) would be perfect. I just want to be able to do some chores around the house and work on my business. At the moment I feel like my husband gets handed babycare duties anytime he wanders too close to me (ie we get know quiet time to ourselves nor family time with bubby).
I had often thought of asking my next door neighbours 8 year old to come play on the floor with my baby while I worked. Just enough to keep her a bit more distracted then usual (and stop her crawling under my desk into the power cords).
A homeschooled teen would be perfect...how do you find such people?
mama_bel
06-10-2010, 01:59 AM
A homeschooled teen would be perfect...how do you find such people?
Maybe you can contact someone through here (http://www.hunterhomeed.com/home.html), and they'll put an ad somewhere in the newsletter or discussion group for you? There might be someone just around the corner who would be perfect?
~kaoss~
06-10-2010, 10:33 AM
A couple of years ago I advertised at the local shopping centre notice board for a high school or uni student to play with the kids while I cleaned the house. I paid $20 for 1 and a half hours. We made it one or two afternoons a week after school. It was her job to play with the kids, read them books while I got some housework and other things done. No changing nappies or disciplining, that was my job (and because I was in the house, it was easy to do).
I had a high school student reply, she ended up being great. Though she doesn't come anymore, she is still a great family friend and came to DS birthday on the weekend. She listed her credentials as having younger siblings. And it only took a week or two for the kids to absolutely adore her because when she was in the house, they had her undivided attention and had fun :)
Beckstar
06-10-2010, 12:49 PM
Well, as a nanny myself, I have answered ads on notice boards and in the paper.
Putting flyers up describing your family and what you want at your local HFS, Library, fave cafe may get the attention of someone who could help.
You could go the teenager option, or a Mumma of one (what I used to do when Ruby was small). They come to your house with their one kid and their kid gets to play with your kids while they supervise and hang out with the kids. Works well for some Mumma's who don't want to leave their kids to go to work, but need the pocket money :)
My daughter is 11 1/2 and has been helping to raise and care for her step brother (at her dad's house). SHe is great with little kids, very patient and mature. I can see that she would be perfect for something like this in the near future. And she would be happy with little money, as she still likes to play anyway :)
cherish
06-10-2010, 07:37 PM
I know that some of the nanny schools look for student placements in home.. I think though they ususally like to have a little baby for the placement- but I can't remember.. might be worth looking into.. Charlton Brown comes to mind
Harmony
07-10-2010, 04:15 PM
I pondered this for quite some time, but besides being too far away to make it financially viable, I decided I'd rather live in a mess than pay someone to play with my kids while I did housework. Well, I'd rather pay someone to clean my house while I play with my kids, but I can't find anyone to clean for me either, as I can't afford to pay them for an hour of their time to travel to us and home again :( So we live in a mess :2lol
jodiemiller
07-10-2010, 05:31 PM
Madi, I checked the nanny blurb again and she's not the girl I thought it was but instead a mature lady with 20 years experience. She does babysitting in the evenings too. I'm holding onto her number!
Well I organised for E (Gentlenest's daughter) to come over for 2 hours this morning and it was terrific. She was so good with the kids, and they were happily playing off in Tabi's room most of the time. I got to vacuum, mop, tidy, clean the bathrooms and toilets, clean out the car, and clean the kitchen. I feel like I've had a workout as well as cleaned the house!
Esther
08-10-2010, 02:25 PM
You got so much done. Glad it worked out so well.
Oh great! I am so glad it worked out for the two of you. :D
Karena
08-10-2010, 03:39 PM
Yay, so glad it worked out well and you managed to get soooo much done.
Hailstorm
08-10-2010, 03:47 PM
That's brilliant!!!
soulmama
08-10-2010, 04:38 PM
Yay!! Great to hear Madi! :heart
Phoenix
08-10-2010, 06:06 PM
Awesome!!
random
08-10-2010, 08:19 PM
That is awesome Madi. Must be such a good feeling to get all that done and for your kids to be having fun as well :great
I am also impressed that you organised it so quickly - I seem to ponder lots of things but never follow through :)
boy wrangler
08-10-2010, 08:25 PM
Great work Madi! Isn't it amazing how much you can get done uninterrupted?
Maybe I'll have to look into this, DH has suggested we get a cleaner. I'm not sure whether I'm offended or not ...
mama_bel
08-10-2010, 09:38 PM
Wow Madi, you got so much done! I'm glad it worked out for you.
jodiemiller
09-10-2010, 08:53 PM
Yay!
Mercurious
09-10-2010, 11:37 PM
I'm so pleased for you! :great I'm so glad you found someone the kids were happy with.
Rinelle
09-10-2010, 11:39 PM
I really should consider this. Sounds like a great day Madi, hope it continues to work so well for you.
Zenifa
11-10-2010, 10:35 PM
Madi, so pleased to hear it all worked out so well for you.
I know that some of the nanny schools look for student placements in home.. I think though they ususally like to have a little baby for the placement- but I can't remember.. might be worth looking into.. Charlton Brown comes to mind
Its still worth considering becoming a "nanny placement family" as the placements usually last 8 weeks and you get a FREE student nanny for 2 full days/week (usually a Thurs/Fri), and you need to be there 80% of the time. I've had 2 lovely young women (20/21yrs) who were local and both of my girls adored them, and yes I was able to get some stuff done around the house (including rest, as the first time I had a broken ankle and needed a mother's help and was offered a student nanny at the right time!).
The idea of a homeschooled teen sounds very appealing too, now, I just need to find one :)
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