Finding a nanny has been harder than I expected, to say the least. I always knew that finding good childcare and particularly finding a nanny would be a challenge. However, I did not realize that I would encounter a lot of nannies that are demanding to an extent that I think is just unreasonable, not to mention nannies that just seem a bit presumptuous and flat out mean. I have had far too many video interviews with nannies over the last couple of weeks that really have proved to me that the nanny business is pretty much just like every other business in America: it is driven by money, and there is a large sense of entitlement here.  

I had one nanny go on a long rant for probably about 3 to 4 minutes at the beginning of our conversation where she complained about how a family who did a trial with her did not disclose that their child was a premature baby. She was so exacerbated by this when she arrived at their house because the baby was very small and had a weak suck. She got angry and said that these are the types of things that families should tell the nanny ahead of time. She says that she does not work with premature babies. They are supposedly just too high maintenance, too delicate, and she really doesn’t think that the nanny salary is enough to cover the amount of care that a premature baby requires. As far as I know, the only thing that a preemie baby needs that a full-term baby does not require is to have her bottles sterilized after every use, whereas a full-term baby can just have her bottles washed with soap and warm water. If the baby takes formula, the water used for her formula needs to be boiled and cooled before using to mix. I am not sure why she went on a rant just about this. I personally thought that she was an asshole for saying this, but hey, if she can be a nanny and have these types of judgments and prerequisites with her families, then all power to her. It was already a red flag when she was complaining about all her previous families and even her trial families, but the last straw of this conversation before I hung up was when she told me that she expects 100% cash payment not just for the trial, but also for all payments moving forward. This is definitely a no go. When I told her that we would require electronic payment, she literally laughed in my face and said, “Why? You need to document all of this?” It was as though she was mocking me.

I just want to find someone who is kind, warm, has a lot of energy, can follow instructions and be attentive to detail, and just loves and has a lot of experience with babies. Why is this such a challenge in the nanny search??