The Old Check Fraud Attack!! ( from Leigh)
Our blog has just now helped a major media outlet with a great reputation learn about a scam that happens to potential nannies. The scammers gain the trust of the vulnerable nanny who of course needs a job and sustenance , gaining her gratitude and joy by sending some advance pay for time and supplies ( as much as $5000 ), and then asking for some of it back blah blah. Well, you know the rest - the original money is fake, it eventually bounces and the evil-doers have the nanny's hard won money earned thru blood sweat and tears while the nanny is overdrawn and in debt!
Good job ISYN!! Your report inspired talented members of the media to investigate to help other nannies! The report is coming up after the weekend and we will get it to you!!
meanwhile - anyone reading this who has been scammed for money as a nanny there are people who wish to know and help - email us !
key words - fraud against nannies, abuse against nannies, steal money from nannies, lie to nannies
Monday
Suggestions please!!
I am a nanny for a 2 1/2 year old and almost 3 month (13 pound) boys. C was a super easy baby. Slept in crib at 2.5 months. J is transferring from soft bassist like rocker to his crib which he absolutely refuses. We tried everything- rocking to sleep (put in) instant wake up, letting him cry for a few- pick me up now!! We want to try to transfer him to crib but don't want to take time away from 2.5 year old. HELP please!!
Am I underselling myself?
Hello out there! I am hoping to get some feedback on my current situation. I recently started working a FT nanny position with a family who has 3 children. The youngest just turned 1 and the oldest is 7 (in school all day until summer). The middle boy is 5 and only goes to school until around 11.30 a.m. I was hired to work 45 hours per week with OT pay for every hour over 40. So far I have only worked one 45 hour week. On average I have been working around 42 hours per week. I make $13/hr before taxes and $19.5 OT. All this after taxes figures out to $11/hr ONLY IF I am working the full 45/wk. Any fewer hours and I make slightly under 11. I am there 7.30 a.m. till 3.30 or 4.30 everyday and do all the kids laundry and all the dishes for the household, everyday (which means an overflowing sink everyday). I also tidy up the kids rooms and playroom downstairs which is LOADED with, not kidding, probably thousands of toys. I also drive the kids around to school and activities, however, a vehicle is provided for me. I work in a very fancy area filled with wealthy families. I believe having a FT nanny (who cares!) and PT housekeeper is a luxury and is worth more than $11/hr. Especially when considering I do not have any benefits and must buy my own health insurance. Am I way off base? Everyone in my life including a few nanny friends keep telling me I am underselling myself. I like the family but I am 26 (27 soon) and feel that if I work 40-45/wk I should be able to afford to buy decent health coverage and put at least a little money away for the future. I would appreciate any in-put on this! Thank you!
Hi I'm new to this group and I joined because I definitely need some advice from other nannies
I have been working for the same family for the past 3 years.
When I started it was just one boy who was a newborn. My pay started at 450 per week.
After one year I got an annual raise and got 480.
The mom got pregnant after some months and when my next annual review rolled around she was about to give birth. So I got a big new baby raise. $600 per week!
That was one year ago. I had my annual review the other day and was told since child #1 was starting preschool in the fall I don't get any raise because he will be in someone else's care and I'll just have baby #2 to take care of. They want me to pick up other duties since I will have more time. They also want to add two extra hours per week and have that extra money be my raise. (No raise per hour. I'm currently at $17 and they want to keep it that way)
Here are my current duties:
Taking care of children (obviously)
Family laundry once a week (sometimes more)
Emptying dishwasher daily
Extreme flexibility (they are late constantly and always ask me to come early/stay late)
Taking care of dog
Picking up after children and meals
Taking children to appointments
I also potty trained their toddler on my own
Once child #1 goes to school they want me to do some other duties including:
Grocery shopping
Dry cleaning
Meal prep for parents for when they come home
basically, whatever they ask of me I'll do since I'll have time with just one baby.
Perks of job:
One week paid vacation
They pay taxes for me
I also get paid when they go on vacation and I get to stay home (although I do take care of their dog when they're gone)
So my question is- is no raise fair? I feel like regardless of whether or not child #1 goes to preschool I should be getting an annual hourly increase because of everything I do for them and how much time I invest with their family. I have never complained or called in sick once after three years. These people are very wealthy (combined they bring home about 800k a year) and I feel as if I'm being nickel and dimed. The contract says I'm eligible for a 3-5 percent raise annually. They complain about money and that's another reason they don't want to give me a raise. But it's hard to believe since they also want to send their toddler to a 25k a year preschool and they bought a million dollar house last year. And they want to skip my raise. I'm a little upset. Advice please?
When I started it was just one boy who was a newborn. My pay started at 450 per week.
After one year I got an annual raise and got 480.
The mom got pregnant after some months and when my next annual review rolled around she was about to give birth. So I got a big new baby raise. $600 per week!
That was one year ago. I had my annual review the other day and was told since child #1 was starting preschool in the fall I don't get any raise because he will be in someone else's care and I'll just have baby #2 to take care of. They want me to pick up other duties since I will have more time. They also want to add two extra hours per week and have that extra money be my raise. (No raise per hour. I'm currently at $17 and they want to keep it that way)
Here are my current duties:
Taking care of children (obviously)
Family laundry once a week (sometimes more)
Emptying dishwasher daily
Extreme flexibility (they are late constantly and always ask me to come early/stay late)
Taking care of dog
Picking up after children and meals
Taking children to appointments
I also potty trained their toddler on my own
Once child #1 goes to school they want me to do some other duties including:
Grocery shopping
Dry cleaning
Meal prep for parents for when they come home
basically, whatever they ask of me I'll do since I'll have time with just one baby.
Perks of job:
One week paid vacation
They pay taxes for me
I also get paid when they go on vacation and I get to stay home (although I do take care of their dog when they're gone)
So my question is- is no raise fair? I feel like regardless of whether or not child #1 goes to preschool I should be getting an annual hourly increase because of everything I do for them and how much time I invest with their family. I have never complained or called in sick once after three years. These people are very wealthy (combined they bring home about 800k a year) and I feel as if I'm being nickel and dimed. The contract says I'm eligible for a 3-5 percent raise annually. They complain about money and that's another reason they don't want to give me a raise. But it's hard to believe since they also want to send their toddler to a 25k a year preschool and they bought a million dollar house last year. And they want to skip my raise. I'm a little upset. Advice please?
Tuesday
What do I do?
Today I was told that the oldest of three children has lice. They just found out today when at school. My problem is being their nanny do I risk and go into work and risk being exposed to possibly getting lice myself, which I hear is very hard to get rid of, or not. My option via my boss was I could use paid time off. Of course who wants to use their paid time off for something that was unplanned and nobody's fault? Of course I can't afford to just not be paid and take the time off. I don't know what to do at this point. Am I being petty? How do I go about this?
Wednesday
Need Advice - Is there a solution here??
I recently started nannying part-time for a four-month-old. The baby won’t bottle feed, so I go to the mom’s work to watch her (they have a spare office where we set up). I normally hate even working for work-from-home parents, but she is a friend of a friend and they are desperate for childcare help in the face of this unexpected obstacle.
For whatever reason, the baby has not adjusted well to me being there. I suspect it’s because her parents have been doing almost all the childcare up until this point, and it’s stressful to add a stranger in the mix. Normally I would not be that stressed about this, but because of the environment, it doesn’t feel like this is working out. Baby cries often, and her mom usually rushes in to soothe her if it goes on for more than a minute in order to reduce disruptions to the office. I get it, but because of this, baby expects her mom to come every time she cries. If mom is in a meeting, baby can cry for the whole hour or two with no let up and no solution, because she expects her cries to bring her mom back. She pretty much will not be soothed by me.
I would tell mom to give her time to soothe without coming in, especially because she has mentioned being stressed about reduced productivity, but it’s a difficult situation. Recently, after baby was crying relentlessly while mom was in a meeting, her boss “dropped by” to say, “Man, she sure was noisy today!” in a really pointed way, and likes to mention things like this pretty regularly. So obviously just letting baby cry a little while she adjusts to mom being gone is not going to work if mom is going to keep her job. Other employees (almost all of whom are moms, and so kinda get it) also drop in regularly to offer advice if she’s crying, which, while well intentioned, never really helps the actual problem.
The whole situation is driving me nuts. The “friendly advice” and hyper-attentive mom make me feel like they think I’m the worst nanny in the world, when really I know it’s just the circumstances and (hopefully!) nothing about me that is causing this. I know the parents are super stressed and I would hate to add to that by making them have to look for other childcare, but I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I leave totally exhausted—mentally, emotionally, and even physically from all the bouncing and rocking and attempts at soothing—often to go to another nannying job, since this is only part-time. Is there a solution here??
Regards,
For whatever reason, the baby has not adjusted well to me being there. I suspect it’s because her parents have been doing almost all the childcare up until this point, and it’s stressful to add a stranger in the mix. Normally I would not be that stressed about this, but because of the environment, it doesn’t feel like this is working out. Baby cries often, and her mom usually rushes in to soothe her if it goes on for more than a minute in order to reduce disruptions to the office. I get it, but because of this, baby expects her mom to come every time she cries. If mom is in a meeting, baby can cry for the whole hour or two with no let up and no solution, because she expects her cries to bring her mom back. She pretty much will not be soothed by me.
I would tell mom to give her time to soothe without coming in, especially because she has mentioned being stressed about reduced productivity, but it’s a difficult situation. Recently, after baby was crying relentlessly while mom was in a meeting, her boss “dropped by” to say, “Man, she sure was noisy today!” in a really pointed way, and likes to mention things like this pretty regularly. So obviously just letting baby cry a little while she adjusts to mom being gone is not going to work if mom is going to keep her job. Other employees (almost all of whom are moms, and so kinda get it) also drop in regularly to offer advice if she’s crying, which, while well intentioned, never really helps the actual problem.
The whole situation is driving me nuts. The “friendly advice” and hyper-attentive mom make me feel like they think I’m the worst nanny in the world, when really I know it’s just the circumstances and (hopefully!) nothing about me that is causing this. I know the parents are super stressed and I would hate to add to that by making them have to look for other childcare, but I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I leave totally exhausted—mentally, emotionally, and even physically from all the bouncing and rocking and attempts at soothing—often to go to another nannying job, since this is only part-time. Is there a solution here??
Regards,
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