Wanted: Single female with portly build and jovial disposition to live in our basement. Must be good with kids, have excellent housekeeping skills and cooking abilities, a strong work ethic and the desire to live in Canada rent-free in return for watching three young children while their mother frantically goes back to work and watches her household crumble. (Household rebuilding techniques a must.) Call 250-555-HELP.
So. Childcare. It’s a little crazy, I’m realizing!
The nature of my real estate career is so unpredictable that it’s hard to pre-plan the days we’ll need childcare so I am often left scurrying around at the last minute trying to track down a willing victim.
Our budget is nowhere near capable of carrying the expense of live-in help, but I am curious if you or families you know are using it. It sounds so posh, but I know of many people who employ live-in nannies from the Philippines since they are actually cheaper than enrolling multiple kids in full-time daycare. Part of me wouldn’t want to share our home with a stranger, but another part of me thinks it would be amazing to have the help and support.
How do you juggle your childcare needs? Do you have family nearby who pitch in, or do you have your kids in daycare? Are you happy with the arrangement? Do you know of anyone who wants to come and live in my basement?
I’ve definitly thought about posting an ad on the local classifieds. Wanted : Live in Grandmother. Did your kids choose to not reproduce but you are longing for a grandbaby? How about THREE! Love and excitement is waiting for you in our basement?
LOL
I’m certain there are many women out there that are wanting to care for babies and children 🙂 Sometimes when an older woman ohhhs and awws over our baby I “jokingly” tell her we are looking to adopt a grandma.
We’ve had 2 live-in-nannies. One from Austria and the other from the Ukraine. We’ve had some amazing experiences and some not-so-amazing. I’m happy to share them all. If you’re on Twitter you can find me @MommyMoments otherwise check out my Contact Me page on my blog (www.maijasmommymoments.com). Happy to help any way that I can. Before we hired our first nanny we asked a GAGILLION questions from anyone who had ever had a nanny.
My cousin had a 1.5 yr old as well as newborn twins and they hired an Au Pair from Poland to come and help. She helped to care for the girls during the day, and went to school in the evenings. They covered all of her living expenses and I think paid her a small wage in addition. They had a great relationship with her and it was a win-win situation!
I had a friend do exactly what you said … live in help from the Phillipines. They LOVED it. They have three kids and it was cheaper to pay her than take the kids to daycare. Especially with real estate, it would be so nice to be able to come and go as you need/please. 🙂