I rarely browse here or post...but I do need to weigh in on this very juvenile and silly debate about how much to pay a nanny and yaddi yaddi yaddi. To the parents who are posting degrading remarks as to how it is such an easy job, with so much free time and how nannies can't get other work, are you listening to what you are saying... are these really your feelings towards childcare, because guess what these are your very own children that you are talking about. If you are not financially capabale of paying a higher amount you have options, like shares for example, or co-ops. The fact is there are people who pay the higher end...they are not normally the people on craigslist, they use agencies and pay a few thousand dollars or more to find a nanny. We are not all so fortunate to earn the income that would allow us to do such a thing, but that does not mean that what we lack financially we also should lack in respect. And if it is such an easy job..then please stay home and do it, because you should not be hiring anyone to do something you have so little respect for.
It does not cost anything to be kind and respectful to all people...something I believe can only be taught to children by way of example. And yet there are some parents out there who find that hard to do. I am a nanny, I have been one for over 17 years, and it is a chosen profession. There is a difference between people that do something because they love it and those who do something because they have no other option. Regardless of your opinions on the simplicity of the job...it is true that the grass is always greener on the other side... every being is worthy of respect and understanding. If you cannot pay what a nanny asks, you have the option to seek another person. Please do not confuse greed with those who know their worth, and yes there are always seems to be more greed than honesty, but to live honest and complete lives, everything must be given a fair chance.
If you have always had bad experiences with nannies, perhaps it is a question of how you treat them. Do you treat them as people who are intelligent, driven and kind hearted, or are they disposable to you? This has always been a sensitive subject for me because I really can understand both sides, and I have often lowered my prices greatly if I really liked a family and they couldn't afford what I normally ask. But I have also been burned by this, I know I am an excellant nanny, I don't need to list why, and I also know when I am being taken advantage of. And in all honesty that hurts, to work for a family and really like them, and in the end you find out that no matter how hard you work and put everything into it, some people will never appreciate it and are always seeking out a way to save.
But fortunately with the bad also comes the good, and for parents who think that it is hard to find a nanny for a reasonable price, remember that there is another side to the coin...for nannies like myself it is very hard to find good families. And as far as wondering what we do with the supposed pile of wealth we sit on, well maybe you should ask. I have known many nannies throughout the years, and many of them from other countries who are schooling their whole family's children in their home countries, or funding schools. And I can speak for myself, I use the majority of my earnings to make sure that children I have come to know in various countries I have lived, can have an education. That,in some indirect way the life of the very wealthy can be used to fund children who would not have a chance otherwise. And in the process it is an education for all.
For those who do not believe that anyone would actually want to be a nanny if they had other options, I am very sorry for your children, because that is not only a reflection of your sense of worth...their worth, but also that perhaps you have never been fortunate enough to truly love your job. And therefore have no way of comprehending why someone would.
Some of the children I had once changed diapers for are now driving, and I still keep in touch with them. A few have told me they would like to travel with me when they get older, see the children that I am always writing to them about, and help in some way. To me this is where my heart is happiest, because I know that I have done my job well, and now these are friends for life. To the parents who only see the surface of childcare, it saddens me greatly, because this means you only see the surface of your children and what a great loss that is.
To whoever made it all the way to the end of this post, thank you for reading, and now can we all just respect one another, appreciate what we are, and the fact that we can always make choices.
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