-
(#1) They're Over-Eager To Start
Everybody likes an enthusiastic caretaker, but this former Redditor found a prospective nanny who seemed to want the job a little too much. This, among other alarm bells, sent her to the Reddit hivemind in search of feedback. "She kind of sounded like she was pressuring us to let her start sooner ('oh you guys must be so tired, why don't you bring him over and catch up on sleep!')," she writes. "My husband thought she was just being super nice and generous but I found it odd."
Redditor /u/Stephananny responds: "[I]f your gut is saying no then don't do it. There is nothing wrong with saying, 'we have decided to go in a different direction.' It sounds like this woman is really eager and probably has been turned down for a lot of jobs."
-
(#7) They Insist On Taking Your Child To Unfamiliar Locations
From Redditor /u/DontF*ckWithMyMoney:
"[M]y kids told me they'd actually stopped at her friend's house first, where they stayed in the car while she ran in to pick up her baby who was being watched by her friend. She [the babysitter] never mentioned that first stop, and this being the very first day, it rubbed us the wrong way.
Then on Wednesday, the night before Day 2, she sent my wife a text at 8:30 PM saying she'd had foot surgery earlier that day (???) and since it was going to be tough for her to move around, she was going to take the kids to her house (where we've never been) and her friend (whom we haven't met) was going to help her out.
We balked immediately -- both because of the short notice and the fact that she was right off the bat bringing them somewhere we hadn't agreed to and enlisting help with people we didn't know."
Redditor /u/whatisthisadulting responds:
"Full time nanny here. Way too many red flags. One of which is telling you what her plan is with out asking? On day two? To a place and with someone you've never authorized? I would NEVER imagine doing that."
-
(#12) They're More Trouble Than The Kids They're Supposed To Watch
A former Redditor reports:
"Another girl's mom had her text me for.every.little.thing. I couldn't even enjoy the time away because I was too busy being mom to now 2 kids! And her mom texted me too. Asking me when I was coming back and if I was coming back early because she was waiting outside. I felt like I was just waiting for the time to be up to get them away."
-
(#9) They Don't Take Allergies Seriously
From Redditor /u/thesassyllamas:
"I had just begun looking for a part time sitter for my 3 year old, who has a dozen food allergies. One woman came highly recommended, and after meeting with her multiple times and having my son interact with her, we decided to hire her. She swore up and down she could handle all his food allergies, and I provided ALL of his food, requesting that the few hours she has him, to not cook or eat his 3 anaphylactic allergies. WELL. I got a call at work from her one day saying my son Neville had hives everywhere, so I went to pick him up. His dad and I got there and the babysitter was LAUGHING saying, 'I was cooking eggs this morning and some spilled on the floor. Neville tried to pick them up and almost ate them!' He is DEATHLY allergic to eggs, and this woman was laughing about him almost eating his own death sentence. From the secondary reaction alone, he had facial swelling and hives. Needless to say, we never contacted her again."
-
(#2) They're Pushy About Boundaries
The former Redditor was thrown when the same candidate said that she "couldn't wait to start buying more baby stuff!" This seemed to the new mother like crossing some kind of a line. "I don't feel comfortable knowing she's buying stuff for her house for my kid? Like once she does, am I obligated to her?"
Redditor /u/statersgonnastate concurs, noting that "hear[ing] that she wanted to start early and buy baby things without any job offers from you makes me feel yucky. I would wonder what else she might be pushy or boundary stomping on."
-
(#5) They're Cagey About Their Caretaking Methods
Redditor /u/gillandred is also put off by the nanny's refusal to answer a direct question clearly, or to document her process: "At the end of the day when I ask the nanny how much formula she's given the baby she always appears very flustered - she starts babbling and incoherently rattling off numbers. I asked her to keep a written journal of how much she's fed the baby but she seems annoyed by this."
Redditor /u/kynanny replies: "everyone needs to be on the same page about when and what baby is eating... especially if baby is having weight issues. I always keep logs for parents, diapers, naps, feeding, foods, and special activities. Its pretty standard."
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
With the accelerating pace of life and the soaring price of goods, the pressure on young people is increasing. Most young people put their main energy into work. They choose to hire a nanny or babysitter to deal with family hygiene and take care of their children's diet and daily life. However, hiring a nanny or babysitter requires rigorous assessment just like recruiting employees. Do you know what are the precautions for a nanny or babysitter?
Hiring a nanny or babysitter has become an inevitable choice for many families, but it is not a simple matter. The random tool shares 12 important red flags you should watch out for finding a babysitter or nanny.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.