Nanny Question - Long Beach,CA

I am a nanny. The family I work for has given me an American Express prepaid card. They put money on it weekly for groceries, etc. They can also see online where I spent money. It's much easier than cash.

Start slowly. Don;t pre-pay them for work.

I got a nanny pass for the zoo, so it would not cost them to take my son. And she did. Food, etc.. I always provided that at home so if they took him out it was on them unless they asked ahead of time.

We have had two nannys quit, one with notice one with out (we are still trying to get the keys back from her).

Good luck

We use one of those pre-paid Visa cards, and ask our summer nanny to give us receipts. We can tally the receipts, and have the 1-800 number and card number to call and verify the balance at any time. She uses it for outings with the kids, some family errands, although we rarely send her on those, and gas during the weeks she is with us.

Good Luck!

Do NOT set up a credit card account for the Nanny.
I would not do a blank check either. Nor cash.
Use prepaid cards. Visa or American Express.
A certain amount per month etc.
And they have to give you the receipts.
Of course.

Checks can also used for identity theft fraudulently.
It is called "check washing."
And checks have your routing number/account number on it.
FYI

I don't know of any Nannies, that do grocery shopping or picking up dry cleaning. They only do, kids activities/care/feeding.

Or get a Girl Friday to do your household errands and cleaning.

Nannies I know, do child care.

To be honest, I never asked my nanny to do personal stuff like grocery shopping or picking up dry cleaning.

For kid stuff that costs $$ like the pool or the zoo, I give cash and ask her to leave the change on the counter. As long as it's in the ballpark of what I think should be left over, I don't worry about an exact accounting.

When I was a nanny, they did a couple of things, which made life pretty easy.

I had an "expense account" of sorts, essentially a checking account linked to them, which they could access and see at any time. They knew approximately what we would spend during a given month on activities, food, errands, etc and the money was available via a debit card. Basically, if the kids needed something or we were going to do something, I would put it on the debit and leave the receipt on the counter at the end of the day. The mother usually had something planned for us two or three times per week (summer nanny) and she would leave out information and sometimes cash (festival or some place that we couldn't use debit).

They had a membership to a private country club and I was added onto their account for the summer. This was FANTASTIC because (with their permission), I spent my Saturdays chilling by the pool and they had invited me to have lunch there whenever because they rarely met their minimum prepaid fee.

They paid me to entertain and care for their children, but also knew that I was responsible and honest. Having an account worked out well. I took care of their kids throughout the year when they needed a night out and often took them out to do things. If I spent my own money, I gave them a receipt and they paid me back. They figured it was easier to give me an "expense account" than try to keep track of every nickle and dime.

When I was a nanny, it was understood that if the family wanted me to run errands/shop for them, they would provide the cash up front first. If they wanted me to take the kids out, again, cash up front. Either way, I always gave them the receipts and change.

If *I* wanted to take the kids out for a treat or something we didn't discuss in advance, I paid for it. If I were in your situation now, I would have some cash on hand in a secure place so that you could pass it along to the nanny as needed. I would strongly caution NOT setting up a credit card unless it's a pre-paid VISA or something along that line so that no extra charges could be made. One reason I would use cash was so that we had the discussion *beforehand* about expenses/activities. It can only improve communication between the nanny and the parent.

Our nanny doesn't run errands for us, so I can't help you there.
If I know that she's taking the kids to do something (zoo, etc..), I'll leave money.
But for us, most of the time I don't know that she's doing it, so she pays for it herself. She's never asked us for extra money. And she's fed our kids out of her own pocket for years.

She doesn't something different every day on her own schedule, so she pays whatever she needs to to be able to accommodate that.

We've never talked about it, but I would reimburse her if she asked me ahead of time to fund it.

I would probably do Visa gift cards, and ask for receipts.

I would be hesitant to set up a whole credit card, unless it had a very low limit on it, like $###-###-####.

When I take the kids that I babysit on outings I pay up front and submit my receipts for reimbursement. I never did groceries or errands.

We've had a nanny for over 8 years. I found the easiest was giving her a credit card in our name. So basically she signs my name. I'm a bit surprised (knock wood) no one ever gave her a hard time but likely the circumstances weren't suspicious to the cashier. And she certainly got to know all of them at our local grocery store... Cash would have been way too much of a pain given she has done all our grocery shopping for the past several years. She always leaves all the receipts so I can check. Of course there is risk that she's charging stuff for herself and I don't notice but given I'm trusting her with my kids, it's a risk I take. I was more diligent about checking in the beginning. I did hear, I think my mom's friend's daughter, about a trusted nanny taking checks from the checkbook stash and writing out checks for years. Somehow they never noticed! But that's a different issue.

I'd suggest you get a pre-paid Visa card. This way, there's a set amount on the card and you can go online and see exactly where the card was used and for what amount. When you purchase the card (say for 200 dollars), write down the number on the front, the expiration date and the three number code on the back of the card. Then, you can check it any time without having to have the card in front of you.

I am a nanny for a family and have been with them for 3 years. They leave me a book of signed checks. that are blank. he doesn't write the amounts. they are in an envelope in the cabinet. and when I do shopping / drycleaning / pharmacy runs etc. or when something is being done at the house I take a check and pay for it. I also write my own paycheck at the end of the week lol. When I take the kids to do something that he has arranged he has the money there to pay for it. there is usually a couple of $20's in the envelope in case I want to take them to a movie or out to lunch, the zoo etc. If I do something that I pay for he pays me back. he does also give me a gas card a couple times through the summer to pay for the gas for the multiple activities the kids get schlepped around to. that is in addition to my pay.

I think the best way may be to do a credit card. This way you can see where they are spending and how much each time

When I was a nanny I was supposed to treat the kids like I was their surrogate mother. That way if I would do it with my own kids then I could do it with theirs.

I took the kids to all my singing group rehearsals, to nursing home to sing, doctors appointments, the movies, to the OKC Zoo, out to eat if I didn't want to cook, anywhere I would have normally gone I took their kids.

When I took the kids to the OKC Zoo I had 6 of the family's kids, one that I always had, and I had an extra driver go along to help me with the kids. She had a granddaughter that went too.

So I told the family that we would need a larger vehicle to take everyone. They rented a large station wagon for us. It had 2 full row seats where 3 could sit side by side easily. Then it had seats in the back that faced each other where 4 more kids could sit. So off we went.They gave me $100 to spend on food that day. They gave me a gas card too just for that trip.

We came back a bit sunburned and tired but overall it was a wonderful fun day.

If you pay your nanny by the day for XXX job duties then it's their job to perform those duties. If you are specifically paying them to only care for the children directly, such as bathing them, cleaning up after them, cooking their meals, entertaining them, etc...then they do need to be paid extra for those additional things. Especially if you don't let them take the kids when they go.

My job was back in the 90's when minimum wage was maybe $4.75 or $5.25 per hour....

I was paid $2 per hour per child, I could easily have 3-4 kids at home so that added up. I also watcher the mom's bosses son that was the same age as the family's youngest child.

Then I was paid $5 per day for keeping the laundry going, I didn't have to sort or put it up at all. I put it in baskets and brought it upstairs and they took care of it during the evening when they were watching TV. So I kept it going all the time if possible. With 7 kids and 2 adults they made 2-3 loads of laundry per day.

I was paid $5 for starting/cooking dinner. Dad got home from work around 3:30 so I didn't have to do this often. I would take out the frozen stuff or put stuff on in the cooker so it would be done when he got home.

The kids did most of the housework and cooking so they did a lot. She had a cleaning plan that taught the kids to clean right and to teach the younger kids how to clean.

She had lists posted in each room in a discreet place. In the bathroom the list said things like this:

The bathroom is clean when:

The tub has been washed out
The sink has been cleaned and the counter wiped off
The toilet has been scrubbed and is clean on the seat and base
The floor has been swept and mopped

She has a list in each room! The bigger kids had an assigned little kid they were supposed to be teaching too. I wasn't even responsible for making them do any of their chores. I might be asked to remind the kids when they got home from school that their dad would be home and was going to check their rooms but that was pretty much the extent of my bossing them about chores.

When they went out of town for a funeral or work related trip we went over and stayed in their home with the kids. We were designated to be their guardians in the event something happened to the parents. They never traveled together when flying just in case. They would go stock up on every grocery the kids could possibly want, she'd leave a menu that she and the kids made up, and then leave us several hundred dollars for any emergency that might happen.

I was well taken care of and each duty was well laid out and specific with a pay rate for that specific job.

I agree wholeheartedly with SH about not providing checks or your credit card. The pre-paid credit cards you can buy at CVS are much better, and YES - receipts are mandatory.

Having the nanny do shopping and errands is normal for many families. It is a "value-added" part of the job. The person should be an experienced nanny, for one thing. She should have excellent credentials, a great driving record and insurance. You need to really vet her to make sure she is responsible and that you won't be sorry allowing her to drive your kids places. You also want to make sure she has no criminal record of theft, etc.

She should be doing simple cooking for the kids, cleaning up after them, including their dishes. You can set out some things that are easy to put together to make your dinner-making easier, but remember that it shouldn't take her long because she needs to be paying attention to the kids. Yes, she should throw the kids' clothes in the washer and dryer.

She should teach the children to put their toys away. Impress on her that this is part of her job - not just picking up the toys in order to make YOU happy. Teaching the children to do it is an important skill. It's EASIER for her to do it herself. But you need it to be a family goal for her to teach the kids and expect it of them. One of the tests of if she is a really good nanny is how she handles the kids to get them to want to do the clean-up. You don't want a nanny who fights with them, belittles them, acts as an authoritarian. You don't want a nanny who says "clean it up" and walks away. Children can't be expected to just do this without help.

A good nanny works hard. If a nanny is good at what she does, pay her well, but be very clear in what your expectations are. Before you hire he tell her that in a month, you will sit down and talk about how you feel about her work, what she does well, what she needs to improve on. If this bothers her, she's not the right hire. She should WANT to work closely with you to improve her work, and she should want to hear from you what you are happy with. If she doesn't, you don't want her working for you.

Pay close attention to her attitude. I PROMISE you that if you see any questionable attitude at ALL before you hire her, you will be looking to replace her and wringing your hands over it. Don't let it go if you have ANY gut reactions along these lines.

Good luck!

We used to reimburse in cash every week. Our part time nanny prefered that and it worked well for us.