Hiring a baby sitter through care.com
I am looking to hire a nanny for my 12-month-old. This is the first time I am hiring someone. I have a few questions for parents who have already tried hiring a nanny through Care.com: 1. How was your experience? 2. I am planning to install cameras all around the area where the nanny will be taking care of my kid. Do you suggest any other safety measures? 3. Have you purchased a criminal background check on top of the Care.com check? 4. I learned a little bit about Care.com's HomePay to run payroll for nannies. How did you pay your nanny? Were you also paying taxes, or were the nannies willing to withhold the taxes? 5. Do we need to purchase any insurance? 6. What other expenses do I need to be aware of in addition to the nanny's hourly pay? I apologize for the many questions. This is our first time hiring someone and leaving our child under someone else's care. Thank you in advance for all your advice and information. #parenting #workingparent TC: 190K YOE: 7
Highly unreliable - find someone through your personal network instead
We had good experiences and a terrible one. The terrible one was a nanny who resigned 1 week before starting (to probably chase a better offer). She must be a blind user.
Big difference between looking for a sitter vs nanny.
We sourced via Care and a few other sites and ended up using one from Care for over 3 years. I didn't see you list it but extra costs can include certifications (CPR etc) and specific vax. We also pay for them to go to activities and enrichment classes. DM me if you want more details.
Use care, paid cash in hand. (And later nextdoor, and later friends of friends, same arrangement) We're both WFH so no real safety concerns, was more important to see how they can handle our kids and keep them from banging on our doors (each nanny did that well)
We used a separate payroll service (sure pay). The cost and time spent adds up. If you can afford it, consider using a nanny agency. They're a bit more expensive but they take care of a lot of the stress and inconvenience of hiring your own employee... Payroll, taxes, back up care (we had a nanny that used her year of PTO in the first 3 months), replacement.
Also, we got an umbrella policy, but not sure if that helps us with any coverage. Our auto didn't need us to add our nanny, since she drove the kids only a few miles a week.
I don’t have direct experience with Care, but I’d advise to to check out the MSFT benefits available. We have backup care available for both in-home and at a center (for one off days) as well as benefits for nanny placement services. It’s all under the benefits portal in work & life