Dedicated Domestics Nannies and Professional Staff » Household Staff

Nannies, Babysitters, Mother’s Helpers, Oh My!

Jeff — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:15:33 +0000

Nannies, Babysitters, Mother’s Helpers, Oh My!
With so many titles for child caregivers, how does a Mom know who to choose for which job? To confuse the issue even more, many caregivers use the terms interchangeably as well. This will help you make the right choice for your family or your resume.
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Happy Holiday

Jeff — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:55:23 +0000

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients, nannies, housekeepers, chefs, managers and all of the other many wonderful people that have helped us grow this past year.

Dedicated Domestics wishes all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Best Wishes,

Eloisa and Jeff Nelson

So you want to hire a Nanny? Now what?

Jeff — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:51:16 +0000

The first step is to decide what your real needs are. Be realistic in what you are looking for. Most household employees are looking for full time work. Some will be willing to work for two days with one family and three days with another, while others prefer to work full time for one family. The more challenging the schedule the more difficult it will be to find someone to fill your position. It is customary for nannies to request higher salaries to work odd hours, just like any other field. Sometimes, we have found that a family can hire a full time nanny for only slightly more than an odd schedule might cost. It really does pay to think through your needs carefully since hiring around a standard schedule can give you greater flexibility at home, increase you selection of nannies and sometimes even save you some money.

Besides the schedule you should consider what you need the person to do.

· Do you just need someone to watch your children or do they need tutoring skills to be able to help with the homework?

· While most nannies will help with light housekeeping, they will not scrub you bathroom. If deep cleaning is what you really need, you may want to find a good housekeeper. And while some housekeepers will keep an eye on older kids occasionally, I am sure you do not want someone with chemicals on their hands from scrubbing the toilet to start changing a diaper.

· Does the nanny need to drive the kids anywhere or to run errands?

· Will they need to use their own car or will you provide a car?

· Have you planned on a mileage allowance, insurance or both?

· Do any of the children have special needs that a nanny should be prepared for?

· Are you a stay at home mom that just needs extra help or are you planning to be out of the house and need a full charge nanny?

· Does the nanny need a passport to travel with the family?

· Will the nanny need to be flexible for overnight stays?

As you can see, there are many questions to think about before hiring someone. The above is just a short list of common questions. The more you think through what you are looking for in a nanny or housekeeper the easier it will be to find the right person for you. Give us a call at Dedicated Domestics and we will be glad to review your needs and help point you in the right direction.

Professional Nannies Can Make A Difference

Jeff — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:07:55 +0000

Many families are turning to in home childcare to help watch their children, giving the parents the ability to continue their careers. This is certainly nothing new. In-home child caregivers commonly referred to as nannies or babysitters are just a personalized version of a daycare center. The nannies provide much closer supervision then the six or eight to one ratio of most daycares, while keeping the children in the family home where they feel more secure.

However, once a family has this extra pair of hands in their home, they assume they should be kept busy every minute. To keep them busy they start coming up with long lists of chores so the family thinks they are getting their monies worth. The reality is that taking care of children is a full time job. Ask your mother if you aren’t sure. Keeping track of a child’s activities and being prepared for sudden and unexpected behaviors is not hard, but does require constant monitoring and a high state of awareness. Most nannies will take care of cleaning up after the children, preparing their meals and even doing the children’s laundry. But you do not want them kept so busy with household work that they neglect the children. After all the whole reason for having a nanny is to take personal care of the children.

Professional nannies that are given the time, can really help your child grow and prepare them for the next stage of their life. By reading to toddlers and playing games with them helps develop skills that will prepare them for school. With older children, helping with homework or even just making sure that the kids have the quiet time they need to study will help. While some nannies will be able to help with some tutoring, I wouldn’t expect a nanny to help with trigonometry or advanced calculus homework. Then again how many parents out their can help with all of the homework our kids bring home? Okay, don’t be a show off. I am sure there are some of you that can even help with quantum physics, but the majority of us start to pause when faced with anything above basic algebra. Good nannies, just as good parents can still help their kids by removing distractions, preparing healthy snacks and providing support. Most times that is all that a child needs to solve the problems on their own.

Even for stay at home moms with multiple children, hiring a mother’s helper or nanny can be a very big plus to the growth of the whole family. For one thing, having the extra help allows parents to spend more time with each of their children individually while the nanny watches the others. The extra pair of hands and eyes may prevent accidents since the kids are being watched and cared for while lunch is being prepared or the laundry being done. Not to mention the time the stay at home parent saves by being able to complete more tasks during the day so there is more time for the family at night.

So when you think that hiring an in-home child caregiver, nanny or mothers helper, remember you might benefit even more than your children.

Personal Chefs – The Ultimate Luxury

Jeff — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:50:19 +0000

The rich and famous have always enjoyed the ultimate luxury of having a staff of Maids, Butlers and of course a Personal Chef. While that is still as true now is it was hundreds of years ago, at Dedicated Domestics we are finding a whole new class of people looking to enjoy part of that luxury. More and more hard working professionals and executives are turning to hiring a staff so they can concentrate on what they do best. As one doctor told me, (she) “would rather perform one more surgery than go home and have to cook”. Luckily the chef we found was a perfect match since he enjoyed cooking more than surgery.

A businessman I worked with had a very sound financial reason for needing a chauffeur. He knew it was not just a luxury; he could make more money working during his commutes from one meeting to the next if he could find a driver. By hiring a chauffeur he could continue to work between appointments. A win for everyone, the businessman made more money and the chauffeur got a job.

So what kind of help do you need?

Great News

Jeff — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:56:13 +0000

To better serve our families, nannies and applicants, we have moved our office to a more convenient location in Newport Beach. Our new office is centrally located across the street from “Fashion Island” on Newport Center Drive. For any of you that have had experience moving, you can understand the turmoil of the past two weeks. It is amazing how much “stuff” we can save and pack away over the years. Luckily everything went well and we are up and running.

Our new address is:

Dedicated Domestics

110 Newport Center Drive, Suite 200

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Our phone numbers are:

Office: 949.612.1900

Office: 714.557.2160

Fax: 949.612.1998

Live-in versus Live-out!

Jeff — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 07:02:21 +0000

There are many misconceptions about the differences between live-in and live-out Nannies and other household staff. First, it is important to remember that anyone working in a home is covered by the same laws as any other employee in any other business. While in-home workers are usually more flexible and the guidelines are not as strictly adhered to, the reality is that any Nanny, Babysitter or Chauffeur that is working in a home is an employee. There are strict guidelines for employers to follow, especially in California, that require a set amount of breaks and rest time for every employee. Keeping that in mind, a family can now determine what their real needs are and which type of employee will serve them best.

There are many benefits to hiring a live-in but there are also drawbacks that many people do not always consider. A live-in is typically going to be more flexible than live-out since they are always in the home. But, they need to have time off and an eight hour sleep period during every 24 hour schedule. So while a live-in Nanny can help take care of the night feeding for a newborn, they must be then given time off during the next day to rest. So while the flexibility sounds great, if you do not need someone to be available for odd or changing shifts, you may find a live-out Nanny serves your purpose just as well.

An important drawback for hiring a live-in for some families is the fact that they are now going to have another person living in their home even on days off. While most get used to the arrangement, some find the loss of privacy too high.

Another misconception with live-in help is the salary. Many years ago a live-in would be happy to accept a lesser salary in return for room and board. An arrangement that helped both the family find affordable help and the Nanny or Housekeeper would have a roof over their head while they saved their salary. Today there are much fewer Nannies, Housekeepers and other staff that are willing to be live-ins so they tend to charge the same or more than there live-out counterparts. The live-ins also learned quickly that they could command a premium just for being so flexible. The higher wages for live-ins is not all bad news for families since they are getting that extra flexibility that an 8 to 5 Nanny may not be able to give. The unique schedules that can only be achieved by a live-in are very important to many professionals with varied schedules like Doctors or anyone that has to travel often.

The most important thing to remember when selecting a schedule for your domestic staff is to really understand what your needs are first, so you can find the right fit for your unique situation.