Nanny Versus Center Care

Use of technology while caring for the kids (phone, IPad, computer, TV)

Other responsibilities (food prep, laundry, toy pick up, cleaning, etc.)

Transportation to activities outside the home (car seat use, consequences for moving violations when the kids are in the car, etc.)

Allowance for activities with the kids

Visitors while caring for the children (play dates and visits from her friends/boyfriend)

Requirements for continuing education (at a center she would be required to stay certified in infant/child first aid and CPR, dangers of shaken baby, safe sleep practices, etc. A friend of mine has a grandson who had a nanny who shook him. Thankfully he will probably be ok, but he has a long road ahead of him.)

Sick leave for the nanny. Maybe not in the contract, but she definitely needs to have a back up plan for when the nanny is sick and can't care for the kids. Will she take a sick day?

have her look at her homeowners/ renters policy & her car insurance. make sure she is satisfied with the amount of coverage afforded in the event the nanny is hurt in her home/ car.

if there is a home safety system in place i.e. some sort of security lock/ alarm, you might want to alert the security agency and add the nanny as an authorized adult.

Best,
F. B.

Sick leave for the nanny.
What the kids can or cannot eat
Does the nanny provide her own food, or does the family provide it
Any chores or other duties expected beyond caring for the children
Discipline methods to be used or not used
When the family go on vacation does nanny get paid
Is the nanny expected to go on action with the family

Pros:

Personalized one on one attention
Someone is right there to tend to any and all needs.
Nanny gets to know children intimately as apposed to childcare where children can get lost in the crowd
Lots of time for individual activities and outings
Just one person to care for the kids and to get to know them, not lots of staff turnover

Cons:

Need back up care if nanny gets sick
No other kid around for play, Nanny needs to make effort for socialization
Nobody there to back nanny up and to give her break

I think that's all I can think of for now, but I'll add more later if I think of it.

Notice for leave/vacation
household activities (kids' laundry, clean up after them)
$$ for extracurriculars (a museum visit or something)
driving rules

On the hours: would they expect evening care at times? would additional payment be made?

On the leave: a list of holidays that the nanny would have off should be given and specify if those are paid or unpaid. will vacation time for the nanny be paid or unpaid? If the family goes on vacation without the nanny will she be paid for that time?

When can she expect payment? On Friday, on Monday, every week, every two weeks?

If the nanny transports the children to activities will additional payment for gas be made or is she responsible for that. If they go somewhere like the zoo that has an admission fee will the nanny's admission be paid for?

Sick Kids: perhaps set up guidelines of when the nanny is responsible and when the parents are responsible (fever over 101., vomiting, etc.). Will nanny take children to the doctor?

Later on there may need to be rules set for play dates, other children coming over to the house, if that's allowed.

M

I would bet with a little googling she could find some sample contracts and templates online.

My friend always draws up a "contract" with her nannies. She learned that after going through a few. If she is paying her vacation time, she might want to put in writing that she gets one every 6 months. That way, if she takes two weeks and leaves after 5 months, your sister isn't paying out more than she needs to. She will also want to spell out what happens when the family takes vacation without the nanny.

Care and sitter city have really good example contracts that you can download into word and edit as appropriate.

If you hire a nanny and pay them (I think it's more then $1800 but double check that) you are a household employer and must withhold and pay taxes and file the appropriate returns with the IRS. there are some inexpensive payroll services out there (intuit I think is $20 / month for the online subs for 1-3 employees)

A nanny can be contract labor. No benefits, no taxes, no vacation days, nothing. They are paid a certain amount and are expected to maintain their own taxes and turn in their income because you'll be claiming child care expenses on your own taxes on them. Period. No need to do all the other stuff. Just hire the person as contract labor and be done with it.