Full-time Nanny with SAHP - Why?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Full-time Nanny with SAHP - Why?
1258
Tue, 02-10-2004 - 6:41pm
Something I've often wondered about, but never had the opportunity to ask. Why do SAHM or SAHD need a full time nanny, especially when they aren't working from home. I can easily see the need if the SAHP is a WAHP, but what is the logic for a full time nanny otherwise?

Any comments?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 10:54am
Because I don't know of any part time jobs where there are 80 days off a year, including random days during the school year and 2 months in the summer?

I also live in a very small town - we have only one grocery store and two gas stations. Working would mean a commute to the city - either decreasing the amount of time I could actually work, or requiring some kind of care before or after school.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:06am

Even if my working is non-essential in the food and shelter sense, I just don't agree that work that brings in money to raise the family's SOL is exactly the same as volunteering (even leaving aside the paying for childcare aspect of volunteering in the original hypothetical) in importance.


Those of you who want to volunteer 40 hours a week and hire a nanny to enable you to do it, go for it!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:11am

I don't think a family should hire a nanny so one of the parents can go volunteer for 40 hours a week, every week.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:15am
You live in a completely different world than me. When I was working (bank administrator), I was making $24K a year (although I have been a SAHM for 9 years), and up until three years ago (when dh changed careers and we started our business), dh was making just over $60K. Our situation is unique in that dh and I now draw salaries from our business, even though dh generates the bulk of the revenue.

If I had ever been making 100K, the situation would be entirely different. I am realistic about my present earning potential, and the amount of money I could earn working part time out of the home is small, and would be made smaller by increased taxes and childcare.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:16am
Thank you! What a nice thing to say. Funny thing is, I was just thinking that it's rare for you and I to argue on the same side of things, but I supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:26am
As long as it's not 40 hours of separation, week in and week out, I agree.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:40am
Don't they have schools nearby? What about a job in the school system? Substitute teacher?

There are flexible jobs, you just have to be willing to look for them instead of saying they don't exist without even trying. Also, an awful lot of moms here work at home. That is, assuming you even want to try. Maybe you just don't want to work?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:54am
I can assure you that if my children were terribly unhappy I would not be here. My dd has had to adjust. She is not screaming crying or hanging on to my leg in the morning at drop off. As a matter of fact, it has now been 3 weeks and yesterday when dh went to pick her up, she didn't want to leave. The dc was going on an outing - he arrived to pick her up right after lunch b/c she didn't want to go at all that morning. He took the afternoon off to make it a short day for her. So you see, children really don't always know what they want and what they want can vary from day to day. I am my child's parent and therefore I make those decisions for her. We always try to accomodate their feelings - hence dh taking the afternoon off. As it turned out, he didn't take the afternoon off since she didn't want to leave. This morning she got up and didn't want to eat breakfast because she wanted to get to *school* early.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 11:58am

But that is the issue, they are using THEIR definitions for "the expense of the family".

SUS

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2003
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 12:04pm
We'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't believe that non-paid work is as valuable to a family as paid work, and certainly not worth leaving your children 40 hours a week for.

Maybe you could try to explain how you leaving your kids 40 hours a week to do volunteer work is as valuable to them as you taking care of them for those 40 hours or contributing to their SOL, then maybe I could see it.

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