It is very difficult to find trustworthy nannies these days. Why? They’d rather leave the country and earn more because they too have their own families. Even with the bill for the minimum wage for helpers, I just don’t feel like it’s enough to provide for a family. So I understand if they choose to seek opportunities outside the country. I just hope that we, working moms in the Philippines, have someone trustworthy enough to entrust our kids with.
But how do we know that they deserve our trust?
I’ve already detailed my very unfortunate experience with my son’s first yaya. Just to recap, she was my mother’s godchild. When my mother was in the province, she met her again and said that I already have my own family. She offered her services since she wanted to have a job. With my mother’s recommendation, I agreed to have her as my son’s yaya. She was very pleasing when we were stilling living with my mom. Partly because my sister wanted to take care of my son and she only had to take care of cleaning. When we moved out, everything went topsy-turvy. The house isn’t clean. She doesn’t handle food well. She often takes leaves and asks for early pay. That was fine with me and something I can deal with. But she never felt the need to learn how we manage our home. The worst part was that he was hurting our son.
Here was the clues I wished I knew before:
1. My son never liked his yaya. Whenever we arrive from work, my son would run fast to me and when I ask him to play with yaya while I fix the dinner, he just wouldn’t let go.
2. My son learned how to hit. He hits his yaya and he hits me. Nobody in the family hits him and we were wondering why he was so hostile. Apparently, he got it from his yaya.
3. The Nanny is always problematic. Her daughters would always text me to tell her mom to give them money or ask why her mom never treated her right. This could make your child her shock absorber.
These clues are based on my own experience. Of course when your child is older, he could probably tell you soon. Look for these clues and talk to the yaya without any claims since these are behavioral observations. Ask them if they are coping well at your home, if they have any issues with their family, why do they think your child doesn’t like them. You’d probably tell with the way she answers your questions if she really cares for the kids and if she still has some issues that she needs to fix.
I know it’s hard to find a nanny these days and it is even harder to find a good one. Read the signs and do what is right.
