There's pretty much one thing we can all probably agree on right now: we're living in weird and different times. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we're all navigating uncharted territory. We're worried about getting sick, homeschooling, and whether or not our kids will go back to school in the fall. The unknown is completely daunting. After months of working from home, many parents are finally seeking childcare and what they are requesting of their nanny is downright strange.
According to The New Tork Times, the list of things being added to regular qualifications for nanny's has taken a turn for the weird. As parents start to work again, parents are needing to have a nanny in-home with their youngsters, but the expectations are extremely high.
The New York Times reported that Anna Garcia, 28, found a Facebook ad from a family looking to hire a nanny that read, “Looking for some part-time child care, a few mornings a week, for a 3-year-old.” Seems harmless, right?
The post continued. “Ideally, we’re looking for someone who has lots and lots of energy, and has already had COVID-19.”
Garcia, with ten years of experience, had the virus in the spring and was seeking a new position. Even though she already had the virus, she felt a bit uneasy about answering that question, as it was almost intrusive.
“Before it used to be, ‘What experience do you have? How many kids have you been able to handle? What age range?’” Garcia said. “Now I feel like the first question I get is, ‘How long have you been symptom-free?’”
Instead of the normal questions, parents are looking for nannies with additional qualifications that even go beyond whether they had the virus or not, but are curious if the person they hire has teaching experience or is even willing to relocate.
Just FYI: Federal regulations prohibit nanny agencies from asking a potential caregiver to take an antibody test, which seems normal enough. The difference here is that those laws don’t apply to families hiring directly unless they have 15 or more employees. So, whenever a mom puts out a Facebook query looking to hire a nanny, she can pretty much ask anything she wants
In order to keep up with the competition knowing that they are going to be asked of these things, some potential nannies are even offering up their personal medical history even before scoring that interview.
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