The Nanny Stories Continue – Wanted: Nanny

The Nanny Stories Wanted Nanny

Hello there! We’re a few days before the end of the first month of this year. And it is just now that I found some time to try and blog about the happenings in my household.

In the last post three months ago, I talked about the nannies I’ve had in the past few years. And I did mention that nanny #6 came back with the thought that all will be well. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Everything went downhill from there. 5 weeks after she came back, she went AWOL. After all her talks of working long term or not being mediocre in her job, well, she did just that when she came back.

Well, she was still okay for about 2 weeks. Until I told her that I couldn’t send her home for the November 1 holiday as no one’s available to take care of Z for a couple of days since I needed to report for work as well. She had her daughter call me (to which I didn’t answer because she’s not my employee). Since then, her work became sloppy. Z didn’t want to eat her cooking because it was tasteless, she was wasting food trying to cook 2 weeks’ worth of ingredients in a week, she was either on her phone or just lying down letting Z watch TV the whole time instead of bringing him out to play.

Then she asked permission if she can go to her sister on her day off. I’m not against nannies taking their days off. In fact, I totally encourage it. So long as they return when they say they return. I already had the gut feeling that she wouldn’t return but I still said yes. Because that’s how much I trust her word. That’s how much I put trust in the words of my nannies. I do what I promised and I expect them to do the same. And this is not about me being their employer and they being my employee. It’s just being human, basically.

She never returned. She didn’t bother answering my calls or my text messages. I checked her drawers and found just a few pieces of clothing left. And so I did what I normally do. Packed it, ready for garbage collection. I tried calling her sister as well. The phone rang but no one picked it up. When I tried again, the number could no longer be reached. So much for being decent humans.

That really irked me. No, it infuriated me, to say the least. Because here’s the thing: being an employee myself, albeit in a corporate setup, I am expected to excel and improve my skills. We are mandated to follow the rules and policies set by the company. And yet, here we are, being employers ourselves to nannies and household helps but we cannot have the same expectation of them. Why?

It’s hard to find nannies and household helps nowadays. Unless you have tons of cash lying around that you can give them. But that’s beside the point. These people know that we are too dependent on them and they use that knowledge to their advantage. They hop from one employer to the next, trying to find the biggest bidder to their mediocre or sometimes non-existent skills. Just because they know they are needed.

I don’t blame the people who first drafted the Kasambahay law. But times have changed. Instead of employers being abusive of their household helps and nannies, these people that the law protects has become the abuser. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Kasambahay law is revisited to also include some protection for the employers? And wouldn’t it be nice if the government come up with a subsidized nanny or household help service especially for solo parents? Ones that have undergone TESDA training and has received certification for it. A lot of people are complaining about being jobless but hey, being a household help or a nanny nowadays need a lot of skills to really work effectively.

I know, I know. I am blabbering again. But really, these people are exhausting. And finding a reliable nanny is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Seriously! The agency still owes me my second replacement but it seems like they are no longer interested in providing one. I could sue them probably for not following their own contract but what the hell. I already considered my payment to them as a loss ever since I handed them their fee.

So here I am, desperately trying to find a nanny. Someone who can stay even for just 3 months without giving me a problem. I don’t pay as much as the other ones out there who can afford to give 5-digit salaries but I can assure you that I and my family take good care of my nannies. So long as they do their jobs well. If you know anyone or could point me to where I could get one, you have my deepest gratitude. Help a desperate momma here, please.

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