The Nanny Book: The Smart Parent's Guide to Hiring, Firing, and Every Sticky Situation in Between (Paperback)

~ (Author), Coco Myers (Author) "So what are you looking for in a nanny?..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States

Editorial Reviews

Review

THE NANNY BOOK provides all the answers you need to solve the child-rearing dilemmas that keep you up past bedtime

Oh, to have had [this book] when I hired my nanny! I was clueless, conflicted, paranoid....Do we pay for Memorial Day? What do we do if she's late? If her perfume bothers us?

Now, all of our questions are answered in this wise, sensitive, addictively readable guide that promises to do for families with nannies, babysitters, and au pairs what WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING did for pregnant couples....In chapters from "Setting the Salary" to "Living with a Live In," the authors intersperse questions and answers-culled partly from interviews with caregivers, employers, and a myriad of insurance, immigration, legal, and other experts nationwide-with helpful anecdotes from parents and complaints and opinions from nannies (the mother overschedules the kid, there's never food in the fridge)....Working parents will want to make room on the Baby Bibles shelf. Right between the Leach and the Spock -- Mirabella, May 1999

Product Description

Hiring a nanny-and getting along with her afterward-may be one of the most important things that parents do, yet many of us approach the whole business with fear and trembling, or at least a lot of questions. Even parents who may manage dozens of employees at work can be at a loss when it comes to dealing with the person who will be looking after their children.

Nanny, au pair, caregiver-no matter the term, the thorny issues remain the same:

-How do you find someone you like and trust?
-Should you invite the nanny to Thanksgiving dinner?
-When should you raise her fee-and by how much?
-What should you do when the au pair is a flirt?
-How do you sort out the laundry and other chores?
-Nanny surveillance-should you spy?

The Nanny Book provides real, down-to-earth solutions for almost every conceivable issue or problem. Filled with advice gleaned through interviews with families and nannies, this book will turn parents into their own experts. Other books focus almost exclusively on hiring a caregiver. The Nanny Book is the only guide that gives smart, parent-tested solutions to those sticky situations that can make or break the relationship.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312199333
• ISBN-13: 978-0312199333
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very parent-friendly, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

I really enjoyed the no-nonsense approach that the authors took in this book--particularly their willingness to focus on things that can go wrong in a relationship. Not all nanny-parent relationships are made in heaven!

While I enjoyed the chatty style, the book was sometimes a little lacking in specifics. That's why I recommend that parents also consider picking up a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Childcare--a fabulous book that covers the do's and don'ts of hiring a nanny in considerable detail and that boasts the best nanny contract I've ever found anywhere. Armed with these two terrific books, a parent can't go wrong.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lots wrong with this one -- More annoying than helpful, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

The book isn't organized very well. A list of good questions to ask during an interview would have been very helpful, but you won't find it in this book, nor will you find many pages that summarize the authors' tips (What were those forms again that I need to fill out? ) While the chatty Q & A style works for the What to Expect books, it does not work for this Nanny book. It could benefit from more substance and less chat. I suppose you could say, like the other reviewers here, that reading the book is like talking to a friend -- if you have a really vapid, annoying, and culturally insensitive friend. The mothers interviewed for this book are supremely irritating (One woman, for example, wanted to discourage the nanny from talking about the child she had to leave in another country to become a nanny.) The mothers also seem too helpless and unable to work through the most basic problems. I am truly hoping these interviewees came from the writers' imagination. Lastly, the book seems to have a peculiar East-coast slant. Here in California, most of the nannies are Spanish-speaking with very limited English skills. A little lesson in blending two cultures would have been nice. Rather than relying on this book, we're better off using good old common sense.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, user-friendly, reassuring and practical handbook., August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This terrific handbook is user-friendly and easy to read. The authors pose and answer questions that most nanny employers have struggled with, but have been afraid to ask. I read the book in one sitting, just as I was about to switch nannies, and it greatly reassured me about this monumental decision. I would highly recommend this book to other nanny employers -- it reads as if you are having a conversation with a wise girlfriend!