hiring FT helper for 1st time, some queiries pls

R

rs2000

Registered User
Hi All,

We are going to hire a FT helper now

we have a 4 years old daughter and I am expecting my 2nd one to arrive in May end. I am a SAHM

I have interviewed a few helpers (who are in phillipinees currently). 2 of them have good experience in handling kids but are both 48 years old.

I know it really depends but i somehow feel they would not be a good fit for my requirements which are

1. take care of my new born (when I am busy)
2. take my older one to school and bring her back. play with her. take her to playarea, park etc
3. general household chores + help m ein cooking

i somehow feel my mid might be very comfortable with someone who is not young ( i mean in terms of playing with her or going with her to parks etc).
also I have doubts if they will be slow and less energetic generally.

please can you give me your thoughs/experiences on this.

pls note that i respect people of all ages and understand that some helpers can be fantastics for some households and terrible for others. I am really lookng for some feedback considering the requirements I have.

Thanks a lot!
 
just hired a helper myself, straight from the phillipines and interviewed her only over the phone. our requirement ...as I will be having my 3rd baby soon...is that she was young and liked kids...as such, she's 30 and though she has only had 1 prior job working with a 7yr old. my kids are 2.8yrs, 9mths and new born (August due date) so I did not want anyone over 40...

my father has a helper that is 40 and she's very good with the baby, but when it comes to the toddler it is more of a struggle - especially when we go to the playground...she doesn't follow my kid as she plays, and so one time she fell from a high point (I'm 5ft 3" and the place she fell from was higher than me - maybe around 5ft6")...I didn't scream at her as she already felt terrible, but with my young helper (who immigrated to Canada last month) she'd follow her step by step, even if I require the older one to follow, she doesn't like it, and avoids it at all costs.

I decided to "take the risk" and hire someone with little experience because...

1) during the interview she said she "didn't know how to cook" when asked if she could
2) during the interview she said she "didn't like cooking" when asked if she would like to learn

* kind of funny answers, right? but we thought that this showed her honesty, and since we didn't require her to cook, the answers really didn't matter either way. also she said she really liked kids and gave us the impression that she was willing to learn (she told us each family has their own way and so we need to tell her our way).

she's been with us for a week and so far - you can see she is really likes kids, like in the interview she said "she likes kids" and really CANNOT cook - it was like teaching my 5yr old niece to cook a can of soup last night, when we finally asked her to "cook"...definitely no common sense in that area...she was right!

also with the 40 year old, even though we insist on using the car seat, she doesn't believe in it, so unless i'm firm, she would rather not put my baby in it as she struggles and cries (albeit for only 2mins) and so she just holds the baby...whereas the younger one will just do as told....
 
My opinion, based on your specifications and my experience, is to go for a younger helper. My helper is 52, I am a SAHM with a 4 year old and almost 2 year old. However she does minimal childcare, I take the 4 year old to and from school, she looks after the little one when i exercise and does evening baby sitting when they are in bed (very occasionally she will need to bath them, but less often than once a month). Her main jobs are general cleaning, some shopping and cooking. This works really well for us, as this is exactly what we wanted, as my main focus is the kids. Although she loves the children and vice versa, I know she finds it tiring to look after them certainly at the playground etc. She is a great cook, does a fantastic job of looking after the house but is definitely tired by anything with the kids ie today she had to take the 4 year old to school for only the 2nd time ever which meant taking the younger one also and as it is quite a steep walk with lots of steps she finds this hard work. My friends with younger helpers don't at all. Her previous employer loved her but let her go because she was finding it hard to look after a very energetic toddler full time as well as cook, clean etc and I understand this. So based on what you say, I think younger would be better. I should say though that of course energy levels vary from person to person and other older helpers may be fine, but as you are hiring from overseas i don't think i would take the risk.
 
thanks for the input.
I have also decided to go for a younger helper and will interview a few more before deciding on anyone.
 
Hey rs2000, my old part-time helper knows someone that has experience with babies and children that is looking for a job in HK. I can give you her email if you would like to find out more information? She also apparently can cook as well. I don't know that helper personally, but I did really like the part-time helper that came to our place.
 
banane76 said:
Hey rs2000, my old part-time helper knows someone that has experience with babies and children that is looking for a job in HK. I can give you her email if you would like to find out more information? She also apparently can cook as well. I don't know that helper personally, but I did really like the part-time helper that came to our place.
Click to expand...

Hi "banane76"
I am in the process of screening suitable FT helper for taking care of my young child and can cook. My requirement for screening is that i will do a test run at home to physically see that they can handle kid and cook rather than reflecting "professional" skills on paper. Of course I will pay them accordingly by hours during the test run. If she's willing to do that, can you email me ? Thanks
 
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