Are you generally happy with your helper(s)?
- Thread starter HK2008
- Start date
carang
Registered User
1) she disciplines (or tries to) the way i want her to. she uses time-outs and toy confiscation
2) FANTASTIC cook (most of the time! LOL)!!!
3) never complains (at least not to me)
4) have never had problems with debt collectors etc. we told her at the begining that we were not bank machines. that we have our own commitments. she has only ever asked us for an advance once or twice in over 4 years. when she needed money she came to us and asked us for advice on her options. she wasn't looking for a loan, but she recognised that we may have more knowledge in this area than she did and she heeded our advice.
5) she is fairly honest. i'm sure that there are little white lies that i haven't encountered, but nothing major.
6) she has a nice group of friends that all seem to take care of each other (i've met most of them)
7) she truly misses my kids when she hasn't seen them
8) my kids LOVE her to bits
9) she's quite private, but isn't scared to ask to watch american idol with me.
10) she's never given us any major problems etc.
11) she makes my life SOOOOO much easier 95% of the time
12) she has a lovely family and a great husband whom she loves very much (we are trying to hire him, too, but he's been working in Saudi Arabia for years)
13) she works with a goal in mind. she's built a house and put her son through school and now university
14) she's that extra set of hands that almost every mother wishes she had
15) she allows me the freedom to work and to occasionally go out with hubby without worrying how my kids are
ummm... that's all i can come up with from the top of my head, but i'm sure there's more.
2) FANTASTIC cook (most of the time! LOL)!!!
3) never complains (at least not to me)
4) have never had problems with debt collectors etc. we told her at the begining that we were not bank machines. that we have our own commitments. she has only ever asked us for an advance once or twice in over 4 years. when she needed money she came to us and asked us for advice on her options. she wasn't looking for a loan, but she recognised that we may have more knowledge in this area than she did and she heeded our advice.
5) she is fairly honest. i'm sure that there are little white lies that i haven't encountered, but nothing major.
6) she has a nice group of friends that all seem to take care of each other (i've met most of them)
7) she truly misses my kids when she hasn't seen them
8) my kids LOVE her to bits
9) she's quite private, but isn't scared to ask to watch american idol with me.
10) she's never given us any major problems etc.
11) she makes my life SOOOOO much easier 95% of the time
12) she has a lovely family and a great husband whom she loves very much (we are trying to hire him, too, but he's been working in Saudi Arabia for years)
13) she works with a goal in mind. she's built a house and put her son through school and now university
14) she's that extra set of hands that almost every mother wishes she had
15) she allows me the freedom to work and to occasionally go out with hubby without worrying how my kids are
ummm... that's all i can come up with from the top of my head, but i'm sure there's more.
I truly congratulate you Cara for having such a great help! I just found something that is not making mine a 'perfect' helper(it was wrong for me to have assumed that anyone could be perfect anyway): she breaks things! In less than two months since she joined us, she has broken/damaged:
1. our new ironing board;
2. vacuum cleaner's hose breaking into two pieces;
3. my hubby's cuffslinks after being washed in the washer;
4. one of my daughter's pretty dresses after being in the washer where it should've been handwashed;
5. here is the final straw: she dropped my brand new and very expensive 100ml perfume yesterday on the tiled floor! so now I'm still in deep mourning of my beloved perfume...
What can I do? I cannot dock her pay as she wouldn't have much left if she had to pay for all these. Besides, she is otherwise brilliant still. So I've decided to overlook this 'small' defect of hers...
1. our new ironing board;
2. vacuum cleaner's hose breaking into two pieces;
3. my hubby's cuffslinks after being washed in the washer;
4. one of my daughter's pretty dresses after being in the washer where it should've been handwashed;
5. here is the final straw: she dropped my brand new and very expensive 100ml perfume yesterday on the tiled floor! so now I'm still in deep mourning of my beloved perfume...
What can I do? I cannot dock her pay as she wouldn't have much left if she had to pay for all these. Besides, she is otherwise brilliant still. So I've decided to overlook this 'small' defect of hers...
Good on you, HK2008.
Okay, let me see... ours melted the rubber backing of one of our bathroom rugs because she put them in the dryer (!), chipped one of my very expensive wedding plates, managed to break other smaller things over time.
No, I was not thrilled when these happened, but we did not dock her pay, because we believed that she did not do it on purpose. These things happen... either because she didn't know (high temp could melt the rubber, etc.) or because she wasn't careful enough. After all is said and done, the things she broke are but material things and could be replaced. That's how we chose to look at it.
Okay, let me see... ours melted the rubber backing of one of our bathroom rugs because she put them in the dryer (!), chipped one of my very expensive wedding plates, managed to break other smaller things over time.
No, I was not thrilled when these happened, but we did not dock her pay, because we believed that she did not do it on purpose. These things happen... either because she didn't know (high temp could melt the rubber, etc.) or because she wasn't careful enough. After all is said and done, the things she broke are but material things and could be replaced. That's how we chose to look at it.
Thanks Buckeroo for sharing. Good to know that I'm not the only one feeling a bit upset when seeing our precious things(especially with memory on it) broken into pieces...Anyway I had finally got over my perfume incident and bought myself another bottle!
I did have to have a serious chat with her. While fully understanding errors will occur in the course of any work, I said I would appreciate if she could take extra care when handling fragile and/or expensive items; and spend a few minutes reading and following the instructions of any labels or user manuals. And take time to do things---unlike her ex-employer, I don't time how long she spends on doing the vacuum/cleaning the bathroom etc. Actually I don't really care what she does nor how she does it...as long as the key things are taken care of, I don't want to stress myself out just to watch over her...
I did have to have a serious chat with her. While fully understanding errors will occur in the course of any work, I said I would appreciate if she could take extra care when handling fragile and/or expensive items; and spend a few minutes reading and following the instructions of any labels or user manuals. And take time to do things---unlike her ex-employer, I don't time how long she spends on doing the vacuum/cleaning the bathroom etc. Actually I don't really care what she does nor how she does it...as long as the key things are taken care of, I don't want to stress myself out just to watch over her...
this is such a refreshing thread especially when you see so many satisfied employer here.
I too have switched from a p/t helper to a f/t one 2.5 months ago. Was a little bit worried about having someone else in the apartment but luckily our helper turned out to fantastic. The only improvement would be her cooking skills but I don't really mind as I enjoyed cooking (as long as someone else is doing the dishes)
I too have switched from a p/t helper to a f/t one 2.5 months ago. Was a little bit worried about having someone else in the apartment but luckily our helper turned out to fantastic. The only improvement would be her cooking skills but I don't really mind as I enjoyed cooking (as long as someone else is doing the dishes)
Michelle2009
Registered User
This has been such an interesting thread - thank you for so much insight.
My new f/t helper starts with us next week as baby no.1 is due soon and our local p/t lady, who is absolutely wonderful, does not want a full time position.
The new helper was recommended to us by our friend as they had two helpers (who are sisters), but now that my friend's children are older, they are letting go of one, so we have taken on the one who looked after my friend's youngest boy for the past 12 years. She came with a glowing recommendation although my friend admitted she can be a bit slow at times, but we were happy with her at the interview.
However, my reservations have since crept in as when we were sorting out her return airfare, she lied to me and told me the fare she quoted was a one way ticket rather than a return, so she had wanted me to pay the entire amount rather than split it with her previous employer. Of course, I spotted this immediately and she was unable to give me an explanation.
But given she came with such good references from a friend, at the time, I thought I would give her the benefit of the doubt, however, most of my friends are saying I should have just let her go there and then.....so I am now getting very worried as I feel like the trust has already gone even though she has not even started with us. My husband has said to give her a chance on the basis she was caught out immediately so it is unlikely she will try again and we have put measures in place so that all valuables are lock in a safe and there is no loose change/valuables lying around.
I am just wondering now whether I have done the right thing and whether anyone has had a similar experience?
My new f/t helper starts with us next week as baby no.1 is due soon and our local p/t lady, who is absolutely wonderful, does not want a full time position.
The new helper was recommended to us by our friend as they had two helpers (who are sisters), but now that my friend's children are older, they are letting go of one, so we have taken on the one who looked after my friend's youngest boy for the past 12 years. She came with a glowing recommendation although my friend admitted she can be a bit slow at times, but we were happy with her at the interview.
However, my reservations have since crept in as when we were sorting out her return airfare, she lied to me and told me the fare she quoted was a one way ticket rather than a return, so she had wanted me to pay the entire amount rather than split it with her previous employer. Of course, I spotted this immediately and she was unable to give me an explanation.
But given she came with such good references from a friend, at the time, I thought I would give her the benefit of the doubt, however, most of my friends are saying I should have just let her go there and then.....so I am now getting very worried as I feel like the trust has already gone even though she has not even started with us. My husband has said to give her a chance on the basis she was caught out immediately so it is unlikely she will try again and we have put measures in place so that all valuables are lock in a safe and there is no loose change/valuables lying around.
I am just wondering now whether I have done the right thing and whether anyone has had a similar experience?
Truly interesting. This is my first helper. While this may be natural for all of you, I am finding it a struggle to delegate the baby sitting to my helper. But care to share how you plan your helper's daily schedule? I have a 7 month old baby and have been taking care of my baby 100% of the time.
I do not know how I can delegate the babysitting to the helper since she's either out doing groceries, cleaning, vacuuming, mopping or cooking. How do you ladies ensure that the helper is clean when she's handling the baby? I mean there close contact with the baby, and I would not want cooking stains etc to get on my baby.
The level of cleanliness is something that I expect even from myself.
Any advise? Do you ask the helper to bathe everytime she has to handle the baby? Any tips are appreciated.
I do not know how I can delegate the babysitting to the helper since she's either out doing groceries, cleaning, vacuuming, mopping or cooking. How do you ladies ensure that the helper is clean when she's handling the baby? I mean there close contact with the baby, and I would not want cooking stains etc to get on my baby.
The level of cleanliness is something that I expect even from myself.
Any advise? Do you ask the helper to bathe everytime she has to handle the baby? Any tips are appreciated.
Re. cleanliness, I make sure there is always handwash in the kitchen and bathrooms and if me or my helper has been cleaning with detergents, outside walking the dog or cleaning, we gave our hands a very quick wash before taking the babies. We were all more vigilant when they were really small, now the youngest is 5 months we are relaxed. I also provided them with disinfectant foam for when they come in from outside (which is more important to me).
Re scheduling, if she needs to take the baby for any reason the cleaning or food preparation just waits.
Also she plans her day (walking the dog, groceries etc.) around when she needs babysit - I just let her know when I will be going out. I also plan around when she will be actually cooking. She usually cooks during the babies naps and we reheat after the kids are down in bed as early evening is hectic with kids eating, baths and bedtime routines etc.
Re scheduling, if she needs to take the baby for any reason the cleaning or food preparation just waits.
Also she plans her day (walking the dog, groceries etc.) around when she needs babysit - I just let her know when I will be going out. I also plan around when she will be actually cooking. She usually cooks during the babies naps and we reheat after the kids are down in bed as early evening is hectic with kids eating, baths and bedtime routines etc.