Willing to share experience with a mother’s helper?
Hi!
My wife and I are considering hiring a “mothers helper”, but to be honest don’t really have any knowledge of what that actually means and if it’s the right thing for us! Hoping to connect with another family that has had experience (either via phone or email)
Our questions are :
(1) what’s types of things are “in vs out” and how flexible can it be? we’d see most value in errands like grocery shopping, dishes, tidying (not deep cleaning), laundry and extra set of hands/eyes to watch baby if mother needs to do something
(2) is an arrangement for a few hours a day a thing?
(3) what’s a ballpark cost?
(4) what has your experience been?
I imagine answers will vary depending on who is hired, but just looking to gain a foundational set of knowledge on the subject before deciding to proceed with pursuing help
Parent Replies
A Mother's Helper is typically a younger kid (ages 8-11) who comes over and plays with your children while the adult is at home. This provides the adult the opportunity to take a shower, do the dishes, fold laundry, without having to worry about entertaining little ones. Typically a Mother's helper will work for much less than a babysitter (I'd guess ~$8/hour); however, they won't have the maturity or experience to leave alone with your little kiddos.
From your description, you are looking for someone who is a babysitter/errand runner. You'll need to make it clear that you want someone who will do housework as well as run errands. Most nannies won't be interested because it won't be enough hours per week. High school and college students would be great and will (mostly) have the ability to drive but they get busy with activities, finals, etc. and so aren't always available when you need them. Additionally, you could post on your neighborhood's next door to see if there is a retired person who wants to pick up a few hours per week watching your kids, running errands, tidying up, etc. Good luck!