New forums can help find a nanny
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Parents searching for good in-home childcare providers now have a new tool — forums on Hawaii Moms LikeMe.com specially created to help parents and childcare providers network with each other.
And the site's discussion board also is an ideal place to talk frankly with other moms about related issues like whether you would ever use a "nanny cam" (most moms said yes) and whether you would consider a male babysitter (most said no).
The childcare networking forums can be found visiting Hawaii.MomsLikeMe.com and clicking on the pink Discussion tab. Scroll down to the Education & Development section, and there you'll find:
• Child Care, In-Home: Honolulu
• Child Care, In-Home: Leeward/Central O'ahu
• Child Care, In-Home: Windward O'ahu/North Shore
• Child Care, In-Home: Neighbor Islands
Both parents and childcare providers are welcome to start discussion "threads" there. (Note: Only solo, in-home childcare providers and independent nannies are allowed to network on the site. Not permitted: childcare centers, nanny businesses, and other organizations and businesses.)
If you want to ask other moms their opinions on childcare topics, the same Education & Development section also has a forum called Child Care Issues. Here is an excerpt from one thread in that forum:
Q. Would you send your child to a male baby sitter? The reason I am asking is, my husband is a stay-at-home dad, and we need to supplement our income, and I was thinking maybe he could watch like one other child and make small cash on the side. But I wasn't sure if people would actually go for a male baby sitter. (Posted by a mom with the screen name kitty2)
A few moms' responses, with their screen names:
"Call me sexist, but I'd hesitate to take my kids to even a dad as the sole caretaker. I'm not even fond of sitters who have (teen) boys or adult males around the house while the children being watched are there." — 89Mom94
"It gives me a weird vibe to think about ... that is my honest first reaction. In reality, though, I have to say that there are some great things that men bring to childcare that women don't — my husband is much more patient than I am usually! ... I think that it might appeal especially to moms that maybe don't have a significant other or a strong male role model for their children." — mamadelmonito.
Reach Esme Infante Nii at hawaii@momslikeme.com.
