Ready to hire your first bilingual caregiver? Bilingual caregivers can provide an enriching bilingual environment for children, while also alleviating some of the stress in your daily life. However, as you begin the hiring process you may be wondering exactly where to get started, and how to navigate interactions with your household employees.
Finding a Caregiver
The best way to find a bilingual caregiver is by visiting a reputable website or agency. Not only is this easier than trying to find and screen caregivers on your own, going through a site or agency gives you the opportunity to be connected with a variety of caregivers so that you can find the perfect helper for your family. Prior to beginning your search, it’s a good idea to go ahead and identify the needs of your family so that you have a good idea of the type of caregiver you are looking for. For example, do you want just childcare in a bilingual environment, or are you looking for a nanny who also performs tasks such as cooking and cleaning?
Crunching Numbers
There are many parents out there looking for a “cheap” bilingual caregiver, and there are many options to help you tailor the care to your needs and budget. However, this doesn’t mean that you should be underpaying your caregiver for the services they provide. An affordable caregiver is a caregiver who is paid a fair amount for their services, not a caregiver who provides services for unfair pay because a family wants to save money. A good place to start is by researching the base pay for caregivers who provide your needed services. However, many bilingual caregivers may also offer reduced rates in exchange for food and lodging. When hiring an experienced caregiver, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for a professional and responsible nanny, you should be prepared to compensate them for their services. If you feel that a caregiver is still out of your budget, it can also be great to explore things such as nanny shares where two families split the cost of a caregiver’s wages.
Positive Interactions with Your Caregiver
After deciding to hire a bilingual caregiver, you may be wondering how to ensure that you are treating your caregiver fairly, and respectfully. If you have little experience interacting with employees from different language backgrounds or generations, forming a professional relationship with your caregiver can be scary, but you’ll often find the process more rewarding than intimidating.
When starting with your nanny, don’t be afraid to ask questions and set clear expectations for the type of care you would like. Similarly, when interacting with a bilingual nanny make sure that you are respectful of any language barriers and ensure that both you and the nanny are on the same page about wages and responsibilities. Write down the routines and expectations, use a translator if necessary to ensure both sides’ alignment.
It’s also important to remember that just because your nanny may speak a different language, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be treated with respect and fairly compensated.
Overall, hiring a bilingual caregiver is a rewarding experience for both parents and children, and affordable caregivers do exist. However, it is very important to pay your caregiver fair wages and be respectful of any language or generation gaps. After all, your caregiver is not just a casual employee, but someone who will become an important part of you and your child’s life and growth.
Can’t wait to hire your bilingual helper? Use these tips to get started!
AyiConnect is a platform to connect families with helpers who have a language specialty in addition to care. You can engage with them directly through self service or concierge service. Our concierge service can help busy families who don’t have time to search or need language assistance. Schedule a free consultation here for our concierge service, or download our app.