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The Washington Post Nannies and nanny agencies report that the power shift appears to have gone to some parents' heads. Prospective employers are offering some candidates salaries well below average and pushing them to handle additional tasks such as housecleaning. Some families have tried to deduct "rent" from live-in nannies' salaries — unheard of before the economic downturn, according to Debra Weiss, director of placement services for Staffing Solutions(at)Mothers' Aides in Fairfax Station.
"It's unbelievable," said Ali Burket, 28, a government affairs specialist in Alexandria who is giving up her nanny in favor of cheaper day care but is trying to help the nanny find another job. "When we hired our nanny a year ago, the difference was like night and day. The nannies were setting the terms, and it was very much a seller's market. Now my poor nanny can't find a job."
One woman wanted to pay the nanny $300 a week to care for two children and do all the housework. "It's insulting," Burket said. "Her attitude was like, 'You should be happy with what you get because of the economy.'"
Jaclyn Gobuluk, owner of Metropolitan Nannies in Herndon, said that in the past six months, she has noticed that some parents make clear their preference for a college-educated, American nanny, even if the hire has less child-rearing experience than an immigrant nanny might have. Most do not say it directly, Gobuluk says.
"They want American nannies now. ... They feel like there are so many choices out there, they're going to be really picky and that's the best choice for their children," Gobuluk said. "I had one client who said, 'My child doesn't like anybody with brown hair. Find somebody with blond hair.' I'm like, 'Hmm. Your child doesn't like somebody, or you don't like somebody, with brown hair?' We want people to be comfortable, but that's pushing it."
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