Paula B. Pet Care Provider in Castro Valley, CA 94546

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Paula had trouble following straightforward 3 ingredient recipes. It required so much assistance and instructions for errands (that were still not followed correctly) that It was far easier for us to just do them.
Additionally there were a few accidents. On two separate occasions our son had large red scratches on his face and chin and both times when asked Paula said that she did not know what had happened. Another time he fell backwards on his head from his playroom table and she stated that she was not in the playroom when it happened. This we found unacceptable for someone who was being paid to watch our child. She also wore long sculptured nails which we personally did not like from a safety and hygiene perspective.

While we expected her to grow as a nanny, build trust and gain experience, it seemed as though she only wanted more in such a very short period of time without earning it or providing more value. She seemed to be very naive regarding her lack of experience and skill set, very entitled to more money too soon and thought that she could slowly manipulate us into more hours over time for a part- time position.

We worked with Paula from June - Mid September 2022 as a part time nanny.  At the time of hire, Paula had no experience as a nanny in the USA and no references with whom we could speak.  Paula worked with us for three months assisting with our 2 year old son's care.  She arrived on time, washed dishes, ran errands, picked up food, prepared and served meals, did light housekeeping in the kitchen, playroom and nursery, laundry assistance included steaming, folding, hanging and closet organization. We made a detailed schedule for our son which she followed for the most part. 

After the trial days and before moving forward with the job, despite having no experience Paula asked for more hourly pay, we agreed upon this as we thought she would be a good fit.  After agreeing to increase her hourly pay, we were disappointed that it took asking her several times and having her stay home until completed for her to finish first aid/cpr certification.  Paula kept informing us that she would complete the class by a certain deadline but never kept her word. We also were disappointed with her lack of follow through with the background check.  For weeks we submitted the request for the background check but she could not figure out how to receive the next steps through SitterCity and her email inbox was full preventing her from receiving emails. We paid for and ordered 3 or 4 background checks before she was finally able to clear her inbox.  Over time, she also wanted more hours, again we agreed as we wanted to maintain the relationship and work with her long term.

As a nanny, Paula was very inexperienced, she would send numerous texts throughout the day as we worked from home with questions and had inexperience with some of the general errands asked to run.  She needed quite a bit of direction and hand holding during the work day. Paula worked well with our son, he took to her immediately which we truly appreciated and he and Paula had fun playing outside and in his playroom.  She taught him soccer, songs, made art, painted often, bought him a birthday gift, and ran around with him in our yard.  He liked her a lot and that meant so much to us. 

Ultimately this month she again asked for more hours however this was always a part-time position. Given our very active/busy fall schedule, having already increased hours from the original 22 hours a week up to 25 hours a week, agreeing to an increase in hourly pay and other generosities, we could not offer her more hours.  With just 3 days notice, instead of the standard 2 weeks (which we outlined in the contract we drafted) Paula gave us notification that she would not continue with us. Understandably, having such short notice with something as important as childcare was very inconvenient and quite unprofessional. Paula's initial reason for discontinuing with us was due to an evening class.  Upon revising the schedule to accommodate her hard stop at 5pm for her class we received no response at all from her, she completely ignored the revised schedule and our ask if it would work.  Once nudged she had a new reason why she could not continue and that she needed to leave each day at an even earlier time than she stated 3 days prior, now due to her other job and responsibilities.  She was just not interested in continuing with us.  She left very coldly and without completing job tasks before doing so.

In addition to having no hesitation or reservations at all about asking for more money/hours without providing more value, with no parenting or early childhood education experience she thought it her place to repeatedly give me unwanted and unsolicited advice regarding what my child needed to eat and do instead of doing her job to the best of her ability and following the instructions provided which was unappreciated. She repeatedly asked to take our child away from our home despite my telling her that I was not comfortable at all with this. Once addressed with her, she apologized and these comments and requests were not made again.

While Paula was patient and worked well with my son, she could improve in following directions, awareness, body language, thinking independently, professional etiquette, adhering to schedule, being mindful of her words, communication (particularly responsiveness), humility, and taking initiative. While there were positives to having Paula as our nanny, I found the experience to be unfortunate in many ways. As someone with minimal nanny experience the repeated asks for more be-it hours or money seemed very entitled. There were also the aforementioned issues with tact, invasive questions and comments that were inappropriate, critical, rude and imposing despite likely being unintentional, they were still unwelcome. 

Overall, Paula did a decent job with my son however we are very disappointed in the short notice and changing reasons for discontinuing with us as well as her complete change in attitude upon our disapproval of more hours for this part-time position.  In the end having dealt honestly, generously, fairly and in adherence with the contract we provided, we felt taken advantage of, slighted and unappreciated by someone whom we welcomed and trusted in our home with our son.