Babysitting-parents think im not friendly,nanny cams, etc.

Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

stoicprincess
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Jun 2016
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 2

25 Jun 2016, 4:49 am

I have always had a hard time finding and keeping jobs. I quit jobs after a few months because I start to get so much anxiety from work drama/gossip and so I chose to work with kids. It is so much better for me and I prefer it. So despite my college education and other qualifications, I have chosen to work with kids because my anxiety won't allow me to do anything else right now. I am on the verge of quitting this too. Some parents seem to take issue with me because I am so quiet and serious. Someone complained to my agency and said that I am not friendly. This is hard for me because I have tons of experience with kids and I try so hard to do a good job. The other issue is with nanny cams. Most people have them. No one has EVER told me that they have a cam..but most people do. It is infuriating to me, although I understand it. I feel like someone is breathing down my neck all day because people can just access me on an app or on their computers. How do I know they are not in the bathroom? It makes me paranoid. I really don't know if this is the right job for me. I placed so much hope on this and I wanted to stick with this job because it is flexible and I would be able to work while taking classes, because it is not the typical 9-5. I'm thinking of finding a work from home job doing data entry or something right now...I've done that before and I get in a spiral of depression being home all day so I don't know what to do....Sorry if I didn't articulate myself well here/mistakes. It's almost 3 am and I am a bit out of it. Last night I was researching nanny cams for 3 hours after work and having a meltdown.



starkid
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Feb 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,812
Location: California Bay Area

25 Jun 2016, 10:40 am

I've been wanting to do some babysitting too (volunteering, not employment), but I know that I wouldn't be able to deal with parents thinking I'm socially weird. It's really frustrating and anxiety-provoking that people have to make everything into a social situation, even your job.

I wouldn't like nanny cams either, but I would try to think about how the parents feel about their child's safety.

I work from home and I definitely recommend it. You don't have to stay at home all the time; you can take a laptop to a coffee shop, library, or local college. Do you live in the United States? Try NTI, they help with work-from-home placement. Or consider freelancing.

Are you on the spectrum or have another neurological condition? If there are a lot of autistic kids in your area, you could try to specialize and babysit them mainly. Their parents may be more forgiving of you not being "friendly," and being neurodivergent yourself could help convince them to hire and keep you.



stoicprincess
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Jun 2016
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 2

25 Jun 2016, 12:50 pm

Yes, I live in the U.S. I have done freelancing and worked from home, but it's hard to find something that allows me to be financially stable. I don't have an official Asperger's diagnosis, although I fit all the symptoms. Would NTI need that? That's a good idea on working with kids on the spectrum.



starkid
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Feb 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,812
Location: California Bay Area

25 Jun 2016, 1:14 pm

It's true, freelancing can be unstable.

I'm not sure how NTI handles diagnoses. I don't think they even mention that on their website. You have to submit an online application before they do anything, then they do some sort of trial to make sure you have the right computer.



SocOfAutism
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 2 Mar 2015
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,848

27 Jun 2016, 1:10 pm

Could you work in a preschool or some other kind of kids school? You'd have multiple kids, but also you wouldn't be the only one watching the kids and things would be highly structured. I personally, would prefer having someone on the autism spectrum work at my two-year old's school because most of our family is autistic and he seems a little more comfortable around autistic people than neurotypicals. Even though he's neurotypical himself.

I get the nanny cam thing. I would not like being filmed myself, but then if I ever got a nanny or baby sitter who wasn't family I would use them and definitely put them in unexpected places.