Miranda T.

We hired Miranda to help care for our young son, but unfortunately our experience left us questioning whether she understands the boundaries and expectations that come with working in someone else’s home. What concerned us most was the way she communicated with us. Rather than bringing concerns or suggestions to us in person, she sent a lengthy message outlining what she believed we needed to change about our home, our son’s routine, sleep, and parenting. We found the message overwhelming and felt that many of her suggestions were presented as expectations rather than things to discuss with us. We are always open to hearing concerns about our son and considering recommendations, but we are his parents, and decisions about his care and upbringing belong to us. We want someone who respects that distinction. We were also uncomfortable with the suggestion that we should stay out of sight while she cared for our son. We both work from home, and while we understand the importance of minimizing unnecessary interruptions, we are not willing to be in a situation where we cannot see our own child in our own home. We also found that frequent conversations and interruptions made it difficult for us to do our work. Another concern was the implication that our pool may have caused her UTI because of a pH issue we had already disclosed and were addressing. We understand that she was trying to determine the cause of her illness, but we felt it was unfair to place that responsibility on us based on a possibility. We appreciate the love and care she showed our son, and we know she has experience caring for children. However, experience and good intentions do not replace communication, respect for parental boundaries, and understanding that childcare is a partnership. We would encourage families to have a very clear conversation about expectations, parental involvement, communication, and decision-making before hiring her. For our family, this ultimately did not feel like the right fit.

Unfortunately, she gets overwhelmed easily. The tasks she puts on her resume and posting do not match with what she can actually provide. When asked if she could incorporate a fun teaching activity into the day like colors or numbers to a toddler, that was too much of an ask and she stated “I am not a miracle worker”. Also, the light housekeeping which I only ever asked her to do if both children were napping at the same time was an issue with her. I had only ever asked her to fold the children’s clothes or vacuum the playroom. She likes to put all of her great qualities but comes up short on actually wanting to provide them. I think two children is too much for her to handle. She is not very professional as she quit with no notice over a text and had spoken bad about a few families she cares for.