Almost there . . .
×
add to homescreen
Install App
Add to home screen
Site language modal icon
EN
妈妈们主导自己的陪月
妈妈们主导自己的陪月
IN MUMMY EDUCATION

MUMMY, IT'S TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CONFINEMENT!

Article 45 views
124
Article 45 comments
0
Be careful if you decide to pay a deposit into a stranger's bank account. A bank transaction record is not proof that the Confinement Nanny has agreed to provide you with her services. Authorities might not be able to process scam reports without an official contract for the job.

We understand that some Mummies may feel more comfortable making down payments directly into their Nanny's bank account. If that is the case, please hear us out.

1. MUMMIES ARE STILL THE UNDERDOGS

At the moment, not every Mummy is lucky enough to have a worry-free confinement experience. Mummies put a lot of time, effort, and money into hiring a Confinement Nanny. Yet they still have to entertain the strong possibility of a regrettable experience with their Confinement Nanny. In the unfortunate event that they do, most Mummies have no other option than putting up with the Nanny while counting down the days until the confinement ends. According to some Mummies, they dare not confront the Nanny during the confinement period for fear that she will mishandle their babies afterward.

2. IT'S A GAMBLE

Mummies disagree on how to prevent these issues. One group advises engaging an agency, while the other has confidence in reputable freelance Confinement Nannies. Both groups give reasonable arguments, but Mummy's complaints and experiences continue showing that neither is the solution. The only thing most can agree on is that finding a suitable Confinement Nanny entirely depends on chance.

3. TAKE CONTROL

For the past decade and up to the time of writing, Mummies have reported similar problems in their complaints. Our research has categorized these issues as scams, misconduct, under-qualification, and unprofessionalism. The fact that Mummies continue to experience these issues suggests that a new approach is required to prevent them from happening again.

3.1. Eliminate Scams and Misconduct

Mummies are required to make a down payment to reserve their slot with Confinement Nannies. This process entirely relies on blind trust since there is no guarantee that the person claiming to be a Confinement Nanny is authentic. MummyNanny provides a secure payment system for Mummies to make down payments to Confinement Nannies. The system releases the money to the Nanny after the Mummy has confirmed her arrival. This strategy prevents fraudulent individuals from taking advantage of the process to scam Mummies of their money. Furthermore, Nannies refrain from misconduct (like making outrageous demands after the down payment) because Mummies can request a refund.

3.2. Discourage Under-qualification and Unprofessionalism

When Mummies make a down payment through the system, they unlock a job portfolio where they can submit a public evaluation of their Confinement Nanny's service after the confinement. The evaluation system addresses under-qualification by encouraging Mummies to conduct honest assessments so Nannies can identify areas of their service that require improvement. Nannies also strive to provide a more professional service because Mummy evaluations will affect their profile, ranking, and ability to get future jobs.

An evaluation is not the same as a recommendation. When you evaluate a Nanny, you also highlight areas of her service that need improvement.

4. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

Mummies not only protect themselves by making their Nanny's down payment through the system, but they also contribute to making future mothers' confinement experiences safer and more professional. Everything on MummyNanny is free for Mummies, and there is no surcharge for making your Nanny's down payment through the system. Moreover, every Nanny registered on the platform has agreed to receive their down payments through the system. Because of this, we advise you demand to make your deposit using the payment system. Be cautious of Confinement Nannies who insist you pay their deposit directly into their bank account after you request to use MummyNanny's payment system. Report any case of such a person to us so that we will take appropriate action. Mummies can only protect themselves by standing together. Your safety and well-being are your priorities.

Comments

Be the first to comment

More from the MummyNanny Blog

Explore further insights and expert advice on your parenting journey from our comprehensive blog.

Happy mummy interviewing confinement nanny online.
Happy mummy interviewing confinement nanny online.
IN MUMMY EDUCATION

THE GUIDE TO HIRING A FREELANCE CONFINEMENT NANNY

Article 32 views
127
Article 32 comments
0

Based on our interviews with Mummies after their confinement, almost 60% of them wish they had done a proper interview before making a down payment. Some common complaints include: Passing the job to another Nanny; last-minute changes & cancellation; additional charges after confirmation; refusal to refund the down payment; bad manners; over-demanding; refusing certain tasks on the job; poor hygiene; and endangering the baby. There have also been recent reports of scams, whereby someone posing as a freelance confinement Nanny takes the down payment and disappears. To prevent these problems from happening to new Mummies over and over again, we did extensive research and came up with this guide. Malaysian Nannies require a visa to work in Singapore. Refer to The Step-by-step Guide on how to apply for a Work Permit for your Confinement Nanny in Singapore. Determine the Nannies you wish to interview. If you made a job post on Facebook, a lot of Nannies available during your Expected Date of Delivery (EDD) usually respond, so it will be difficult to conduct a proper interview with each of them. This is when you filter out all those who do not meet your key criteria. Key criteria include: Simply being available during your EDD is not enough. You want to be sure that the Nanny you choose has enough free days before the start date of your job. This is to avoid cases of no-show or the job being transferred to an unknown Nanny if your delivery is earlier than expected. You need to be comfortable with the Nanny’s salary for the number of days you want to secure her services. The freelance community is packed with experienced confinement Nannies so there is usually enough of them who will meet your budget. Do you have specific meal preferences such as vegan meals; halal meals; traditional Malay, Chinese, or Indian confinement dishes; or western dishes? If your answer is yes, then you need to consider only Nannies who know how to prepare your type of meals. Communication is key to successful confinement. You should only hire a Nanny who can communicate fluently in the language(s) of your choice. Some Nannies require a separate room for themselves and the baby to sleep, while others are fine with sleeping in the same room as the Mummy. Therefore, you can only hire a Nanny who you have enough room to accommodate. We have created an easier way for you to filter out Nannies, which is by asking them to create an account on MummyNanny. With MummyNanny, you can select your key criteria from a list and only the qualified Nannies will be displayed. You can also view each Nanny’s calendar to decide if they have enough free time before your EDD. The platform is free for everyone to join so a Nanny who refuses to create an account upon your request might not be authentic. Make a list of interview questions to determine whether a Nanny is suitable for your confinement. Here are some points we suggest you consider when formulating interview questions: You need to know the things each Nanny does and the things that are out of their job scope. Ensure their job scopes are clearly stated to avoid conflicts in the future. It is important to take note of the payment process of each Nanny. The salary is usually split into 2 parts — the Down Payment and the Remaining Salary. You need to know the exact day each part of the salary will be paid. Some additional charges may come in form of ang pows, postnatal massage fees, staircase fees, house chore fees, extra cooking fees (e.g., cooking for the entire family), health insurance, etc. Therefore, it is also important to have a clear payment agreement so that you will not find yourself being charged unexpected fees in the future. For this, we suggest you ask the Nanny to provide a list of all her additional charges. It is also important to know each Nanny’s working hours and when they need to take their rest. Know the exact time and duration of their rest hours and try not to disturb them during this period so that they have enough energy to take care of your newborn for the remainder of the day. Some Nannies do not consider house chores as part of their job, so confirm what they do to keep the environment clean (e.g., cleaning after cooking). Their environmental and personal hygiene must meet your expectation so that you will not have problems with how she manages your house or handles the baby. Every Nanny takes care of babies differently, so find a way to access their level of experience and knowledge about baby care. Confinement is a period for the Mummy to recover from delivery after all. Hence, you need to understand how each Nanny plans to take care of you and determine whether it is up to your expectation. It is crucial to understand each Nanny’s procedure in case of any emergency. Find out how each Nanny will respond in case an unfortunate situation occurs. Ask each Nanny about the items that need to be purchased for your confinement. This could include the type of herbs, ingredients, house furniture, and home appliances or utensils. Try to make a list of the required items so that you do not over-purchase. Clarify what you do not want the Nanny to do or share with friends, colleagues, or others to protect you and your family’s privacy. For example, you may want to approve the photos she can share, or you may not want her inviting friends over. Mummies tend to be emotionally sensitive after delivery. To avoid disputes that may lead to episodes of high blood pressure and depression, try to determine each Nanny's personality to see if you can work with them during your confinement. A video call can give you more hints regarding your personality match. For Malaysian Nannies, ask each of them about their visa situation so that you know when to start the visa application process. Ask them the questions you formulated and take note of what you have agreed on because this will become the Terms of Service for the job. Ensure the selected Nanny agrees to abide by the Terms of Service before you make the down payment. Unfortunately, since the freelance community is open and lacking regulations, two things you cannot be sure of are getting a refund and receiving a professional service. Our solution to this is making the Nanny’s down payment through MummyNanny. This way, you can always get a refund because the Nanny will get the payment only after you confirm that she has arrived at your home. A portfolio will also be created for you and the Nanny so you are likely to receive a more professional service since you will publicly evaluate her performance after the job is complete. Stay in touch with the Nanny and keep her updated on your progress so that she knows when to arrive at your home. If you made the down payment through MummyNanny, you should evaluate her performance in the job portfolio and publish it after the confinement period. Take note that the Nanny can only see your evaluation after you publish the portfolio, so we encourage you to be as honest as possible. By taking part in this process, you will be doing future Mummies a lot of good and playing a very important role in advancing the freelance confinement community.

Sad mummy lying on bed worried about her situation during confinement period.
Sad mummy lying on bed worried about her situation during confinement period.
IN MUMMY EDUCATION

BLACKLISTING CONFINEMENT NANNIES DOES NOT WORK

Article 30 views
187
Article 30 comments
0

Every once in a while, Mummies make complaints about various problems they had with their confinement Nannies. This includes experiences with freelance Nannies as well as those from confinement agencies. Several posts recounting their experiences suggest that a lot of things could go wrong before or during the confinement. Some of the most frequently reported issues include: Hiring: Taking a down payment and passing the job to another Nanny; Last-minute changes to the arrangement; Last-minute cancellation; and Refusal to refund the down payment after cancellation and avoiding calls. Attitude: Bad manners and rudeness; Laziness and over-sleeping; Wasting resources; Telling lies; Lack of focus and always on the phone; Over-demanding and having too many special requests; Exploiting the Mummy and over-spending; Accusing the Mummy whenever things with the baby do not turn out as expected; Leaving the job earlier than agreed; and Smoking on the job. Confinement Skills: Limited knowledge about confinement practices and baby care; Lack of cooking skills; Poor time management skills; Overfeeding the baby to sleep; Discourage breastfeeding and secretly feeding the baby formula milk against the Mummy’s wishes; Poor hygiene with the baby; Endangering the baby. Sadly, some Mummies even commented that having a smooth confinement period without experiencing these issues depends on luck. The complaints indicate that there is not much guarantee even with Nannies from confinement agencies. Some also mentioned that Nannies can sometimes turn out to be different from how they sounded on the phone during the interview. To avoid such experiences, it is necessary to do some research to ensure that the Nanny you wish to hire has not been previously blacklisted. If you are engaging a confinement agency, you can start by consulting them about the Nanny’s personality and performance in previous jobs. Otherwise, proceed to scour the Internet for complaints on blogs and forums, as well as posts on social media groups and individual accounts. One way Nannies get blacklisted is when the confinement agency they were associated with adds their names to a list of terminated Nannies. This list is usually used to assure Mummies that the available Nannies are of high-quality and necessary actions will be taken in case of any problems. Another way Nannies get blacklisted is when Mummies share their personal experiences and dissatisfaction on online forums, personal blogs, social media groups, and on their accounts. The posts typically include a description of the events that took place and personal details about the Nanny, such as names, passport number, phone number, and place or country of residence. Some of these posts also alert others about individuals carrying out fraudulent activities under the guise of a confinement agency or freelance Nanny. In such cases, the post may also include photos of the individual. Even with so many blacklists on the Internet, Mummies continue to post new complaints about the same issues every year. This section explores the main reasons why blacklisting confinement Nannies has not been effective in preventing Mummies from going through these experiences. When it comes to agencies, most of them retain their list of blacklisted Nannies for internal use. As a result, you only have access to their blacklist if you engage them. Only a few agencies provide a list of terminated Nannies on their website for public viewing. Even at that, you can only find these blacklists if you can discover those particular pages on their websites. As for blacklists on online forums, social media groups, and individual accounts, finding them on the Internet is not always easy. To find specific information on such platforms, the post needs to be visible to the public, and you need to guess the right keywords for your search as well. When it comes to keywords, one thing to bear in mind is that Mummies post their complaints in different languages and use acronyms you may not be aware of. Another issue with social media groups is limited access. Some of them are not open to the public and require verification to confirm that you are a Mummy and a resident of their country. Further verification may also require you to get a referral from one of their members, and your request could be declined or left pending forever if their admins doubt your eligibility for any reason. One of the main reasons for this strict membership policy is that they want Mummies to openly post complaints about their experiences without being concerned by the presence of Nannies. Unfortunately, not every Mummy will be able to gain membership, as they might not be residents of the specified country or may not know anyone from the group to refer them. Even when you manage to join these groups, the lack of dedicated search tools could make it difficult to confirm whether the Nanny you wish to hire is on their blacklist. A major limitation of agency blacklists is that they are usually composed of only their previous employees. Hence, provided the Nannies can still get confinement jobs in the country, there is no way to be sure if those who were blacklisted in one agency have continued to work with another agency. As for online blacklists, they are spread across various platforms and not everyone has the time and patience for conducting detailed research to confirm that a Nanny is not on any of them. Online blacklists often focus on only one side of the story. Whenever a Mummy makes complaints about a Nanny’s service, everyone reading the post tend to forget that two parties were involved and either one or both of them could be at fault. It is also very rare to find Nannies responding to complaints about their service, and this is partly because they are often unaware of such posts. This makes blacklisting generally biased against Nannies. On Facebook, for instance, you might not be aware of a post that concerns you if the author is not your friend. You cannot know what is being said about you in groups you have not joined as well. Some Nannies have voiced their feelings concerning this matter after finding out about such posts against their services from someone else. This is even worse with online forums and blogs, where you might wake up one day only to realize that your name and personal information have been shared on a blacklist some years ago. Imagine the feeling of making such a discovery and not being able to defend yourself or share your side of the story. Just like the saying “one mistake can undo years of good work”, it only takes one bad complaint on the Internet to taint a Nanny’s career. When it comes to online blacklists, people usually make conclusions based on only one Mummy’s personal experience. However, without considering previous records, there is no proof that other Mummies will also feel the same way about the Nanny. The Nanny may have always provided excellent services for her previous Mummies, with only that specific case turning out differently. This is something that is typically neglected when blacklisting Nannies. It is important to bear in mind that good cooperation between a Mummy and Nanny often requires both of them to share some common values and preferences. So one Mummy’s personal opinion about a Nanny should be taken with a grain of salt until reports from other Mummies who have also received the Nanny’s services indicate a pattern. Without such a pattern, consideration needs to be given to the Nanny’s side of the story. Just like most professions with a learning curve, Nannies are also expected to improve their skills as they gain more experience while taking care of different Mummies and babies. That is why Nannies need access to Mummy feedbacks to continue improving their performance. Unfortunately, the blacklisting system does not encourage the kind of constructive criticism that helps Nannies to improve. Instead, most of the feedback from Mummies are either awesome recommendations or bad complaints. Continuing with this system will only do more harm to the confinement community as the years go by. Blacklists tend to leave a bad impression on freelance Nannies in particular. After considering the risks involved, some Mummies may no longer feel safe to hire a freelance confinement Nanny, even though some of the Nannies in the complaints were acquired from agencies. For example, consider the situation where a Mummy finds the services of an agency’s Nanny unbearable. Upon making a complaint, the agency offers to provide another Nanny. The moral of the story becomes: it is safer to deal with agencies rather than freelance Nannies because some agencies can provide a replacement. Mummies feel safer with an agency because they provide a certain degree of guarantee and also take responsibility if anything goes wrong with the service. The same cannot be said for freelance confinement because it seems like the Nanny can always disappear and much cannot be done to affect her status in the profession. This is unfortunate because the freelance confinement industry holds a high calibre of reputable Nannies that have received professional training from different confinement institutions in their early years and have also gained vast experience as freelancers working with Mummies and babies in different countries. To identify Nannies, blacklists include personal details such as names, passport number, phone number, and place or country of residence. Unfortunately, more than one person can have the same names, details such as passport and phone numbers can always be changed, and the place of residence can be falsified. This makes it quite difficult to confirm whether a Nanny has been previously blacklisted and attempts to do so might just be too much of a hassle for expectant mothers. In the end, the blacklisted Nannies still get hired and unfortunate Mummies still experience the same problems. Despite all the warnings on the Internet, new Mummies continue to experience the same problems. For example, some expectant mothers still make down payments to strangers and fall prey to scams. This is because the issues with the online blacklisting system have made it difficult to create awareness. In most cases, Mummies join these blacklisting groups to post their complaints only after a bad experience. As a result, the groups seem to be concentrated on Mummies who have already undergone their confinement rather than expectant mothers who have more to gain. As you can see, there are various reasons why blacklisting Nannies is not an effective way to prevent expectant mothers from hiring the same Nannies. MummyNanny was created with these issues in mind and provides a one-stop solution to access the performance of Nannies from their previous records. The platform also creates a chance for Nannies to learn from previous experiences and improve their understanding of different Mummies and babies as they continue to get more jobs. One of the main concerns with the freelance confinement industry is the lack of security when hiring a Nanny. The available methods of making a down payment are vulnerable to scams and many Mummies have lost their money in the process. Other Mummies find it impossible to get a refund and are forced to accept new conditions set by the Nanny. MummyNanny addresses this issue by providing a way to make down payments through the platform instead of directly paying to the Nanny. This way, the Nanny receives the down payment only after arriving at your home and you get refunded if she fails to turn up as agreed. Blacklisting Issues addressed: Lack of a General Database; Limited Access and Visibility; Does not give a Second Chance; One-sided Opinion. Once you make a down payment through the MummyNanny platform, you will gain access to a portfolio where you will manage and record the progress of the job. Think of it as a diary to record your experiences with the Nanny during confinement. You will be able to add entries to the portfolio once the Nanny arrives at your home. A portfolio consists of sections for adding photos and reviews about the service you received as well as recommendations for the Nanny. There is also a section that requires you to evaluate the Nanny’s performance. This gives her an idea of the aspects of her service that require improvement and those that she needs to maintain. The portfolio also allows the Nanny to add photos and share her side of the experience, thereby eliminating the issue of a one-sided input. Blacklisting Issues Addressed: Neglecting Previous Records; Freelance Nannies pay the Price. Mummies play a very important role in advancing the confinement community when they take part in the Nanny Evaluation System. The system is specifically designed so that they refrain from exaggerated reviews as much as possible and provide contributions that help other Mummies to make the right hiring decisions. This helps to ensure trustworthy evaluations, reviews and recommendations in job portfolios. Since the assessments Nannies get for each job are publicly available on their profiles, you can gain more insight into the aspects of their service that matters most to you and can better determine the most suitable person for your job. This effectively eliminates the need to go about searching for blacklists on various platforms and also allows you to consider previous records of Nannies. Blacklisting Issue Addressed: Identification Problems. One reason why blacklisted Nannies are still being hired is that they can always change the information that is used to identify them on the blacklist. That is why MummyNanny eliminates the need to rely on personal information by focusing on Portfolios, Nanny Ranks and Experience Points instead. Experience points are prized possessions to Nannies because they get only one point for each job they complete on the platform. The more experience points a Nanny accumulates, the more reluctant she will be to discard her account even if her rank is affected by a Mummy’s review in one of her portfolios. In most cases, she will rather try to provide a better service in her next job to improve her rank. In the worst-case scenario where she decides to create a new MummyNanny account, she will not be able to transfer her previous records. As a result, her new account will have no portfolio, experience point or rank, thereby making it easier for Mummies to identify and decide whether or not they wish to hire her. Blacklisting Issues Addressed: Lack of a General Database; Lack of Awareness. It is difficult to create awareness about blacklists when they are scattered over various agencies and online platforms. Having everything in one place makes it easier to create awareness among expectant mothers. MummyNanny brings Mummies and Nannies from all over the world together on one platform. Any user can find Nannies and get in touch with them through the contact information provided on their profiles. Create a free account today to start your journey with MummyNanny.

RECENT ARTICLES

TOP NANNIES

MORE NANNIES
scroll-to-top