Hiring a Mother's Help: Points to Consider

It’s difficult to find someone prepared to work part-time hours on a long-term basis. Having a high turnover of short-term assistants who are biding their time while they seek full-time employment isn’t good for you or your baby.

Therefore the more hours you can afford to pay for the better chance you have of finding someone suitable on stable basis, eg from a nanny agency.

If you use someone who is not a registered nanny you can’t claim tax credits.

It helps if the person knows the area and is comfortable going to mums n toddler groups with your baby, as well as the park in fine weather, if you can’t get to them yourself. This becomes more important when they are toddlers and need the stimulation of different environments and other children to learn social skills.

If it's your first baby and your mother's help is an experienced nanny, she will probably have a better idea than you of what your baby's needs are at their stage of development. This could make you feel undermined, especially if, like me, you lack confidence anyway because of your physical incapacities.