Nannies No Longer Rule the Roost Parents Regain Economic Power to Be Picky in Hiring Help

By Annie Gowen Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 14, 2009

One Potomac mother of five used to prepare for interviews with prospective nannies like a Hollywood audition. She cleaned her house, made sure the children were quietly coloring and "glamified" the family's lifestyle, which includes regular trips overseas. She capped off talks with a tour of an au pair suite so deluxe it was mentioned in a glossy home magazine.

This year, the pressure is off. When she recently posted an ad online for a new nanny, she was inundated with responses from qualified candidates and unemployed women seeking a job, any job.

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Well, I hope you join me in sighing a sigh of relief that usury and economic advantage is not yet dead. Just in the nick of time, when it seemed the rich might be losing their grip on the throats of worker-dudes, there's been a surge in jobless. Wow. That was a close one.

Now, instead of perhaps 50-hour nanny weeks, Ms. Potomac mother-of-five can let the kids bloom as the darling little crayon-drawers they deserve to be and work the over-qualified nanny of choice a full 70 hours. After all, there are desperate nannies out there by the bunches, trying to hold their own lives together. What an opportunity.

Multiple-million dollar salaries we can forgive. It's the hired help with a decent room and hours that we celebrate in its decline.

Yet another thing to love about Washington and the Washington Post.