In Reply to: Hiring Nannys posted by Jojolee on Tuesday, 9. August 2011 at 05:58 Bali Time:
I have used Karsini and they were very good.
Honestly, every nanny I've ever used in Bali has been absolutely fine. Some I clicked with (and still see), some I didn't for various reasons, but I was very comfortable leaving my children with all of them.
Ultimately, you have to decide whether or not you are comfortable leaving your kids with strangers. I have a disabled child, and if I were not comfortable leaving her with strangers from time to time I'd never get a break (my family members won't look after her). If you decide not to leave the children with the nanny, even having the nanny around makes life a lot easier. We spend a lot of our time at the hotel/villa with the nanny - it enables us to give our other child attention and just makes everything work better.
I have found Balinese women to be extraordinarily warm and patient with children. They are not big on discipline, which is absolutely OK with me, but very cautious. If you spend time with the nanny and children together to see how they interact you may become more comfortable about leaving your children with the nanny.
I would say that with a 3 and 7 year old, you might even want to think about hiring two nannies if you are leaving the children alone with the nanny and they are going to be swimming. I say this because a three-year old in water is really a full time job. I would also recommend you ask for a nanny who is happy to get in the pool, as not all are (and not at certain times of the month).
For casual work nannies usually charge around 35,000Rp. Some, who are very experienced like Casey, charge more. I pay mine petrol money as well if they are travelling a bit to come to us (most will not travel to Ubud, by the way). I also tip them at the end of our stay if we use them a lot.
There are nannies recommended on this forum if you do a search, and I can personally recommend some:
Casey: +6281337290491 (very experienced, very hard worker)
Wayan: +6281338591408 (very chilled and funny, great English)
Iluh: +6236112747866 (very gentle, warm and mature)
Ilu: +623612747866 (outgoing, big hit with the kids)
You will find in Bali that sometimes nannies won't turn up exactly on time or, if they get stuck, will send their sister/cousin/friend to replace them for a few hours. Often nannies have prior bookings or ceremonial responsibilities, etc. Generally, nannies booked through an agency do this less. This hasn't been a problem for me - in fact we've met some great nannies because our regular nanny has occasionally had to send someone else - but I just mention it case you are a bit uptight about that sort of thing. Usually the nanny will warn you via SMS or something. If you really need them to be on time for some reason, be clear about it.
A lot of people on this forum are horrified by the use of nannies, which I can understand, but our Balinese nannies have been a God's send. I've become very close to one in particular and having a friend liker her in Bali has enriched the experience of holidaying in Bali a lot. I can't see us taking the kids anywhere else for a long time.
Anyway, I hope this essay helps!