A Mom once said that finding a good Yaya nowadays is like searching for a unicorn. I’m probably one of the lucky few whose Yaya became like a family member already. She spent 27 wonderful years with us before retiring and returning to the province. I honestly want her to come back! But moving on. There are certainly Yayas who are excellent at caretaking, but there are also those who apply for the job even if they’re quite inexperienced. And the thing is, it causes Moms to worry even more. After all, the Yaya is responsible for taking care of your child especially when you’re not around. I’m sure you can relate. So, we asked a few Moms to share troublesome experiences which you can hopefully avoid. We also came up with a few questions you can ask when you interview potential Yayas. We hope this helps you out, Mom!
“Yaya #1, naubos niya lahat ng baso and plato namin. Every single time na mag-huhugas siya may isa or dalawang nababasag, and worse, nasusugat pa siya.”
“Yaya #2 walang ginawa kundi mag TikTok. Pagka-serve niya ng lunch namin mag-TikTok siya. Dancing in front of us. How weird is that? Haha!”
“Pinagsama niya yung de-color na damit sa white clothes. All of Hubby’s branded white polos and shirts, (Regatta, Lacoste, you name it), became pink.”
“The midwife dozed off while holding the baby. Pumunta kami agad sa nursery. She denied it pa kahit nakita namin sa CCTV.”
“One time pinagbilinan ko magluto ng breakfast kasi kakauwi ko lang ng madaling araw, super tired ako. Sabi ko mag-gisa lang ng corned beef para madali. Pagkagising ko bukod sa ginisang corned beef meron pang nabuksan na malaking can ng mackerel at cream of mushroom! Sabi ni Ate: Namali ako ng bukas. Na-open ko muna yung mackerel tapos na-realize ko na hindi yun cornbeef. Kumuha ako ulit tapos pagbukas ko cream ng mushroom, tapos nahanap ko na yung cornbeef. Patay kasi yung ilaw kaya hindi ko nakita…”
“Yaya would always go on a tantrum when she didn’t get her way. One time she went on a tantrum and wouldn’t answer when spoken to because we told her she wasn’t going on a trip abroad with us and the baby.”
“The yaya told me her sob story about how her mom abandoned her. We felt bad and gave her some of our old clothes and extra cash but we later found out through cctv that she was cursing us out to her said abusive mom and saying we were the ones abusing her.”
“The yaya had anger issues. Kapag napagsasabihan pumupunta siya sa room or dirty kitchen doon siya nagmumura, at nagwawala. So, I fired her kahit less than a month palang siya and madami siyang utang, kami pa nagbigay ng pamasahe pauwi.”
The Moms on our team know the challenges of finding someone you can trust to help you look after your child. So, we thought of some sample interview questions that may guide you in the selection process.
- Taga-saan ka at ilang taon ka na?
- Saan ka nakatira ngayon?
- Mayroon ka bang sariling pamilya? Ilan ang anak mo?
- Saan ka huling nagtrabaho? Anong trabaho ginawa mo?
- Bakit ka umalis sa huli mong trabaho?
- Bakit mo gustong mag yaya?
- Ano ang pinaka gusto mo sa pagiging yaya? Ano ang pinaka ayaw mo?
- Nakapagpaligo ka na ba ng newborn?
- May mga karamdaman o health issues ka ba na kailangan namin malaman?
- Vaccinated ka ba laban sa Covid-19?
- Gaano kadalas ang day-off mo sa isang buwan?
- Kung sakaling mapagsabihan ka o mapagalitan, paano mo ito tinatanggap?
- Ano ang gusto at ayaw mo sa dati mong amo?
- Gaano mo katagal naiisip magtrabaho bilang yaya namin? May balak ka bang magtagal?
- Handa ka bang maturuan ng mga bagong pamamaraan sa pagaalaga ng bata?
- Meroon ka bang mga bisyo? Paninigarilyo o paginom ng alcohol?
- Bakit ka namin dapat kunin bilang yaya ng anak namin?
- Paano mo disiplinahin ang mga anak mo (kung meron)?