What makes a nanny good at their job?

[Kyna]

In the Official Guide is written, to track the schedule of the sim that goes to work *earlier*, to make sure that the nanny comes early, and if she doesn't come - the second sim has the time to call her "just for now", and at the end of the working day - to make a new "track schedule".

Actually, that's not quite what the guide says.  Page 212 of the guide says "If parents work differing hours, consider having the earlier-departing adult call the Nanny.  Thus, the later-starting adult can work on Skills or Wants or socialize rather than taking care of the minors." 

The guide doesn't say anything like "if the nanny doesn't turn up then you can use the other parent to call the nanny" - I would have been surprised if it did, as that's effectively saying this is bugged so this is the workaround.  Remember that the guide was written before the game was released and therefore before the bugs in the released version were known.

Yes, I did buy the guide for the original game, before I realised that the guide is basically garbage.

[gali]

Yes Kyna, you are right - the explanation why it make sense to track the earlier working sim is my own, because I have many failures choosing the later-working sim. Nevertheless, it writes to choose the earlier-working sim, and that's true.

[Kyna]

Personally I think it makes more sense to schedule the nanny to the parent who has the later schedule.  Then when the parent on the earlier schedule gets home they can dismiss the nanny.  I use expensive NPCs, so it saves my sims some money, but the real reason I do it is to minimise the time that horrid creature is on the lot.

I think this is another example of the guide not offering the best advice.