Nanny knowingly spread germs to my child

[Anonymous]

This week I walked in on my nanny drinking orange juice directly from the bottle. The one everyone in the family drinks from, mostly my DC. I confronted her and she pretended to be confused, that she thought it was her juice bottle, which is total BS because she never brings her own beverages. She always consumes our cans of coke, makes herself fresh coffee, etc... I am fine with her consuming our beverages, but obviously not from something that is shared. I assume this is common sense to everyone. She likes to complain about the cold, so earlier in the day she even mentioned how she's been a bit sick but is taking medicine. Meaning she drank directly from the bottle knowing that she was sick.

This happened this Wed, and I haven't fired her yet because I obviously don't have anyone lined up. It's now Friday and I noticed both kids have runny nose and one seems to have a sore throat. To make matters worse, just last week I noticed that she doesn't wash her hands after using the bathroom. You can hear as she flushes but there is no water from the faucet before leaving the bathroom. I literally stood by the door and told her to please wash her hands every time she goes, then she walked right back in to wash them. I've already started looking for new nannies, but I can't hire just anyone either.

WWYD

[Anonymous]

Is she from a different culture? Different people do hygiene differently. I'd have told her going forward to not drink directly from communal containers, and talked through the hygiene steps I'd like her to take - don't share utensils, wash hands after using bathroom/before prepping food, after changing diapers, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she from a different culture? Different people do hygiene differently. I'd have told her going forward to not drink directly from communal containers, and talked through the hygiene steps I'd like her to take - don't share utensils, wash hands after using bathroom/before prepping food, after changing diapers, etc.

She is South American and so am I, we are from neighboring countries. Her actions are not a reflection of her culture.

[Anonymous]

Maybe talk to her about your concerns before you fire her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe talk to her about your concerns before you fire her.

It sounds like OP did and she lied. I also feel like some things are so obvious that people should just know. I had a nanny that did laundry before the kids got home as part of her job (she asked for extra hours). She just rolled stuff up in a ball and shoved it in the closet so when I opened it, it fell out (and was a wrinkled mess). I was deliberating how to approach this without sounding totally condescending but then I realized she was half-assing all sorts of stuff so we just fired her. This doesn’t seem like “we prefer that you feed the kids earlier in the day so they’re hungry for dinner” or “we prefer that you not let them watch that TV show” — saying “we prefer that you not get our kids sick by drinking from their juice when you are sick” seems …. Obvious.

[Anonymous]

First, why is your child drinking juice from a bottle?

Second, people who are unconcerned about germs are not going to be convinced to start taking it seriously. You’ll need to replace her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, why is your child drinking juice from a bottle?

Second, people who are unconcerned about germs are not going to be convinced to start taking it seriously. You’ll need to replace her.

OP here, DC is not drinking from the bottle, the nanny is. And by bottle I mean the ones that have like half a gallon of juice.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, that's inappropriate and she's unlikely to change her behavior. Look for someone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, that's inappropriate and she's unlikely to change her behavior. Look for someone else.

^^though the kids were exposed to her germs regardless of the juice.

[Anonymous]

Ugh. We're doctors/scientists and big on hygiene, so this would rub me completely the wrong way. I would try educating her on basic hygiene practices, but I would also be looking for a new nanny - I'm not sure this person is capable of taking any of this seriously.

[Anonymous]

good luck finding a new nanny. You sound like a nightmare op. If she’s a good nanny this is a psychotic thing to fire her for, at least not without giving her a chance to understand your concern and change her habits. Kids get germs from everywhere - you cannot keep them in a bubble, nor would that be healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:good luck finding a new nanny. You sound like a nightmare op. If she’s a good nanny this is a psychotic thing to fire her for, at least not without giving her a chance to understand your concern and change her habits. Kids get germs from everywhere - you cannot keep them in a bubble, nor would that be healthy.

I agree that finding a good nanny is difficult. But NO, people are NOT nightmares for being disgusted by this person's lack of hygiene! It's beyond the pale, and she lied about it, which indicates she knows she's not supposed to do that, but doesn't care. This means that educating her will not work, because as soon as OP's back is turned, she will just continue. It's entirely unacceptable and disrespectful, and yes, it's a fireable offense. The fact that OP may have a hard time finding a new nanny doesn't mean this one hasn't done something very wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:good luck finding a new nanny. You sound like a nightmare op. If she’s a good nanny this is a psychotic thing to fire her for, at least not without giving her a chance to understand your concern and change her habits. Kids get germs from everywhere - you cannot keep them in a bubble, nor would that be healthy.

You sound like a nutcase. Yeah, that’s gross drinking from the bottle but you jump,straight to firing her? Good luck finding a nanny that doesn’t quit on you. Unclench. You’re in for a long 18 years

[Anonymous]

In two weeks there will be no more nanny’s

Project 2025

[Anonymous]

I’d fire her too, it’s disgusting and disrespectful.