Writing no phone use into a nanny contract

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WHY are people so addicted their phones?

That's what I'm getting from this 10 page thread. I'm disturbed by all the people who seem to think nannies sitting on their phones all day long is "normal," and a request to limit phone use while the baby is awake is totally unreasonable. That's insane. Maybe some people won't like a provision limiting phone use, and that's fine-- OP will weed out the phone-addicted candidates. OP will be better for it.

I live near several local parks and I see a lot of neglectful nannying. Most of the time, it's tied to phone use. I see nannies park kids for hours while they sit on their phones.

Nannying is a job. Expecting someone to comply with reasonable requests, that they know of beforehand, is totally fine. My employer would be pissed if I sat at my desk scrolling social media for hours a day. Why is it so unreasonable to ask the same of a childcare provider??

[Anonymous]

Nanny here and I never use my phone except to take the occasional photo during the day. My older charge doesn’t nap anymore so I don’t even have a nap break to use it.

I have managed to survive going nine hours five days a week without looking at my phone!

[Anonymous]

LOL I wouldnt work for you. This is a dumb rule.

[Anonymous]

Just tried to call my sister in California. She is a nanny, very well paid (75K/yr for a straight 40-hour week.) Then i remembered she told me her phone is out of bounds except for emergencies and the special ring her bosses use.

We are a bit older (50s) which is a real plus. No phones is no big deal to us. My sister takes the kids boogie-boarding at the beach half the day anyway. Best to keep the phone locked in the car anyway so no sand or salt water. Her eyes are on the kids at all times.

I would not hire an addict of any type for either my children or my elderly parents. My own boss would fire me if I looked at my phone throughout the day for hours. And I am my own boss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We want to make it clear upfront that we will not accept any phone use when out baby is awake. We plan to put it in our ad and mention it during interviews. As suggested here, we plan to give our new nanny a new Apple Watch for emergencies. We are sure of our decision so no need to debate.

My question is how to include no phone use in a contract? Just state agreed to expectations or under cause for dismissal? Or after the ad, the interview and our reminding nanny, is it necessary to put into the contract at all?

Mature professional nannies don’t have phone addictions. Young babysitters do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL I wouldnt work for you. This is a dumb rule.

You sound 15. Are you?

[Anonymous]

I work for the govt at an agency in the intelligence department We lock our personal phones away in our lockers or our cars for the workday, checking messages only at lunch.

Phone addicts and other types of addicts don't pass muster here.

Our nanny knows to expect communication from me at lunchtime. Like a PP, I have a ringtone for her. She is slightly older (50s) and generally is not interested in her phone. We also have a no-phone-except-emergencies rule.