Do you let your nanny drive kids?

[Anonymous]

If never accept a nanny job if I couldn’t take kids places. 10-12 hour days stuck in the house. No thanks. Even now, we go somewhere every other day. Hiking, peaks with streams, playgrounds that aren’t crowded, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I have always had pretty broad range to take my charges whereever. If it’s something outside our normal routine, I run it past the parents but we have a solid rotation of places we usually go (obviously cut way, way back right now).

I do think that by 2.5 kids benefit from variety. When my charges were barely 1 (twins), we went to a fall festival and they experienced a bunch of new things—petting farm animals, a hay ride, and the pumpkin we brought home with us. They loved it and it really sparked something for both of them. I supported their interest by reading them books about farms and animals, carving the pumpkins together, toasting the seeds and making pumpkin pie from one and jack o’lantern from the other. On my list of their first 20 words, there are a lot of words linked to that outing (pumpkin, sheep, chicken, and TRACTOR, which became an obsession for the next year of their lives.

I don’t do a big outing every day, but I try to do 3 little outings (neighborhood park), one medium outing (slightly further-away park), and one BIG outing each week.

Our big outings in the last month or so have included visiting the Lincoln Memorial (after reading several books about Lincoln/Harriet Tubman/the civil war), and socially distant berry picking (after planting our own garden and afterwards we did lots of different cooking projects with our berries).

Wow. How do I find a nanny like you? I’m serious and would love advice!

It’s just a nice, fun way to expand their horizons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If never accept a nanny job if I couldn’t take kids places. 10-12 hour days stuck in the house. No thanks. Even now, we go somewhere every other day. Hiking, peaks with streams, playgrounds that aren’t crowded, etc.

Who said you can’t take kids places while driving 10 minutes away or walking to neighbourhood parks or playing in backyard? Do you have to drive more than 20min to all those places?

And how is it 10-12h? In an 8h shift where 30 min is spent on lunch, 2h nap and 20-30min on bath that leaves you with two 2-2.5h blocks pre and post nap. If you can’t find any suitable activities to entertain kids for 2hrs you might want to reconsider your choice of career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If never accept a nanny job if I couldn’t take kids places. 10-12 hour days stuck in the house. No thanks. Even now, we go somewhere every other day. Hiking, peaks with streams, playgrounds that aren’t crowded, etc.

Who said you can’t take kids places while driving 10 minutes away or walking to neighbourhood parks or playing in backyard? Do you have to drive more than 20min to all those places?

And how is it 10-12h? In an 8h shift where 30 min is spent on lunch, 2h nap and 20-30min on bath that leaves you with two 2-2.5h blocks pre and post nap. If you can’t find any suitable activities to entertain kids for 2hrs you might want to reconsider your choice of career.

Why? They live at least 20 minutes from anywhere. The nearest playground is around 25ish minutes away. The family lives in the country. I’ve never worked an 8 hour shift as a nanny. Never. Parents work at least 9-10 hours a day plus a commute. The kids are 5 and 6 so they haven’t napped in years. And I’m of giving them a bath either. I work from 7-6 most days and sometimes longer. 11 hours a day in the house is boring. Even the kids get bored. There are a million things to do outside the house so why not do them? I didn’t choose where the family lives. They did. The like having lots of land but that means having to drive to get anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If never accept a nanny job if I couldn’t take kids places. 10-12 hour days stuck in the house. No thanks. Even now, we go somewhere every other day. Hiking, peaks with streams, playgrounds that aren’t crowded, etc.

Who said you can’t take kids places while driving 10 minutes away or walking to neighbourhood parks or playing in backyard? Do you have to drive more than 20min to all those places?

And how is it 10-12h? In an 8h shift where 30 min is spent on lunch, 2h nap and 20-30min on bath that leaves you with two 2-2.5h blocks pre and post nap. If you can’t find any suitable activities to entertain kids for 2hrs you might want to reconsider your choice of career.

Why? They live at least 20 minutes from anywhere. The nearest playground is around 25ish minutes away. The family lives in the country. I’ve never worked an 8 hour shift as a nanny. Never. Parents work at least 9-10 hours a day plus a commute. The kids are 5 and 6 so they haven’t napped in years. And I’m of giving them a bath either. I work from 7-6 most days and sometimes longer. 11 hours a day in the house is boring. Even the kids get bored. There are a million things to do outside the house so why not do them? I didn’t choose where the family lives. They did. The like having lots of land but that means having to drive to get anywhere.

25 min to get to a park?! They must live in the boonies, which is why they’re gone so many hours. I’m glad our nanny can just take our kids on a walk to 3 different parks and we have lots of amenities 5-10 min. drive away. No way would I want my kids spending lots of their day in a car getting schlepped places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I have always had pretty broad range to take my charges whereever. If it’s something outside our normal routine, I run it past the parents but we have a solid rotation of places we usually go (obviously cut way, way back right now).

I do think that by 2.5 kids benefit from variety. When my charges were barely 1 (twins), we went to a fall festival and they experienced a bunch of new things—petting farm animals, a hay ride, and the pumpkin we brought home with us. They loved it and it really sparked something for both of them. I supported their interest by reading them books about farms and animals, carving the pumpkins together, toasting the seeds and making pumpkin pie from one and jack o’lantern from the other. On my list of their first 20 words, there are a lot of words linked to that outing (pumpkin, sheep, chicken, and TRACTOR, which became an obsession for the next year of their lives.

I don’t do a big outing every day, but I try to do 3 little outings (neighborhood park), one medium outing (slightly further-away park), and one BIG outing each week.

Our big outings in the last month or so have included visiting the Lincoln Memorial (after reading several books about Lincoln/Harriet Tubman/the civil war), and socially distant berry picking (after planting our own garden and afterwards we did lots of different cooking projects with our berries).

Wow. How do I find a nanny like you? I’m serious and would love advice!

It’s just a nice, fun way to expand their horizons.

I have never hired me, so hard to say.

But I have been hired via agency, online and word-of-mouth, so you could find someone anywhere. I don’t check a lot of the boxes people look for (not a college grad, no special skills like soccer coach or piano teacher), but I love kids and I am passionate about my work. The best advice I can give is this:

1) Be very very clear in your own mind of what role you want your nanny to fill. Every family is different and therefore their own personal best nanny will be different. Don’t get sold on a wrong fit just because your friend/her references/the family down the street think she’s great. A good interview should feel like a first date.

2) Ask open-ended questions about what she would do in different situations and remember to ask about ages and stages your kid hasn’t met yet. Don’t hire the perfect baby nurse who hates chasing a toddler around the park, or the patient and sweet toddler nanny who can’t handle firm boundaries with a sassy 5yo.

3) Her references should feel like THEY are interviewing YOU. According to my current employers, one reference told them “If you don’t hire her then that will be the stupidest mistake you ever make.” The other said “Hiring her is the best choice I made as a parent and I am including marrying my husband!” They are all busy but will call you back promptly and are excited to help me find my next perfect family because they really love me dearly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I have always had pretty broad range to take my charges whereever. If it’s something outside our normal routine, I run it past the parents but we have a solid rotation of places we usually go (obviously cut way, way back right now).

I do think that by 2.5 kids benefit from variety. When my charges were barely 1 (twins), we went to a fall festival and they experienced a bunch of new things—petting farm animals, a hay ride, and the pumpkin we brought home with us. They loved it and it really sparked something for both of them. I supported their interest by reading them books about farms and animals, carving the pumpkins together, toasting the seeds and making pumpkin pie from one and jack o’lantern from the other. On my list of their first 20 words, there are a lot of words linked to that outing (pumpkin, sheep, chicken, and TRACTOR, which became an obsession for the next year of their lives.

I don’t do a big outing every day, but I try to do 3 little outings (neighborhood park), one medium outing (slightly further-away park), and one BIG outing each week.

Our big outings in the last month or so have included visiting the Lincoln Memorial (after reading several books about Lincoln/Harriet Tubman/the civil war), and socially distant berry picking (after planting our own garden and afterwards we did lots of different cooking projects with our berries).

Wow. How do I find a nanny like you? I’m serious and would love advice!

It’s just a nice, fun way to expand their horizons.

I have never hired me, so hard to say.

But I have been hired via agency, online and word-of-mouth, so you could find someone anywhere. I don’t check a lot of the boxes people look for (not a college grad, no special skills like soccer coach or piano teacher), but I love kids and I am passionate about my work. The best advice I can give is this:

1) Be very very clear in your own mind of what role you want your nanny to fill. Every family is different and therefore their own personal best nanny will be different. Don’t get sold on a wrong fit just because your friend/her references/the family down the street think she’s great. A good interview should feel like a first date.

2) Ask open-ended questions about what she would do in different situations and remember to ask about ages and stages your kid hasn’t met yet. Don’t hire the perfect baby nurse who hates chasing a toddler around the park, or the patient and sweet toddler nanny who can’t handle firm boundaries with a sassy 5yo.

3) Her references should feel like THEY are interviewing YOU. According to my current employers, one reference told them “If you don’t hire her then that will be the stupidest mistake you ever make.” The other said “Hiring her is the best choice I made as a parent and I am including marrying my husband!” They are all busy but will call you back promptly and are excited to help me find my next perfect family because they really love me dearly.

This. 00:09 here.

A decent nanny will ask a few clarifying questions while you interview her. A good nanny will ask questions about things you hadn’t considered yet. And a great nanny will interview you just as much as (or more than) you interview her.

I disagree with the statements that PP’s references have made. My best reference sometimes spends 45+ minutes taking to a prospective family. But he’s absolutely clear with them that, while I was the perfect fit for his family when he needed me, I’m not a good fit for 90%+ of families. A great reference should interview, because the family frequently asks the reference things that they won’t tell the nanny.