How to ask nanny to make activities more enriching?

[Anonymous]

guessing she'll quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sick of dcum nannies crapping on every thread. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask for more activities as the kids get older. And yes, all employers give more work but no more pay. That happens in corporations too

You know damn well that's not true or fair. Only terrible companies continually pile on work and increase job duties with no increase in salary. You can't retain good employees doing that.

But that's not the real issue here. The real issue is that OP is not a teacher. She simply believes her nanny isn't teaching her child as a result of her own untrained observations. Maybe rather than trying to instruct the nanny on something she actually knows nothing about, OP should ask her nanny about her methods. Maybe OP's nanny is incorporating more learning into their activities than OP realizes, because she holds the mistaken assumption that learning looks a specific way. Maybe OP should trust the expertise of the professional educator that she hired? Maybe OP's child asks 10 million questions a day, which the nanny works to navigate, and allows the child's curiosity to guide their day?

We really don't know. But for some reason everyone wants to jump to this nanny is a lazy money grubber, this nanny doesn't know how to teach, or this nanny needs OP to tell her how to nanny. Why is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sick of dcum nannies crapping on every thread. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask for more activities as the kids get older. And yes, all employers give more work but no more pay. That happens in corporations too

I’m so sick of DCUM parents taking advantage of their nannies and demanding the most while paying peanuts. Knowing full well you wouldn’t take the same crap from your employers. There is no way you would go into work doing admin tasks then have your boss toss on supervisor tasks while not being paid for the extra work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A raise and change of job description.

Stop. I bet the nanny would be happy to engage in art projects and other learning activities without a raise! It’s so much more enjoyable for us former teacher than the nine-millionth game of, “I’ll be Elsa and you be Ana”.

Just talk to your nanny honestly about how things have changed for the near future and you want your daughter to have more enrichment in lieu of school. Mention art projects, science experiments, sensory experiences, gardening, reading and writing, counting by multiples, etc. Ask your nanny how to better structure your child’s day to resemble school a bit more. Eight hours is a lot of time to fill. Projects for half and still lots of playtime.

Would you be ok with your boss assigning you tasks that go above and beyond your job description for no additional pay?

Yes! Of course! Your job evolves in every field to do more of one thing and less of another. No job should ever be totally stagnant especially working with children who are constantly changing and growing.

So you don’t receive raises or promotions? The work keeps piling on and you stay at the same pay. Doesn’t sound like a great environment.

It’s not more work to take on different work! You receive raises and promotions based, in part, on how well you handle the changes in your current position!

I honestly do not understand why you can’t get that. You engage a child differently in every stage of development. Do you charge more when a child starts walking? Or when you potty train? Or when weather prohibits going outside?

This nanny is simply being asked to adapt to the changes of the situation. This nanny should have been doing the things OP wants since the first week school closed. She should have kept the charge engaged with enriching activities - that is her job.

But I’m not going to argue with you further. Ask your employer for a raise just for doing your job better and then let us know how that works for you.

You clearly have no idea what it takes to educate a child. You underestimate what goes into planning an educational experience for a child. That’s fine. You rely on teachers to do that.

The nanny is being asked to basically implement a curriculum that was previously done by the school. The nanny is being asked to go from a playmate to a teacher. How is this so hard for you to comprehend. No her job as described by Op was to be a playmate bc the child went to school. School closed so now OP wants to change her job. Op should’ve talked to the nanny about her expectations and discussed what her fee was to change from playmate to actual teacher.

As a nanny, yes, my fee most definitely changes based on duties. I also receive raises yearly as duties change and begin to pile on as children age. Sorry this is hard for you to comprehend bc you settle for whatever is thrown your way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

It is not really even about the more work for same pay at this point in time. It is about misplaced priorities and what is in the best interest of the whole child. The mental health and social-emotional well being of the child should be the focus for the preschooler at this time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

It is not really even about the more work for same pay at this point in time. It is about misplaced priorities and what is in the best interest of the whole child. The mental health and social-emotional well being of the child should be the focus for the preschooler at this time.

Why would doing some play-based preschool style activities at home harm the mental health and social-emotional well being of the child?

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny and I would have no problem with my employers asking for a different daily curriculum for my charge. I would not ask for more money and I would not be offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

How are they demanding more work?! It’s just different work!

You’re being utterly ridiculous, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

It is not really even about the more work for same pay at this point in time. It is about misplaced priorities and what is in the best interest of the whole child. The mental health and social-emotional well being of the child should be the focus for the preschooler at this time.

And the child’s social-emotional well being is somehow threatened by a planned art project or a squirting colored vinegar into a tray of baking soda?

Such utter nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

How are they demanding more work?! It’s just different work!

You’re being utterly ridiculous, PP.

You should try to calm down. You sound ridiculously bothered and offended. If you don’t agree then you don’t agree.

Then you need to reread the Op. Lastly, you need to gain an understanding of what it takes to actually put together a curriculum for a 5 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

How are they demanding more work?! It’s just different work!

You’re being utterly ridiculous, PP.

You should try to calm down. You sound ridiculously bothered and offended. If you don’t agree then you don’t agree.

Then you need to reread the Op. Lastly, you need to gain an understanding of what it takes to actually put together a curriculum for a 5 year old.

I am nanny and a former teacher so I understand exactly what putting together a curriculum for a five-year-old looks like. OP isn’t asking for constant tutoring. She’s asking for more enriching activities. This is not difficult to do for a nanny who is a former preschool teacher and art teacher.

And yes, the attitudes of some posters does bother me. These posters present nannies as inflexible, money-grubbing imbeciles incapable of coming up with a few fun and enriching activities for their charges (who are suddenly stuck home without structure or socialization of preschool).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sick of dcum nannies crapping on every thread. It’s perfectly reasonable to ask for more activities as the kids get older. And yes, all employers give more work but no more pay. That happens in corporations too

Some of us are being reasonable and giving suggestions. The rest see teaching as separate from nannying, which is laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

How are they demanding more work?! It’s just different work!

You’re being utterly ridiculous, PP.

I’m the nanny who posted the goal earlier in the thread.

Planning a curriculum and prepping supplies does take time. However, most toddlers and preschoolers either nap or play by themselves in their rooms for quiet time. There’s no reason the nanny couldn’t use that time to plan and prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:guessing she'll quit.

She should.

I couldn’t imagine working for any of these horrible posters in this thread demanding more work for same pay.

How are they demanding more work?! It’s just different work!

You’re being utterly ridiculous, PP.

You should try to calm down. You sound ridiculously bothered and offended. If you don’t agree then you don’t agree.

Then you need to reread the Op. Lastly, you need to gain an understanding of what it takes to actually put together a curriculum for a 5 year old.

I am nanny and a former teacher so I understand exactly what putting together a curriculum for a five-year-old looks like. OP isn’t asking for constant tutoring. She’s asking for more enriching activities. This is not difficult to do for a nanny who is a former preschool teacher and art teacher.

And yes, the attitudes of some posters does bother me. These posters present nannies as inflexible, money-grubbing imbeciles incapable of coming up with a few fun and enriching activities for their charges (who are suddenly stuck home without structure or socialization of preschool).

Agreed! This job is about our charges, and OP is asking for reasonable changes to make her DD’s day less monotonous and more structured. I really don’t understand why this is even a question. My charges have always viewed days off school as either field trip days or project days; that this child doesn’t means that the nanny isn’t doing much.