What does your nanny do while your child is napping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had a nanny, she took a break during kiddos nap time, she was really efficient for rest of the day and I didn’t care that she took a 2 hour break, god knows she worked plenty. Young kids are hard work, it’s important to treat the caregiver right.

OTOH, DH and I had long commute and she accommodated us so many times when we were running late. We tried reciprocating the grace she showed us.

I hope you paid her for those late arrivals.

Ha! They probably reciprocated by giving her Christmas Eve off and a $20 crappy gift! Being late is inexcusable. If the nanny was habitually late above ponster would be screaming but she has no qualms about inconveniencing her nanny. After school are charges $5.00/minute for late pickup and nannies should do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had a nanny, she took a break during kiddos nap time, she was really efficient for rest of the day and I didn’t care that she took a 2 hour break, god knows she worked plenty. Young kids are hard work, it’s important to treat the caregiver right.

OTOH, DH and I had long commute and she accommodated us so many times when we were running late. We tried reciprocating the grace she showed us.

I hope you paid her for those late arrivals.

Ha! They probably reciprocated by giving her Christmas Eve off and a $20 crappy gift! Being late is inexcusable. If the nanny was habitually late above ponster would be screaming but she has no qualms about inconveniencing her nanny. After school are charges $5.00/minute for late pickup and nannies should do the same.

So by your logic if the nanny is late to work, she should be docked $5.00/minute?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had a nanny, she took a break during kiddos nap time, she was really efficient for rest of the day and I didn’t care that she took a 2 hour break, god knows she worked plenty. Young kids are hard work, it’s important to treat the caregiver right.

OTOH, DH and I had long commute and she accommodated us so many times when we were running late. We tried reciprocating the grace she showed us.

I hope you paid her for those late arrivals.

Ha! They probably reciprocated by giving her Christmas Eve off and a $20 crappy gift! Being late is inexcusable. If the nanny was habitually late above ponster would be screaming but she has no qualms about inconveniencing her nanny. After school are charges $5.00/minute for late pickup and nannies should do the same.

So by your logic if the nanny is late to work, she should be docked $5.00/minute?

Why not. What's good for the goose is good for the gander BUT the nanny is never late, is she?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vacuum, laundry, clean up the kitchen, dishes, clean toys, arrange toy-room, mop, dust, change sheets, clean the dishes of the pets, feed the pets, water indoor plants, get mail in, prep meals (chop onions, peel and grate ginger, chop cauliflower, etc)., wipe counters, wipe handprints from doors, windows and walls, clean furniture, wash the high feeding chair.

She is charging by the hour.

WOW-that’s insane, you prob have a Housekeeper not a NANNY

[Anonymous]

she has a robot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takes a break just as you do, don’t expect her to do much. Caring for a child is a lot of work, hopefully you’re compensating her accordingly.

When my kids were younger and napping, on weekends when I was home with them I used naptime to be productive. I didn't take a break. I got things done that I couldn't do with them awake or that were easier to do without them awake. Just like I expected the nanny to do.

Best parenting advice I ever received was never do chores when the kids are asleep. I do chores while they play or they help. Nap time is me time.

I can see the wisdom of that, but it seems just so impractical with two super little ones. My kids are 2.5 and just turned 1. With just one of them, chores are great and easy - I sort laundry, organize closets, unload the dishwasher, clean up the kitchen, sweep, no problem, they both like to "help."

Two of them together? It doesn't really seem possible. Especially because the baby can't "help" but wants to touch all the stuff involved, and the toddler can "help" but doesn't want baby in his way/touching the stuff, and she is a big climber, but then isn't always steady, and it's so easy for him to knock into her especially when frustrated... is I missing something? Or is this like a "wait a year" situation? If they were 3 years apart instead of 18 months, this seems much more manageable.

I’m a nanny, not a mom, but I am pretty full-service. For those ages, I babywear the little one a lot when getting stuff done (on my back). They can still feel involved (hand them a spoon while we unload the dishwasher, ask them to point to where the soap is while I wash dishes. I also will set one up with a sub-task (e.g., if I am prepping dinner, set the 2yo up with a damp sponge and a pile of carrots to “wash” the produce, while the little one helps me carry ingredients from the pantry to the counter, then switch and put the baby into a high chair with some damp dishes and a towel to “dry” them, while older helps me measure ingredients, then have older practice stirring something while I chop veggies, etc. You can kind of get into a rhythm where someone is always contained somehow but you rotate often enough that they both feel included.

Mom here. This is truly impressive and I’m in awe. I also don’t think I have anywhere near the creativity/patience to do this. Hats off to you.

Aww, thanks! I have been nannying for 15 years so a lot of it is practice! 🤣 But I also think it’s really much easier to do this kind of stuff together and then use naptimes for mental work. It is pretty much impossible to (for example) enroll your kid in a toddler music class online with two tiny people climbing all over you jealous of the phone/laptop getting your attention.

So my rule of thumb is physical labor together, mental labor solo.

This, this, and so much this.

Toddlers can lay washcloths or underwear flat on a pile. Preschoolers can sort socks by size and solid color, fold handtowels in half twice, fold skirts in half, etc. By the time they’re ready for kindergarten, any kids with me can fold anything. I carry the basket upstairs and they put their things away.

I handle detergent and make sure I throw in pretreated items that are waiting (on a shelf) by the detergent. Toddlers and preschoolers love pushing buttons on the washer and dryer after throwing the clothes in. I sort during nap, turn clothes the right way, note holes or outgrown clothes, and pretreat, but anything that needs to be buttoned, snapped, or zipped waits for kids to practice fine motor skills.

We unload the dishwasher together. As soon as they can stand and understand the job, older infants love throwing their dishes into the baby dish drawer. Toddlers are capable of sorting silverware into a drawer and placing their dishes into a drawer, but stacking (without dishes falling) typically waits until preschool age. By the time they’re in kindergarten, I expect kids to be able to use a stepstool and take care of any dishes unless too heavy (no knives).

If you make chores into games or fun activities with you, you build habits for the future. Another option is to rotate them in a high chair with a fun activity or toy unrelated to what you’re doing (my preference when I have infant or toddler twins) while the other “helps”.

[Anonymous]

PP, you are not real. Loading the dishwasher with a toddler would take thrice as much time, and so would folding laundry. Nap usually follows lunch time directly, so you do not want to linger with dishes and stuff. Unrealistic and a waste of time. With laundry, they would fold one item and then get 3 more items out of the pile, and then walk around the room with them. Unless you live in and do laundry like every day as part of your job, no sense in that, there are more meaningful things to do with a toddler. I am a nanny and only do laundry once in a couple of weeks, and I do it super fast so we can move on with our day.