Reply to is this a typical experience? So frustrated!

Forum Index » Childcare other than Daycare and Preschool

Reply to "is this a typical experience? So frustrated!"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Former nanny here--you do get burned out and it can be hard to make the switch to a different line of work even when you know you need to. Covid was hard for me because I had older siblings home too--first because school was closed and then because the schools were on zoom for a year. Everything was cancelled or closed in terms of activities we did pre-covid--no story time, no music classes or events etc. It was really hard.

I don't love crafts because of the mess--I did them when I was a new nanny but got burned out on the mess and really they don't really need or care much about them most of the time (especially boys for some reason.)

So--yeah, you nanny very may be burned out. Maybe she prefers infants who sleep a lot. Maybe she needs a mental reboot. Who knows. 
I also think nannies see the kids in a different way than parents--parents often say oh they don't need a nap anymore or they only need one nap, when with the nanny that is clearly not the case--they're falling asleep in the stroller or car or melting down because they're so over tired from only one nap or no nap on the weekend.

If your toddler is falling asleep easily for two naps, then they still need it. It's fine to start pushing the morning nap back and pulling the afternoon one forward until they merge, but I wouldn't go from two naps to napping at 1 pm. That's ludicrous. Start by napping at 10:30 instead of 10 and then 10:45, then 11 and it very well may stick at 11 for a long time. It's ok to nap through lunch.

Crafts--eh, I wouldn't worry about that as much. Bubbles--yeah, that's easy and fun. You can put some bubbles in 2-3 shallow bowls or saucers with food color and blow the bubbles onto watercolor paper and have "art" that way with less clean up. Maybe she needs some fresh ideas, or a cohort of other nannies to do things with and take turns hosting or meeting up. Nannying is isolating and having parents work from home isn't fun at all.

Good luck with whatever you decide.[/quote]

OP here again - this is so helpful! As a former nanny how would you recommend approaching these topics with her? This morning I mentioned toddler's sleep has been wonky (fighting going down and early wakings), and with it getting hotter midday during their usual playground time, I would like him to be on one nap by the end of the week. She had a stoic response. Thinking I'll follow up asking her if she has any concerns about it and that I'm fine with her taking a gradual approach with the timing, etc.?

Super cute bubble idea! Should I do it with them the first time to get the ball rolling, or would that be too much?[/quote]

You need to be more direct OP. You are going to have problems with any nanny if you aren’t able to clearly and directly tell them what you want them to do. If you want both naps merged by the end of the week, right now the times for the naps this week on a sheet of paper (Monday is 10am and 2pm, Tuesday is 10:30 and 1:30, etc), then hand her the sheet of paper and explain that because you want the naps merged, you’re asking her to put him down at these times this week.

You can’t make her engage or respond to him when he talks, and you might end up needing to fire her over that. But the other parts of this are things you can work on that will help you too.

You’re paying her plenty. Pay is not the problem. I’d sign them up for a Music Together class, which is very interactive, and maybe a baby gymnastics class. He doesn’t need to do art at home. With the classes, you say, “I’ve signed you and Larlo up for Music Together every Tuesday at 9am. I’m really looking forward to hearing how he likes it!” And she goes.

Good luck![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics