A minor cold with no fever?! You need a new nanny, she is milking you and has some serious nerve! The only time I won’t care for children is when they have a norovirus (stomach flu). Yes, part of having a nanny is the flexibility that they still care for sick children.

Anonymous wrote:Not OP but do people put this in their contracts, about what nanny does if child is sick?

I do I stipulate upfront that if it’s contagious where they wouldn’t be allowed in school or daycare then my services aren’t needed for the day with pay. Only sick children I care for are my own

Not OP but do people put this in their contracts, about what nanny does if child is sick?

Our nanny always cared for our kids while sick. She even came to the hospital to care for my son a few times because I was up with him all night multiple times and exhausted.

Most of the time she didn’t get sick, a few times she did. Sometimes I felt she brought illness into our house.

In pandemic times, I guess this calculus might change slightly but if you’ve got a negative Covid test and gave her two days off already, she should be working.

There are a lot of super entitled nannies out there. It gets old. I wouldn’t pay her to stay home if she’s so uncomfortable. How long does she expect this to go on? The CDC guidelines for isolation and COVID are EXTREME (basically if mom or dad get sick with COVID, the whole house is to isolate for 28 days-yep, look it up).

My rule has always been if your child was in school or daycare and could not attend for illness then I stay home with pay and you care for your child. I don’t care for sick children nor do I want to catch something and have to use my sick leave because I got sick from your child. Your nanny is right stay home and when it clears she will come back.

That seems reasonable. Public health guidance is not to go to work when sick (unfortunately many don't have access to paid leave). Many employers also discourage it. We're living through a pandemic, you have a sick person at your nanny's place of work - the child she'd be caring for! I wouldn't want to come in either.

No, it’s not normal! Our beloved nanny has always worked when the kids were sick. Sometimes she caught what they had and sometimes not. Covid puts a different spin on things but your son doesn’t have covid! Your nanny should absolutely work.

It depends on the nanny and agreement. I don't think its unreasonable.

No, it’s not reasonable after you got a negative Covid test. If the doctor has cleared your son and nanny just doesn’t feel comfortable, she can use PTO until she feels comfortable.

They are contagious with a cold a few days prior to showing symptoms. Chances are she has already been exposed. Should she start showing symptoms, then she too can go for testing. I would take my vitamins, get some extra sleep and show up tomorrow.

My 1.5 year old woke up with a runny nose and congestion on Monday morning so I told our nanny to stay home just to be extra cautious, although it seemed like a cold vs Covid. Took him to the pediatrician on Monday and we had a Covid test done to be sure, and it came back negative today. The doctor says it’s very likely a mild cold since he has no fever or cough or other symptoms.

I told our nanny he doesn’t have Covid and ended the conversation with “see you tomorrow” and she replied that she still doesn’t feel comfortable coming in if he is still sick with everything going on. She said if she gets his cold it could turn into something worse and she wouldn’t know if she got Covid.

Is it normal for a nanny not to come in if your child is sick? I thought that was one of the benefits of having a nanny vs. daycare? I of course would understand if it was Covid or even the flu, but don’t kids typically get colds all the time?

DH and I both work full time and have seriously scrambled over the last two days without her but of course I want to do what’s right.