how would you deal with this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Also, if your child breaks the nanny's cell phone, glasses, etc it's usually the employers responsibility as well.

I'm a nanny, and I disagree with this. I don't allow children to play with my glasses or phone. I can't imagine telling a parent, "I allowed your kid to play with my iphone and she broke it, so you need to buy me a new one."

I think that would depend on the circumstances. Working with special needs kids who have a tendency to be very aggressive, some of my stuff has gotten broken (not just my stuff - a couple of my fingers and my nose, too!). Not that this is the case for most, but if, say, the child yanked the glasses off the nanny's face and threw them, that's different than if the nanny gave her phone to the child to play with. Just my opinion.

+1 on circumstances.

8yo steals my phone off the counter and drops it in the sink by accident? I'd ask for the parents to cover that.

2yo chews on my phone when I hand it to her to keep her occupied for a moment? I'd cover that myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what? I am so much more likely to say, "Don't worry about it," if the person who breaks something offers to fix or replace it. It's when they don't that I'm all "That was my great, great, great grandmother's antique that she brought over from the Queen of England!"

Is your nanny too physically rough? Or mis-using appliances or what?

OP here. I am the same way. She used to offer to contribute to replacement and I used to say "no" to it. Now, i guess she got comfortable and does not offer anymore. She does things like trying to turn a knob the wrong way, trying to force it when it does not work and then breaking it of. Just broke of the window knob. I guess she is just not thinking about it. She would put place plastic things on hot stove burners, attempt to vacuum without placing a bag in a vacuum cleaner, etc Based on the responses so far, I will just let it go.

Okay 1) if she used to offer to pay, and you always said no, I'd probably stop offering too. You had made clear that you didn't expect her to pay but would now like her to make the empty gesture of offering to pay and you'd feel better? Sounds kind of silly to me. 2) Your nanny sounds incredibly careless and it'd concern me as to how attentive she is with your child. If she has worked for you for more than a few months, she should know by now how the things in your home work so she is either stupid or her head is in the clouds, neither of which are something you want in a caregiver. I'd eat the cost of what she broke, but have a discussion about being focused while at work, and maybe try to figure out what has her distracted (TV, phone, overwhelmed with things to do?)

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that you need to generally live with it and eat the replacement/repair costs, but if she is chronically careless or inattentive it's reasonable to have a conversation with her. You can certainly ask her to be more careful with things, be very careful not to put plastic items on the stove, not force things that aren't working (like a window knob), etc...

Things get broken/dropped/whatever... but persistent carelessness with your things/house is not ok.

+1 I had a brute of a nanny who broke 3 of the 7 knobs on my stove, 4 of my 8 water glasses, the chest of drawers in her room ... (On and on). She was just extremely forcefully with things. For the stove I showed her (again) how to turn on the stove. Everything else I just ignored. Very very frustrating to have my stuff broken, but she was great with my kids and having things break in my house is part of the price I pay for having childcare provided in my hose.

OP here. I am in a similar situation. She is good with my kids and I think it is the most important thing. I mean she truly cares and is involved with them. In the same way, repair cost is just an additional cost I pay for. To the PPs who think she treats kids the same way she treats appliances. It is not the case. She is very good and attentive with kids. May be in her mind she is focusing on the important thing and letting small ones fall through the cracks. Kind of like how at work, we would try to focus on initiatives that will move the revenue needle and be not so attentive about just nice to have type asks.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP, it does sound like she's just not very bright.

How can taking care of a few kids be so overwhelming for her, a nanny, that she can't remember plastic melts on hot stoves or that a vacuum cleaner needs a fresh bag or that a knob that is stuck shouldn't be forced? She has a tiny brain if there isn't room to remember those things while taking care of children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, it does sound like she's just not very bright.

How can taking care of a few kids be so overwhelming for her, a nanny, that she can't remember plastic melts on hot stoves or that a vacuum cleaner needs a fresh bag or that a knob that is stuck shouldn't be forced? She has a tiny brain if there isn't room to remember those things while taking care of children.

Frankly, I am amazed at this post. Being bright has nothing to do with not being able to focus. My father is an astrophysics professor who has done things like that when consumed by thinking about far more intelligent matters. One thing he does not have is a tiny brain for sure. How can you judge someone's intelligence based in a few lines about a person you never met?

[Anonymous]

I would not stick the nanny with the bill, but would consider most things the casualty of wear-and-tear and would accept that by having an employee, I am taking on elevated risk with appliances not being handled exactly that way I would like. That said, I would expect her to handle my property with some care. So if she's breaking things right and left, this needs to be discussed. I really can't imagine how it is possible to break appliances one after the other; so if there's some kind of chronic problem, maybe she's not the right fit for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP, it does sound like she's just not very bright.

How can taking care of a few kids be so overwhelming for her, a nanny, that she can't remember plastic melts on hot stoves or that a vacuum cleaner needs a fresh bag or that a knob that is stuck shouldn't be forced? She has a tiny brain if there isn't room to remember those things while taking care of children.

Frankly, I am amazed at this post. Being bright has nothing to do with not being able to focus. My father is an astrophysics professor who has done things like that when consumed by thinking about far more intelligent matters. One thing he does not have is a tiny brain for sure. How can you judge someone's intelligence based in a few lines about a person you never met?

Well...because she doesn't have anything as grandiose as astrophysics to be thinking about. I know scatterbrained geniuses, or people working on a thesis or a grant proposal or other imposing tasks that become unfocused in day-to-day things, but these sorts of things (operating a stove, a vacuum, keeping plastic from melting on hot burners) are part of the nanny's daily JOB. If your father's job every day was to vacuum the carpet, I bet he wouldn't forget to throw a new bag in, you know? She's failing at some very basic duties here, and isn't offsetting that by discovering a new planet or composing the next great opera...

[Anonymous]

It all depends.

If she has to use something for the job, such as a vacuum or a washing machine, and it breaks, I would think she shouldn't have any liability since it is part of the job.

But if she is using w/out your authorization such as a laptop or an I-pad, and it cracks or breaks, then I would be pissed and have her pay for it.

This is a gray area.

If she truly breaks a lot of stuff, then why would you want her around your children?? Just sayin'...............