Questioning nanny's judgement - am I overreacting?

[Anonymous]

Children under the age of 6 should not be left alone in a bath tub in my opinion. I sit outside the bathroom door so the older ones can feel more comfortable but I can still see and hear them.

A child with a fever is a lot more likely to have a seizure they should never ever be left alone in a tub with a fever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you fire her yet?

[nannydebsays]

Just adding my voice to the chorus of "Fire her NOW!" If she hasn't got the basic good sense to not leave a sick child alone in a full bathtub, she needs to find other work.

[Anonymous]

You need to fire her over the tub thing. Other stuff might be learning curve or natural mistakes but someone who would leave a sick child that age in a full tub for more than a 2 second pop into the hall to grab a towel is clearly not being careful enough with your kids. I am not an MB that is quick to call for firing but that is egregious.

[Anonymous]

The bathtub thing is grounds for immediate termination, IMO. Even a reasonably competent teenage babysitter would know not to leave a kid alone in a bath for any reason.

[Anonymous]

Another nanny chiming in -- she lied by omission initially about being late, and that alone is a huge red flag. The bathtub thing is just the icing on the cake.

On to the next one op!

[Anonymous]

Not ok at all. We never leave our 4 year old home alone. If you use my stove and the kids are home, back burner only. I'd take the knobs off the first two.

[Anonymous]

Please don't leave your children with this person again. A child that young, especially one who is sick and feverish, should not be left alone in the bath and should also not have the tub filled up so high. Your concern about her judgement is very legitimate and you would be completely justified in firing her immediately.

[Anonymous]

OP, I really, really hope you fire her. All 3 situations show poor judgment and a lack of integrity (the lying) but the bathtub incident is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

OP isn't so smart either.

[Anonymous]

Well, you have found that rare phenomenon: DCUM consensus. Please let her go and find a safe caregiver for your kids.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the rude judgement about me not being so smart, that sounds more like the DCUM I am used to!

Essentially my 3 kids have been passing a virus around, so after a literally sleepless weekend for me w/ husband out of town, I wanted a sounding board to make sure that firing her for the bath thing was not a sleep-deprived over-reaction. I appreciate the kind responses and yes, she is fired. Ugghh dreading the nanny search again. To the PP who mentioned a bad rec, don't worry, I will be 100% honest, but I can't imagine she'd give out my info as a reference? I did go through a bunch of references for her, and they were all credible and glowing. Ugghh.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny as well. I would fire immediately. I follow all precautions, even with an immobile infant. I use the back burners exclusively if I make lunch. I've worked with older kids and would never leave a child unattended in a bathtub. I got a sick feeling while reading this story. I can't fathom how irresponsible, neglectful and just plain idiotic one would be to leave a any child, especially a very ill one at that, alone in a tub that he can't get himself in or out of. Then to leave him with a high amount of water and that ill, makes me mad.

Fire her immediately. No severance, nothing. Your children's care and safety are #1. Never leave your child with someone you can't trust.

[Anonymous]

Op again. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I was just sitting here feeling bad about no severance, which I know is idiotic after I laid awake all night thinking about the what ifs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I was just sitting here feeling bad about no severance, which I know is idiotic after I laid awake all night thinking about the what ifs.

OP, don't feel bad! This nanny literally put your dear child's life at risk. I am a great nanny (tooting my own horn here!) but still have a clause in my contract that if I ever do something grossly negligent, I will be fired with no notice or severance pay, and I completely agree with that stipulation. Any nanny worth their salt (and human being, for that matter) wouldn't do something like this, and you were absolutely right to fire her. The stress of a million searches for a new nanny is worth knowing your children are safe and cared for.