Need suggestions on handling downtime

[Anonymous]

Ask your nanny, OP.

[Anonymous]

Agree you should ask your nanny. If you came to me with this new schedule and asked what I saw myself using that time for, I'd share an extensive curriculum based on your child's interests and developments. I'm doing dinosaurs right now, so we began the "session" by watching a chicken egg hatch. Maybe she wants to put together materials for arts and crafts (a lot of prep goes into that). Maybe she'd like to help cook, or would like to clean the kids rooms and playroom. Everyone is different!

[Anonymous]

2.5 hours is easy to fill on one day. I know deep cleaning my charges room takes a while. Not to mention cleaning toys. I also take time to update his leap frog games and things like that. I also get to time to run the vac and wipe everything. It goes fast. There is always something to do.

[Anonymous]

The whole "she doesn't cook so can't do meal prep" thing baffles me. If she is fully capable of doing chores like laundry and caring for your children, she can steam some veggies, cut up fruit for fruit salad, etc. I'm a nanny and although I do draw the line somewhere (I only do children's laundry, dishes, sweep, clean up after the kids and myself), I am totally happy to help prepare meals. Having said that, I've been very explicit that as a pescetarian I will not handle raw meat, but my families have been very pleased with my spinach cheese enchiladas, tuna veggie casseroles, and so forth. They are very basic, easy recipes. Her being unable or unwilling to cook just does not fit in with her role as a nanny, especially now that your needs are starting to change (kids in school, etc). (And for the record I do serve my charges meat, but it is all precooked.)

I would have a discussion with her, and offer her options for what to do with that time. I'm hesitant to suggest giving an ultimatum, but since there aren't really that many other things for her to do, you can offer her the choice of doing adult laundry, and other atypical (non child related) nanny chores, OR considering helping with cooking and meal prep. I imagine she might be more open to trying to cook if those are her options.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny who will have a couple of hours downtime during preschool hours plus nap time in the afternoons.
I will be doing my school work, plus prepare my charges lunch and maybe do kids laundry (they didn't ask but I figure I might as well since I'll have some time while doing homework).

I guess everyone does things differently. I personally wouldn't agree to deep cleaning or washing adult laundry. I did the adult laundry once in a previous job and it was disgusting. Never doing it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny who does anything and everything for my charge so I could use that time to do deep cleaning of his room and bathroom (stuff I cannot do now when he is with me) and do his ironing. I would also have his lunch all ready by the time he got home. It would be a great time for me to prep art projects, too.

If my MB doesn't get pregnant soon, I will be in your nanny's position for 1.5 hours a day in September 2016 so I'd love to hear what other nannies do with their time.

I will be in exactly the same position in September of 2016 if my MB doesn't get pregnant in the next few months, too except my charges toddler program is 2.5 hours every afternoon!

[Anonymous]

OP, I would add food prep or grocery shopping to her list to do during her downtime.

She has plenty of downtime and these chores would be both helpful and save you time and money.

You could add more deep cleaning, but I don't think that will be as advantageous as the easier chore of food prep and shopping.

[Anonymous]

A lot would depend on what your specific needs will be.

After dropping them off at pre-school, if she lives near by she can just go home + not return until school is out. It would be like a split shift-type position for her and you would have to ask her if she would be willing to do this.

Also, if you need her to be available on a moment's notice, on stand by in case one of your children falls ill at school, then she should be paid for this service. After all, she will not be able to accept other jobs and will be reserving these hours for your family.

If you need her to be available and you will be paying her a wage for this, you could also add in other duties for her during this time.

I.e., laundry, ironing, grocery shopping, light household work, organizing, dog walking, errand running, etc.

[Anonymous]

If you want her available for sick kids, emergency time, school holidays then you pay her, without additional duties. Otherwise, she is free , on her own, during this time and is not available to you during this time. O

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want her available for sick kids, emergency time, school holidays then you pay her, without additional duties. Otherwise, she is free , on her own, during this time and is not available to you during this time. O

While I agree in theory, as a nanny I would love to accomplish more child-related and educational tasks when my charge starts preschool.