Should live out nannies bring their own food and drink for lunch ?

[Anonymous]

Breakfast and dinner eaten at their own home?

Or do they have full access to all the food and drinks in your pantry within reason?

Just curious how most families handle it.

[Anonymous]

We tell our nanny she is welcome to help herself to what is here. She virtually never eats here though. If she did, I would expect that that would mean somethign like sandwich w/ a side of fruit/chips/carrots for lunch and a small snack or two (10 hr day). I would not expect that it would mean that she would actually cook anything from raw ingredients. Food is not covered in our contract. It's never been an issue for us (yes, I remind nanny she's welcome to help herself and eat while here - she just doesn't hardly).

[Anonymous]

If she is feeding my child(ren), of course, she is welcome to eat and coffee, tea, juice and water. You cannot compare an business employee to a nanny who works in your home and is not able to go to restaurant or local takeout to pick up her lunch. How cheap can you get?

[Anonymous]

It's a nice perk, but not an obligation imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is feeding my child(ren), of course, she is welcome to eat and coffee, tea, juice and water. You cannot compare an business employee to a nanny who works in your home and is not able to go to restaurant or local takeout to pick up her lunch. How cheap can you get?

its not that i'm being cheap, i'm wondering what the norm is

i don't go to the grocery store much, so am wondering if i should buy groceries for her

my child currently eats baby food (that i order online)

husband and i both eat most our meals at work during the work week (sad but true)

[Anonymous]

I eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks at work. My work day begins at 7am, and I am not hungry at 6am (on non-gym days) or 4:30am (on gym days). So I eat breakfast with the kids...always something from the pantry or fridge at work. MB even stocks on particular breakfast item I like. I do provide my own juice though b/c I'm particular about it.

Lunch varies. Sometimes I bring leftovers from home (which at least one kid usually shares with me), sometimes the kids and I go out to eat (using petty cash), and sometimes I cook from scratch or make sandwiches for everyone. On days I cook from scratch I always plan ahead to let MB know what we'll need the following week so that she can add it to the grocery order. Sometimes it's basic things like ingredients for veggie burritos (most of which we'd already have on hand) and other times it's more involved for things like vegetable pesto pizza, salmon burgers (we use frozen), or a tofu dish.

I help myself to whatever they have on hand for snacks. Luckily we tend to like the same snack foods, but there have been certain things I have requested that have become pantry staples b/c more than one person eats them.

Most of my jobs have been this way.

[Anonymous]

I'm a LO nanny and I bring my own meals 80% of the time or so.

I have two PT jobs. One of my families offers me full access to their kitchen and fridge - and one of the parents is a chef so there are always incredible dishes lying around. I bring my own yogurt, drink, fruit or other side and then eat a piece of whatever is on hand. My other family and I agreed in our contract that I would bring my own meals and they would provide snacks - I've been there 7 months and in an average week I'll have a small cup of juice, a slice of toast with peanut butter, OR a handful of chips. They don't keep much food on hand but I don't eat a whole lot during the day either. I keep my own coffee grounds in the freezer, but I buy them myself.

[Anonymous]

He's been told to help himself to anything within reason. Sometimes he brings food and sometimes he eats ours. If DH or I notice him liking something specific or bringing something specific, we get it. I remember one morning running around the kitchen opening a bag of pita chips and taking Asian pears out of the plastic packaging Costco puts them in so the nanny would feel comfortable helping himself.

[Anonymous]

Well

[Anonymous]

Ooops...sorry for the mistake above...I accidentally hit ENTER.

Anyway, most of the families I work for actually tell me to "help myself" to whatever is in the freezer, fridge or pantry, etc. Sometimes I can tell by the way they tell me if they mean it or not. To be on the safe side, I usually bring my own food/drink, however if the family is very persuasive then I usually go ahead and help myself.

I think it benefits the parents to let me eat lunch w/their child(ren) because I like to eat chips/cookies, etc. and if I eat them in front of their child(ren), then their child(ren) will want some too and most parents want their child to only eat healthy which I totally understand. So if I prepare a healthy lunch for us and we eat together, it encourages the kiddos to eat healthy.

However, some parents may not be able to afford to provide meals for the nanny and I understand that as well.

Basically it is up to the discretion of the family.

Nannies keep in mind though that even though you are allowed to eat whatever you want, common sense dictates that you should never overindulge in something. I.e., eating a whole pint of ice cream, finishing off a gallon of milk, etc.

[Anonymous]

I typically pack a lunch, but its nice to have the offer on the table for days I don't feel like packing a lunch or don't have time (when most people would just go out for lunch) I've worked for families on both sides of the fence and its not a huge deal. I will say that families who forbid eating their food, typically have a self centered attitude that leaks into other parts of our relationship and it is definitely a red flag for me and could make the difference between accepting an offer with them or a more accommodating family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast and dinner eaten at their own home?

Or do they have full access to all the food and drinks in your pantry within reason?

Just curious how most families handle it.

Most families ask the Nanny to do whatever she prefers.

[Anonymous]

Funny, no one I know provides meals for their nanny. Just snacks. Our nanny has never mentioned it and brings her own lunch. I always make and label DD's lunch and leave it in the fridge. This works well for our family.

[Anonymous]

If you don't want anyone else eating some planned for item, just put your name on it. It's that easy.

I'd never want to work with any family who told me not to touch "their" food.

It'd be an indication of some serious issues.

I don't come from that sort of "culture".

[Anonymous]

Now that I don't live with roommates anymore, I'm past the days of labeling my food

We don't have a ft nanny anymore, but we have temps a few times a year and always tell them to help themselves. They have all followed what I consider normal common sense. None have finished off anything, or cooked stuff fr scratch out of the freezer, or finished off leftovers.

When we had a ft nanny, she generally brought her own lunch and just had snacks or drinks from our stuff. She was welcome, and did, put stuff on our grocery list. But that was just for extra stuff as we just bought it at our next weekly trip.