For nannies/driving question

[Anonymous]

Do you stay home all winter?If yes-How do you survive being home with the kids all day?
I am a nanny and i am thinking about quitting my job due to this.

[Anonymous]

What exactly do you mean by "staying home"? Not driving or not getting out the front door?

[Anonymous]

Do you not drive? Not near Metro?

[Anonymous]

OP
What i'm trying to say is that i drive my own car but not the kids!No driving records or anything like that.They just don't want me to drive the kids and i get
stuck at their house all winter long!Get it?

[Anonymous]

How many hours a day are you there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many hours a day are you there?

8:30-6pm

[Anonymous]

No, we go out every single day. I don't drive the baby but there's tons to walk to, and we're near lots of mass transit options.

[Anonymous]

a) winter is over.
b) stroller? legs? you can get out of the house.

Yes, I'm being snarky. This is something you should discuss in the initial interview.

[Anonymous]

This is something I ask during the interview. I will not take a job where I'm not allowed to drive them anywhere. I interviewed with a family who needed me for 50 hours a week and the only place we'd be allowed to go was the playground down the street. No thanks. I'd go stir crazy.

At my current job we're out and about almost every day.

[Anonymous]

I'd go nuts if I had to stay inside all winter long, as would the kids. We're out every single day in the winter unless someone has a stomach virus or a high fever. And even with a high fever we'll at least get out to drop off/pick up siblings from school and/or activities. I've had 1 or 2 of the kids home sick everyday since Tuesday. Yesterday we didn't leave the house and we were all going crazy. Today, despite having 2 sick kids home from school, we still went to the car wash and pet store just to get out for some fresh air and a change of scenery.

There's little you can do to change your situation now other than looking for a new job that allows you opportunities to take the children places in the car.

This is something I always make sure I address in interviews. I've had to turn down several job offers due to the families' decision not to allow the nanny to drive the children.

[Anonymous]

I agree w/the others that during the interview, this topic should be discussed.

There are two categories of families out there. Those that allow their children to be driven and those that do not.

I opt to work for the families that allow me to drive their kids...esp. if I am going to be in the home more than say..4~5hrs. Any longer than that, and I would go nuts.

If the family lives in walking distance to a park, library, etc. I may still take the job but if I had to stay in the house all day I would get severe cabin fever.

Nannies, ALWAYS ALWAYS discuss this during the interview ASAP.

It would suck to find out after the fact that your new family will not let you take their child out.

As both a nanny and a mother, I never understood this logic...I mean....even schools provide field trips.
Kids need to get out, get a chance of scenery and go different places. Nannies as well.

Eventually all children will be in a situation where another adult will be driving them somewhere. Perhaps on a school bus, etc.

Parents need to get over this.

[Anonymous]

I would NOT take a job where I was not allowed to take the kids out. I have a perfect driving record, have never been pulled over and have never been in an accident. I also would not want to work for a family that would not allow it because that says A LOT about how the family will be about other things.

[Anonymous]

I have been with the same family for 2 years and I have only been allowed to drive the children for the past 9 or 10 months (basically since the twins turned 1). I had a problem with it initially but when we all sat down and talked, I really came around to their perspective. It was basically this: I was never restricted to where we could walk to, and in a big city that is pretty much everywhere I needed to go, but they didn't want to expose their children to the potential dangers of being in a car (from other driver, not myself) unless it was completely necessary (doctors appointments, etc.). I understood and there was no more conversation needed. When I was allowed to drive them, I found it was often more hassle than it was really worth. Now, unless we are going to a play date that is far away, or it is pouring rain and we just can't go outside, we stick to walking.