how many breaks do you give your nanny?
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Anonymous
| I need to ask everyone a nanny related question as this is my first nanny. How many breaks does your nanny have throughout the day? Our nanny shows up at 8 and starts her day with a cup of coffee if the little did not wake up. If the little one is up she has coffee later. Then she eats something around 10:30 and has tea for half hour while our son who is 2 years is left to play on his own. Then she takes another break around 1 p.m. when the LO goes for his nap. Finally, she has an afternoon tea and a snack for about 30 minutes. Her breaks are 2 hours out of the 8 hours she is in our house. Of course, everything is paid for by us. I work in an office and there are no breaks. We normally have our lunch in front of our computers. So, I was just wondering if these frequent breaks are common for nannies. Thanks a lot for replying! |
Anonymous
| Are you for real? Have you ever spent an entire day alone with a 2 year old? I would not begrudge her her coffee/tea breaks. Maybe ask her to cap it at 15 minutes if it bothers you so. |
Anonymous
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Oh my. Seriously? Or are you bored and looking for entertainment?
I would never think of presuming to control/manage when my nanny gets breaks. To the contrary, I have to encourage her to do it. I'm always telling her to nap when they do, watch some tv, read a magazine, etc... When you are home w/ your child all day do you fill every calm moment with housework? I sure don't! I need down time, quiet time, reading time, bathing time, whatever... You hired a professional (presumably). Let her do her job. Let her rest when she can so she can keep up with and enjoy your toddler. Treat her like a responsible adult who can and will manage her time appropriately. Or, manage every minute as though she's a factory worker and keep a running list of emergency care options for the turnover you'll experience. |
Anonymous
| Your 2 year old son SHOULD be left to play on his own throughout the day. I don't really think that counts as a break, she is not ignoring him, she is not locking him in a room to fend for himself, she is sitting down to have some tea and a snack. I'm sure even at your office where you are supposedly required to work through your lunch break, you would be allowed to have a snack at your desk. Many adults, including nannies, are capable of consuming food and doing their job at the same time. How are you monitoring these "breaks" as well? |
Anonymous
| Any time the child is sleeping is usually break time for me. I'll usually take at least some of that time to tidy up any toys/bottles/dishes etc. we've been using that day though. If I grab a snack or coffee while the child is awake, I make it quickly and go back to engaging my charge- I'm not hiding myself away in the kitchen for half an hour. If the snack is such that eating it outside the kitchen would make a mess, then I try to set the child up with an activity in the kitchen. |
Anonymous
| The real question, OP, is how many "breaks" do you take over the weekend, when nanny isn't there. Or do you have a weekend nanny to? |
Anonymous
| For nom exempt employees, no stated breaks exceot for lunch. Non exemot employees, paid OT for over 40hrs\wk, 15 minute break in AM anf PM, plus lunch break. Obviously, you have some kind of break as you posted while at work. Hypocrite. |
Anonymous
The question was not about having breaks but the "common" number/length of breaks. Perhaps, would be helpul if you learnt to digest information properly and thinking for a few minutes before replying? |
Anonymous
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OP you're lucky that your nanny is only taking 2 hours worth of breaks in an 8 hour day!
DCUM nannies expect 3-4 hours of breaks in an 8 hour day! Forget tea, these nannies expect to have long naps and watch Netflix. If the child goes to preschool, they expect you to pay for those hours too and ask for no additional tasks so the nanny can take another job and get paid double by two employers. All perfectly reasonable in the world of nannies. When the child is awake, the DCUM nannies expect you to provide a car or transportation mileage so the nanny can meet up with nanny friends at parks and ignore your child. These are not breaks, they are important adult interaction moments that a nanny must have to get through the afternoon of napping without adult interaction. Seriously, OP you should come up with a list of tasks that are valuable to you and sit down to have a conversation with your nanny. You can be direct in how you want her to spend her time when your child is awake and asleep. She should get an hour for lunch and be able to get snacks etc while the child is awake. Its nonsense that as a nanny you have free will to do whatever you want during your entire working day. |
Anonymous
That is really irrelevent. OP is not the one being paid for every hour. it is up to her what she does |
Anonymous
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A nanny essentially "eats in front of her computer" too. She can't run out and grab lunch or take a break. If the child is playing independently (which, by the way, is healthy for a child's development) and the nanny is eating she will obviously stop what she's doing if the child needs her. It's not like she has him locked in a closet while she's enjoying her tea.
Does she accomplish her other required tasks? If she's done with everything that is expected of her then I'm not sure what else she is supposed to be doing while a child naps. |
Anonymous
OP here. So far, no high turn over. This nanny has been with us for two years and that is the only nanny we ever had. I am just amazed as to how quickly you jump to conclusions about the situation. I probably should also add to correct for you quickly painting me as an employer from hell, that she is getting paid pretty well, all legally, with all benefits. We even pay her share of taxes. I drop her to the metro station every day after work to spare her the time she will spend taking the bus. When it was cold, my husband would pick her up every morning at the station. As our family ends up travelling she gets a lot of PTO- almost two months last year to be exact. So, I do not think she has a particularly bad deal with me. The reason, I was wondering as to what is the common number of breaks is because she started doing this recently. Before she did not. This is not something I am monitoring but i notice this recently along with some other changes such as being late here and there, not performing certain taskds under various excuses, etc. Basically, she has already set my expectations pretty high. Now, I am thinking whether I should adjust them. But, I am glad you shared how it works within your family. |
Anonymous
Taking care of your child IS a job, no matter if you're the bioparent, or the hired help, or something inbetween. The job should ALWAYS be done in the best way possible, whoever is doing it. |
Anonymous
Thanks, as this is actually a helpful reply. As I mentioned, she is actually pretty decent nanny. she took it upon herself to do some housekeeping things such as dishes, laundry, child room cleaning. I only asked her to watch my kid at the hiring time as I was new to this and did not know any better. She did not take advantage of me and I reciprocate by paying her $20/hour. She also has a lot of PTO due to our life style - 2 mo/yr. I also give her a paid day of or a short day here and there to just make sure she is not burnt out. She does accomplish a lot of tasks. By now, she set my expectations a certain way and then started c hanging how she is going about things. I just wanted to know how it works in other families. Thanks for providing your answer |
Anonymous
Never thought of taking care of my child as a job! although I do it in the best way possible as determined by me (her mother)! |