The straw that broke the camel's back

[Anonymous]

So, realized yesterday that I'm really unhappy nannying for my current family. I could write a novel about the weird shit they've made me do, but the breaking point was yesterday when I had to supervise a high school freshman carving a pumpkin and prep him with a lecture on "knife safety" beforehand. If you are 15 and don't know how to use a knife, then wtf.

[Anonymous]

It's always the tiniest thing that sets you off when it's building and building. Once after a particularly stressful string of events I cried because I didn't have a can of tuna I needed for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Is the 15 year old your charge? The fact that he has a nanny at that age....it wouldn't surprise me that he can't do anything for himself.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I definitely agree with you, PP. It really wouldn't have been a big deal at all if everything was fine otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the 15 year old your charge? The fact that he has a nanny at that age....it wouldn't surprise me that he can't do anything for himself.

Yes, he is my charge. I'm instructed literally to treat him like a child. I have to stand over him constantly and demand he does his homework. He's not even allowed to run around the neighborhood and play with kids his own age. His mom still instructs him to put a helmet on before riding a bike. The list goes on and on.

[Anonymous]

I feel bad for the 15 year old as much as I do for you. Sorry to hear OP. Good luck in what I hope will be your soon to be job search!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the 15 year old as much as I do for you. Sorry to hear OP. Good luck in what I hope will be your soon to be job search!

+1
He must be socially awkward. This cannot be how his peers are treated at home.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't he be staying home alone for a few hours , making simple dinners for himself, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't he be staying home alone for a few hours , making simple dinners for himself, etc.

Precisely. By the time my siblings and I were in elementary school, we were staying home alone for several hours before/after school. I also made breakfast and dinner pretty much every weekday from the time I was 11.

[Anonymous]

OP again. What makes it worse is that DB works from home and MB works from home 3 days a week. Literally the worst job ever. For what it's worth, when I was hired I was told they work "out of the home more often than not"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't he be staying home alone for a few hours , making simple dinners for himself, etc.

Precisely. By the time my siblings and I were in elementary school, we were staying home alone for several hours before/after school. I also made breakfast and dinner pretty much every weekday from the time I was 11.

Okay maybe its weird for a 15 year old to have a nanny, but elementary aged kids home alone is also not the norm (or legal for that matter).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay maybe its weird for a 15 year old to have a nanny, but elementary aged kids home alone is also not the norm (or legal for that matter).

But it was legal 20 years ago, when a lot of people who nanny today were kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay maybe its weird for a 15 year old to have a nanny, but elementary aged kids home alone is also not the norm (or legal for that matter).

But it was legal 20 years ago, when a lot of people who nanny today were kids.

Okay, but lets not tout it as a great idea. There is a middle ground between coddling, and being thrown off the deep end.

[Anonymous]

Does he have Aspergers or any kind of learning or social disorder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does he have Aspergers or any kind of learning or social disorder?

I highly suspect he does. But, unfortunately, that's information that the parents choose to keep private from me. I would never ask but I do have a strong suspicion.