Not enough time to clean up?
![[Post New]](/nanny-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I apologize in advance that this is going to be a little long. We have had our current part-time nanny for 4 months now for our 2 children. Initially when we hired her the hours were 9:30-3:30 but with the understanding that in January the hours were going to increase significantly (start earlier and end later). In September DC1 started preschool and we had to change the start time to 8:30. At the time I asked her if we could then change the times to 8:30-3. It increased her day by a half hour for which we would obviously increase her pay in accordance with her hourly rate. She asked if she could do 8:30-2:30 instead. I think it has to do with when her children come home from school so I agreed.
The problem is that both children go down for naps between 2 and 2:30 so when I get home at 2:30 she is just finishing putting them down for their naps and hasn't cleaned up from their morning at all. Sometimes she will clean up but sometimes she leaves a pretty big mess when she leaves. If she ends up staying later than 2:30 to clean up I always pay her for that time (and I round up pretty significantly because I feel badly that she is there later than she wants to be). Today when she left she threw a couple of toys in their boxes but left the dirty lunch dishes in the sink and a bunch of books and toys still on the floor. It only took me about 5-10 minutes to clean it up but I am 6 months pregnant and usually pretty exhausted when I get home. I often have my own things I need to do while the children are napping plus I really need some time to get off my feet. Standing to do dishes and crawling around on the floor to clean up toys (even for 5 minutes) is not only tiring but starting to become painful for me. I'm not sure how to handle this because on the one hand, I did agree to these hours but on the other hand it's really difficult for me to have to clean up when I get home. I also don't really understand why she can't just quickly throw the dishes in the dishwasher after they finish lunch and before she takes them up for their nap. |
Anonymous
| Just make it clear that she needs to have the lunch dishes and afternoon toys cleaned up before she leaves for the day. Remind her that it is perfectly ok to let the kids have a few minutes of independent play before lunch so that this can be accomplished. It may help to casually talk about cleaning up as the day goes on, as well, so that she is not stuck with a big mess at the end? I'm not sure what her issue is really, if she has children of her own she should already know these things, oh well. |
Anonymous
|
She might be afraid (?) to let your children play independently while she loads the dishwasher. Plenty of MBs wouldn't like that. Could you discuss it with her?
Although, really, if your kids are at least 2 they can certainly 'help' clean up their toys. There isn't an excuse as to why she's neglecting those job duties on a regular basis. |
Anonymous
| I think you need a new nanny. She knew the hours would increase, right? She was working 6 hours a day, getting out at 3:30. So she clearly had her own child care until 3:30. Now, you want to increase her hours, as anticipated, by a whole half hour. Suddenly she is unable to work past 2:30. Clearly, she only wants to work 6 hrs a day, which is not what you need and not what she agreed to. |
Anonymous
| Tell her you'd like her to set the kids up with an independent activity so she can clean up before naps. She probably thinks you wouldn't be comfortable with that so just let her know! |
Anonymous
| There's no excuse for this. Making sure the house is tidy, regardless of what we're doing in the last hour before my boss comes home, is a basic part of my job for me. She has the whole day to clean up, especially since she has probably at least an hour between the end of lunch and the beginning of naptime. |
Anonymous
| You can't wash dishes? Also. Unless you have lost your sense of touch, then you feel bad, not badly. Would you feel goodly if she washed the dishes? |
Anonymous
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed... |
Anonymous
are you saying the OP needs to suck it up and do her nannies job for her? This is simply a nanny who is not managing her day well. When I looked for a nanny I really wanted someone who could manage her day and our household like I would be doing if I was a SAHM. That involves time with the kids AND independent time for them so that simple chores can addressed so that at the end of each day dishes are clean, clothes are clean, toys are put away so that each day you can start fresh and organized. And wherever possible engage the children in these activities so they learn to care for their things and be a helpful member of their family. win win for all. |
Anonymous
+1000. OP here. Did you miss the part where I said I'm pregnant or do you just like to harass pregnant women? I'm leaving work now and I'm so tired and sore I can barely walk to my car, so no, I can't stand at the sink doing dishes. In a couple of hours I'm going to have to get the children up from their naps which may physically kill me if I have to do anything extra before then. |
Anonymous
| My, my the pregnant martyr, aren't you? You are pregnant by choice and this is not your first child, so you knew the hardships of pregnancy. Stop whining. |
Anonymous
| My my you must be one of those nannies who thinks kids dishes are beneath them and not part of the job description. That makes you about as useful as the 15 year old night sitter. Except most of them dont have your nasty attitude |
Anonymous
You're a lovely person. Are you always so nasty or are you just nasty when you can do it anonymously? It's absolutely my choice to be pregnant and I'm very aware of exactly what that entails, which is why I know I can't do everything myself or I'll go into labor early. I have a nanny to help for a reason. I'm not asking her to do anything that's not standard. She doesn't do laundry or any light housekeeping. Do you honestly think it's not a nanny's job to wash the children's dishes when she gives them lunch? Either you are really a nasty lazy person or you don't honestly believe it but just like being a bully. Does it make you feel good about yourself to try to make others feel bad? FYI, it doesn't work, you just come across as pathetic. To the other posters who have actually given me constructive advice, I definitely need to talk to my nanny. I don't think it's intentional on her part and I definitely don't think she's lazy, I just think she's anxious to get home to her own children. I think I just need to talk to her s little about time management so she can put the dishes in the dishwasher, etc before the children go to sleep. |
Anonymous
Not saying who is right or wrong in this. But OP are you leaving a pile of dirty dishes from the prior night/day. Leaving the kids dirty diapers out instead of putting them in the diaper pail? Or just other "messes" I ask because you are saying just doing the dishes is painful or walking etc. (which yes sucks sorry  )
She may feel that you are leaving the mess and why should she clean up your mess?? I am not sure, but I know when I get to work on Mondays and the sink is full of dishes from the weekend, the dishwasher is full of the same dishes I started right before I left for the weekend (and yes I unloaded and loaded it Mondays I unload and load at least 3 times), there are diapers on the changer, clothes everywhere. I just sigh and yes get annoyed - I do clean up because I need it to be a bit orderly to keep me sane for the day, plus it helps out my bosses. I also know that some days I don't get the play area fully cleaned. If the parent come home and we are in the middle of a fun game or activity things don't get put away just when their parents walk in the door. Yesterday it was a mess! I even knew it but the kids were having a blast putting sticky color post its to the walls and doors. We matched colors, stuck them to our shirts, the dog, big beach balls. But they loved it. It was all clean when I walked in this morning. I did take extra care today to make sure that I said thanks to MB when I saw her and I did extra "cleaning" by organizing some of the kitchen cupboards the kids use as play kitchens and with play food. |
Anonymous
| OP here. PP, I almost put something in my first post to answer your questions because I knew people would ask, and rightly so. It's a good question. I actually am a really neat/clean person, I can't stand a mess or clutter so I always leave the house really neat in the morning. The kids are usually up for an hour at least before the nanny comes so I give them breakfast and then clean up from breakfast including wiping the table off and cleaning up any food on the floor. It's not easy for me to do those things but I don't feel that it's the nanny's job to clean up from a mess they made when she wasn't there. But conversely, that's why I get so irritated when I come home and have to clean up. I leave it neat and clean for her and think she should do the same for me. |