Nannies: What do you consider arriving "on time" for work?

[Anonymous]

Our nanny comes in 5-15 minutes late every day. I work from home and I am not the most punctual person myself so I let it slide.

[Anonymous]

My start time is 7:15. I take the train, and am always at the station near their house around 6:50. I sit and read the paper for ten minutes then walk over and arrive about 7:08 every day. I have a rule of thumb never to arrive more than 10 minutes early and I can't STAND being late.

[Anonymous]

Everyone has different hot buttons about this. Important for everyone to discuss what your issues are, BEFORE the job starts.

[Anonymous]

I used to be pretty awful about being late- 7-15 mins most days. Made sure bosses knew it was my one big flaw so they could pass if it were a problem. Obviously I should "just fix it" but it wasn't quite that simple for me because of sleep issues/etc. It got better over time... My last job as a nanny I was usually in the door right at my start time or within 1-3 minutes of it.

Those bosses were told the same thing in the interview process, my references have been specifically asked not to sugar coat it. This family decided they really wanted a start 15 mins earlier than we agreed after I'd been with them 2 mos and I couldn't do it- told them so. They kept me anyway. Child goes off to pre-k eventually and my letter of reference is glowing (for them- we won't go into all the crazy I dealt with!) but they made it sound like I was 10-20 minutes late every day when in fact it was VERY rarely over 1-3. Extremely nit picky, and IMO, unfair since thy knew going in. They BOTH often worked from home and hung out with the baby & I for 10-45 mins every morning. In short, they basically treated me as 15 mins late for coming at our originally agreed on start time. Ridiculous. Obviously being annoyed by 1-3 mins is understandable- but counting in the time I outright told them I could not/would not do was not okay.

[Anonymous]

Hot button issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to be pretty awful about being late- 7-15 mins most days. Made sure bosses knew it was my one big flaw so they could pass if it were a problem. Obviously I should "just fix it" but it wasn't quite that simple for me because of sleep issues/etc. It got better over time... My last job as a nanny I was usually in the door right at my start time or within 1-3 minutes of it.

Those bosses were told the same thing in the interview process, my references have been specifically asked not to sugar coat it. This family decided they really wanted a start 15 mins earlier than we agreed after I'd been with them 2 mos and I couldn't do it- told them so. They kept me anyway. Child goes off to pre-k eventually and my letter of reference is glowing (for them- we won't go into all the crazy I dealt with!) but they made it sound like I was 10-20 minutes late every day when in fact it was VERY rarely over 1-3. Extremely nit picky, and IMO, unfair since thy knew going in. They BOTH often worked from home and hung out with the baby & I for 10-45 mins every morning. In short, they basically treated me as 15 mins late for coming at our originally agreed on start time. Ridiculous. Obviously being annoyed by 1-3 mins is understandable- but counting in the time I outright told them I could not/would not do was not okay.

This is so weird. Were your rates very good, so that made it worth it? I don't know how you can both expect people to excuse you being late all the time, and then get upset when they tell other people you were late all the time.

[Anonymous]

OP, if it is exactly 3 minutes a day, it is a clock thing. If you need to walk out the door at a specific time, work backwards and add in a 5 minute cushion and time to wash hands and give any morning updates, then tell your nanny what time she needs to be there. I'm a Mb and my nanny's arrival time ranges from 10 minutes early to 10 minutes late depending on traffic, and since it is not a big deal and I am sometimes a couple minutes late too, I don't worry about it, and I don't immediately assume it shows she isn't committed. On days when I have court and need her there right on time, I tell her so the night before, and then she's always on time. Just talk to her about what you need to make it work. I'm always amazed at how the easiest solution is talking with your nanny. You two are a team, and in the grand scheme, 3 minutes isn't an insurmountable problem.

[Anonymous]

You got it perfectly right! You and nanny are a team, and as such, need to discuss issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to be pretty awful about being late- 7-15 mins most days. Made sure bosses knew it was my one big flaw so they could pass if it were a problem. Obviously I should "just fix it" but it wasn't quite that simple for me because of sleep issues/etc. It got better over time... My last job as a nanny I was usually in the door right at my start time or within 1-3 minutes of it.

Those bosses were told the same thing in the interview process, my references have been specifically asked not to sugar coat it. This family decided they really wanted a start 15 mins earlier than we agreed after I'd been with them 2 mos and I couldn't do it- told them so. They kept me anyway. Child goes off to pre-k eventually and my letter of reference is glowing (for them- we won't go into all the crazy I dealt with!) but they made it sound like I was 10-20 minutes late every day when in fact it was VERY rarely over 1-3. Extremely nit picky, and IMO, unfair since thy knew going in. They BOTH often worked from home and hung out with the baby & I for 10-45 mins every morning. In short, they basically treated me as 15 mins late for coming at our originally agreed on start time. Ridiculous. Obviously being annoyed by 1-3 mins is understandable- but counting in the time I outright told them I could not/would not do was not okay.

This is so weird. Were your rates very good, so that made it worth it? I don't know how you can both expect people to excuse you being late all the time, and then get upset when they tell other people you were late all the time.

Are you really that dense or did you not read it?

Yes, I was late. But I was NOT 15-20 mins late every day as they said. I'm sure we can all agree late is bad, but there's a world of difference between 0-3 mins late and 15-20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny arrives three minutes late every day and I find it annoying. I know it sounds petty, but by the time she takes off her shoes and coat and washes her hands and gets to the baby, it's four more minutes, and it really bothers me. It's every day. She's paid through 6pm every day but I arrive home at about 510 and let her go by 520 at the absolute latest (I like to hear about her day with my baby, and always make sure it's done "on the clock" so she's getting paid). This is making me resentful. I'd like to hear from others about what they think. I feel like it shows disinterest in the job/lack of effort that she's late by a few minutes every day.

You sound petty. THREE minutes and you are on her whinying. Something tells me it is something else and not just three minutes.

[Anonymous]

If the nanny is late everyday, talk to her about it. If nanny starts thinking she can get away with being late, then she is going to come in later and later every day.

[Anonymous]

my nanny is always a few minutes late, never early, it grates on me a bit but I don't mention it

[Anonymous]

I'm a bit obsessive over being on time. I have a far commute with a lot of traffic and I begin each morning of the week at different times so I leave a large time cushion and am always 10-30 minutes early. I park in the shopping center across the street and finish my coffee, clean out my purse, use the bathroom, and mentally prepare myself for the day. I pull into work right on the dot of my start time. MB nurses the baby at the last minute which always gives me time to put my lunch in the fridge, wash my hands, and catch up with MB. She leaves cushion time on her end to so she can hang around for a few minutes before running out the door. If there's an accident or I forgot I had to stop for gas I text MB if I'm going to be more than 5 mins late. I think that has happened two or three times in 6 months (though she is late to relieve me most days, but always texts).
I don't understand why both parties don't allow for cushion time, especially when 3 minutes is so important to you. Schedule her to arrive 15 minutes before you have to leave for work and aim to be ten minutes early for your own job Then everybody can chill the freak out. It can be very stressful for the kids and grown ups to make such an abrupt switch.

[Anonymous]

I understand OP because I also time my day pretty closely - ie: nanny arrives just at the time I need to leave in order to make it to work. That said, maybe there's an issue with the bus or public transportation not being right on time? (If she uses either). Our nanny started getting in a similar pattern and after a few weeks I mentioned to her that we really need to leave by X time. She was fine with it and it hasn't been an issue since.

[Anonymous]

Unless you pay her for arriving early, then she arrives at her start time. You people want everything.