What are the questions you WISH you asked during the interview

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, you chose the role of working mother. Unless it is mutually agreed upon, why would it be your nanny's responsibility to do your chores?

Were you responding to me (the one who talked about my nanny getting more breaks than me)? If so, then I didn't mean to imply it was her responsibility at all. I wrote her job description to include no housekeeping other than cleaning up after her and my DC's daily activities. I was simply pointing out that the occasional assumption on here that MBs ask nannies to go far and above what they ask of themselves is hardly a universal fact. Some of us think that our children's nannies are there to do childcare during their assigned hours and prefer to run our own households. So when all the nannies complain about lazy MBs and all the loads of chores piled on them, those of us who aren't lazy MBs might feel a little unfairly skewered. I work darned hard to keep my house running as well as to keep my nanny happy.

Person A is saying that they are entitled to four hour breaks at their job
Person B is saying that a person at a job should generally be working

You are calling person B lazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, you chose the role of working mother. Unless it is mutually agreed upon, why would it be your nanny's responsibility to do your chores?

Were you responding to me (the one who talked about my nanny getting more breaks than me)? If so, then I didn't mean to imply it was her responsibility at all. I wrote her job description to include no housekeeping other than cleaning up after her and my DC's daily activities. I was simply pointing out that the occasional assumption on here that MBs ask nannies to go far and above what they ask of themselves is hardly a universal fact. Some of us think that our children's nannies are there to do childcare during their assigned hours and prefer to run our own households. So when all the nannies complain about lazy MBs and all the loads of chores piled on them, those of us who aren't lazy MBs might feel a little unfairly skewered. I work darned hard to keep my house running as well as to keep my nanny happy.

Person A is saying that they are entitled to four hour breaks at their job
Person B is saying that a person at a job should generally be working

You are calling person B lazy?

No one is saying that.

If my job as a nanny is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children, and to keep the house running smoothly, and part of our daily routine involves a nap or quiet independent play time, that doesn't mean I'm on a break. I can't go out to eat or wander downstairs to chat with the doorman. I can't have a beer or a glass of wine. I can't go to sleep. I am still "on" and at work regardless of whether I am sitting down or standing up, washing dishes or reading a book.

[Anonymous]

I do light housekeeping for my employers very happily. I also do it very quickly and efficiently and end up still getting to enjoy a good stretch of downtime during most days. If the toddler naps for 3 hours and I get everything done in 45 minutes, I do enjoy that extra time to rest, call Comcast (which is becoming a weekly event at our house), clean up my inbox, and so on. If the only acceptable alternative for my MB is to add odd jobs to my list or to do my assigned tasks more slowly so no one feels "cheated," I'll move on to a different position.

This is fine and NOT what MBs are talking about or what the nap time is my time poster wants. The nap time is my time poster does not want to work quickly. She wants no tasks so she gets the entire nap time and no work. There also is the problem of nannies who try to pretend that they are spending 15 hours a week sorting winter/summer seasonal clothes so they can't do laundry or meal prep.

If you can get your light housekeeping tasks (which actually are light housekeeping tasks) done in 45 minutes because you work fast, more power to you! Its the do nothing types that moms avoid not high energy people who work efficiently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do light housekeeping for my employers very happily. I also do it very quickly and efficiently and end up still getting to enjoy a good stretch of downtime during most days. If the toddler naps for 3 hours and I get everything done in 45 minutes, I do enjoy that extra time to rest, call Comcast (which is becoming a weekly event at our house), clean up my inbox, and so on. If the only acceptable alternative for my MB is to add odd jobs to my list or to do my assigned tasks more slowly so no one feels "cheated," I'll move on to a different position.

This is fine and NOT what MBs are talking about or what the nap time is my time poster wants. The nap time is my time poster does not want to work quickly. She wants no tasks so she gets the entire nap time and no work. There also is the problem of nannies who try to pretend that they are spending 15 hours a week sorting winter/summer seasonal clothes so they can't do laundry or meal prep.

If you can get your light housekeeping tasks (which actually are light housekeeping tasks) done in 45 minutes because you work fast, more power to you! Its the do nothing types that moms avoid not high energy people who work efficiently.

at 15 hours sorting clothes. It takes me 20 minutes, tops, even when the kids "help."

And I completely see what you're saying. I do wonder if there are some crossed wires in some of these threads though, because I have definitely posted before advocating for getting to put my feet up for a bit when I have time for it, without clarifying that I do, in fact, do quite a lot of household tasks before that. I suspect some other posters are in the same boat and it's leading to frustrating interactions where we all just aren't on the same page / being quite clear enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, you chose the role of working mother. Unless it is mutually agreed upon, why would it be your nanny's responsibility to do your chores?

Were you responding to me (the one who talked about my nanny getting more breaks than me)? If so, then I didn't mean to imply it was her responsibility at all. I wrote her job description to include no housekeeping other than cleaning up after her and my DC's daily activities. I was simply pointing out that the occasional assumption on here that MBs ask nannies to go far and above what they ask of themselves is hardly a universal fact. Some of us think that our children's nannies are there to do childcare during their assigned hours and prefer to run our own households. So when all the nannies complain about lazy MBs and all the loads of chores piled on them, those of us who aren't lazy MBs might feel a little unfairly skewered. I work darned hard to keep my house running as well as to keep my nanny happy.

Person A is saying that they are entitled to four hour breaks at their job
Person B is saying that a person at a job should generally be working

You are calling person B lazy?

Uh, no.

MB A is described as someone who sits around the house all evening/weekend doing nothing while expecting her DCs' nanny to fill every spare minute with either childcare or housework.
MB B is described as someone who may or may not have her DCs' nanny do light housekeeping and in her evening/weekend time works hard at keeping her family and household running, along with DB. She works at least as hard as her DCs' nanny.

I'm saying there are plenty of MB Bs on this board and probably fewer MB As out there than people imply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do light housekeeping for my employers very happily. I also do it very quickly and efficiently and end up still getting to enjoy a good stretch of downtime during most days. If the toddler naps for 3 hours and I get everything done in 45 minutes, I do enjoy that extra time to rest, call Comcast (which is becoming a weekly event at our house), clean up my inbox, and so on. If the only acceptable alternative for my MB is to add odd jobs to my list or to do my assigned tasks more slowly so no one feels "cheated," I'll move on to a different position.

This is fine and NOT what MBs are talking about or what the nap time is my time poster wants. The nap time is my time poster does not want to work quickly. She wants no tasks so she gets the entire nap time and no work. There also is the problem of nannies who try to pretend that they are spending 15 hours a week sorting winter/summer seasonal clothes so they can't do laundry or meal prep.

If you can get your light housekeeping tasks (which actually are light housekeeping tasks) done in 45 minutes because you work fast, more power to you! Its the do nothing types that moms avoid not high energy people who work efficiently.

Who said this?? I think what myself and most of the nannies posting take issue with is the desire by some MBs to fill any and all down time with something, with no concern for the fact that this was not the original agreement and is not reflected in her rate. I do baby laundry during nap times as well as meal prep. I also have close to 2 hours of down time depending on the day. It is unreasonable to suggest that because there is more than 1 hour of downtime I should start doing things I don't get paid to do, or even agreed to do. If my boss suddenly asked me to do their laundry or cooking or whatever, no rate adjustment, I'd have a big problem with that.

[Anonymous]

No clear thinking nanny would agree to "keep herself busy" all day, except for "a meal break", unless she was an immigrant, maybe. Be honest, people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I do light housekeeping for my employers very happily. I also do it very quickly and efficiently and end up still getting to enjoy a good stretch of downtime during most days. If the toddler naps for 3 hours and I get everything done in 45 minutes, I do enjoy that extra time to rest, call Comcast (which is becoming a weekly event at our house), clean up my inbox, and so on. If the only acceptable alternative for my MB is to add odd jobs to my list or to do my assigned tasks more slowly so no one feels "cheated," I'll move on to a different position.

This is fine and NOT what MBs are talking about or what the nap time is my time poster wants. The nap time is my time poster does not want to work quickly. She wants no tasks so she gets the entire nap time and no work. There also is the problem of nannies who try to pretend that they are spending 15 hours a week sorting winter/summer seasonal clothes so they can't do laundry or meal prep.

If you can get your light housekeeping tasks (which actually are light housekeeping tasks) done in 45 minutes because you work fast, more power to you! Its the do nothing types that moms avoid not high energy people who work efficiently.

Who said this?? I think what myself and most of the nannies posting take issue with is the desire by some MBs to fill any and all down time with something, with no concern for the fact that this was not the original agreement and is not reflected in her rate. I do baby laundry during nap times as well as meal prep. I also have close to 2 hours of down time depending on the day. It is unreasonable to suggest that because there is more than 1 hour of downtime I should start doing things I don't get paid to do, or even agreed to do. If my boss suddenly asked me to do their laundry or cooking or whatever, no rate adjustment, I'd have a big problem with that.

I agree with PP. Plan accordingly when laying out your nanny's work agreement/pay rate (and accept that unless you want to pay full housekeeping rates she WILL have some downtime during the day) and you avoid this issue entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I do light housekeeping for my employers very happily. I also do it very quickly and efficiently and end up still getting to enjoy a good stretch of downtime during most days. If the toddler naps for 3 hours and I get everything done in 45 minutes, I do enjoy that extra time to rest, call Comcast (which is becoming a weekly event at our house), clean up my inbox, and so on. If the only acceptable alternative for my MB is to add odd jobs to my list or to do my assigned tasks more slowly so no one feels "cheated," I'll move on to a different position.

This is fine and NOT what MBs are talking about or what the nap time is my time poster wants. The nap time is my time poster does not want to work quickly. She wants no tasks so she gets the entire nap time and no work. There also is the problem of nannies who try to pretend that they are spending 15 hours a week sorting winter/summer seasonal clothes so they can't do laundry or meal prep.

If you can get your light housekeeping tasks (which actually are light housekeeping tasks) done in 45 minutes because you work fast, more power to you! Its the do nothing types that moms avoid not high energy people who work efficiently.

Who said this?? I think what myself and most of the nannies posting take issue with is the desire by some MBs to fill any and all down time with something, with no concern for the fact that this was not the original agreement and is not reflected in her rate. I do baby laundry during nap times as well as meal prep. I also have close to 2 hours of down time depending on the day. It is unreasonable to suggest that because there is more than 1 hour of downtime I should start doing things I don't get paid to do, or even agreed to do. If my boss suddenly asked me to do their laundry or cooking or whatever, no rate adjustment, I'd have a big problem with that.

This poster said it most clearly:

"Nap time is my time. Sometimes I choose to do work related stuff, but not always."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No clear thinking nanny would agree to "keep herself busy" all day, except for "a meal break", unless she was an immigrant, maybe. Be honest, people.

I guess I just don't get this thinking. I'm busy at my job all day, except for a meal break (usually) When I worked lower paid, hourly jobs, I was busy at them all day. When I moved on to a salaried position, I'm busy at it all day. Again, negotiate the job you want, but I'm not going to apologize for offering a well paying job with benefits, PTO, vacation, health care, etc etc that happens to require the person in it to be actually working for 6.5-7 out of 8 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No clear thinking nanny would agree to "keep herself busy" all day, except for "a meal break", unless she was an immigrant, maybe. Be honest, people.

I guess I just don't get this thinking. I'm busy at my job all day, except for a meal break (usually) When I worked lower paid, hourly jobs, I was busy at them all day. When I moved on to a salaried position, I'm busy at it all day. Again, negotiate the job you want, but I'm not going to apologize for offering a well paying job with benefits, PTO, vacation, health care, etc etc that happens to require the person in it to be actually working for 6.5-7 out of 8 hours.

And before anyone goes there, keeping busy doesn't mean scrubbing toilets. It can be reading to a child, going to the park, planning craft activities. But it can also be unloading the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry. The point is, my nanny doesn't think of down time as her time. It's work time. And that attitude is what makes her a great employee.

[Anonymous]

Some of you parents seem to fail to understand that child rearing is not only "manual" labor. I for one, am "on the job", just about 24/7. Even when I'm on vacation in Hawaii, I am giving thought to my charge's optimal development, and how it can be further enhanced, when I return.

I am constantly seeking to further my understanding of each of the children with whom I work. Each child requires a different approach in order to maximize daily success.

The parents who hire me and pay my high rates, are guaranteed the very best of care for their children. They would never dream of expecting me to "keep busy". They employ housekeepers for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No clear thinking nanny would agree to "keep herself busy" all day, except for "a meal break", unless she was an immigrant, maybe. Be honest, people.

I guess I just don't get this thinking. I'm busy at my job all day, except for a meal break (usually) When I worked lower paid, hourly jobs, I was busy at them all day. When I moved on to a salaried position, I'm busy at it all day. Again, negotiate the job you want, but I'm not going to apologize for offering a well paying job with benefits, PTO, vacation, health care, etc etc that happens to require the person in it to be actually working for 6.5-7 out of 8 hours.

And before anyone goes there, keeping busy doesn't mean scrubbing toilets. It can be reading to a child, going to the park, planning craft activities. But it can also be unloading the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry. The point is, my nanny doesn't think of down time as her time. It's work time. And that attitude is what makes her a great employee.

*Can't read to a baby who's asleep.
*Can't leave the house when the baby's asleep.
*Can't plan craft activities for an under-1YO.
*Unloading the dishwasher takes me 5-10 min.
*Folding laundry takes me 10-15 min.

You are just missing the bit where most of us DO all of these things, and more, but it just doesn't take us the whole damn nap to get them done!

[Anonymous]

Let me just say ...
I asked a question...
I did not say ANYTHING about cleaning! I think maybe two people answered my question. Fight somewhere else please! This is a forum to help people and get your questions answered isn't it!!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me just say ...
I asked a question...
I did not say ANYTHING about cleaning! I think maybe two people answered my question. Fight somewhere else please! This is a forum to help people and get your questions answered isn't it!!?

Welcome to DCUM

I'm a nanny and I can't think of anything I wish I'd asked at my interviews - sorry I can't help.