Light Housework Request for a Nanny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should all be made 100% clear before hiring. I am a nanny who will do anything and everything for the child in my care - laundry, cleaning, dishes, cooking - but nothing for the parents. I make this clear before hiring. For one thing, I have no time for anything else and for the other, it would change the relationship I have with my charge's parents. Doing the parents laundry is too intimate for me.

I'm not a jerk about it -- if one parent is in a hurry one morning and leaves a few dishes in the sink that I will wash them but I do not regularly do the parents dishes.

This is the clearest post on "light housekeeping" for a nanny. No, I would not do the parent's laundry either but I would unload the entire dishwasher if some of the children's dishes are in it (I'm not a jerk either)

OP should just hire a maid once a week or learn to throw her own dirty underwear in the washing machine.

This isn't a post about light housekeeping. It's a post from a nanny that won't do any housekeeping. Which is fine. But don't take a position that includes housekeeping, light or otherwise, if you don't do housekeeping.

[Anonymous]

mfs525 wrote:In my search for a nanny I requested she be responsible for "light housework". When I hired her I did not define what this was. She is willing to do the laundry for my daughter and clean my daughters bottles, clean her dishes and put away her toys.

However, I have asked her to empty the dishwasher (1x a week) and fold 1 load of laundry (1x a week). She refuses to do these tasks stating this is not included in "light housework".

She watches one child, my daughter who generally takes two 1.5 hour naps a day. I pay her the going rate and she works for me 20 hours a week.

Have any others experienced this? Is my request for light housework reasonable? Or do other nannies ONLY do stuff for the baby?

What hourly rate are you paying her, OP?

[Anonymous]

mfs525 wrote:In my search for a nanny I requested she be responsible for "light housework". When I hired her I did not define what this was. She is willing to do the laundry for my daughter and clean my daughters bottles, clean her dishes and put away her toys.

However, I have asked her to empty the dishwasher (1x a week) and fold 1 load of laundry (1x a week). She refuses to do these tasks stating this is not included in "light housework".

She watches one child, my daughter who generally takes two 1.5 hour naps a day. I pay her the going rate and she works for me 20 hours a week.

Have any others experienced this? Is my request for light housework reasonable? Or do other nannies ONLY do stuff for the baby?

You pay 20 hours a week and the charge sleeps 3 hours a days while she is on the clock!? What does she do half the time - nap, watch tv or doodle around on her smartphone??
Redo the contract. Meal prep, vacuuming, all laundry is common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

mfs525 wrote:In my search for a nanny I requested she be responsible for "light housework". When I hired her I did not define what this was. She is willing to do the laundry for my daughter and clean my daughters bottles, clean her dishes and put away her toys.

However, I have asked her to empty the dishwasher (1x a week) and fold 1 load of laundry (1x a week). She refuses to do these tasks stating this is not included in "light housework".

She watches one child, my daughter who generally takes two 1.5 hour naps a day. I pay her the going rate and she works for me 20 hours a week.

Have any others experienced this? Is my request for light housework reasonable? Or do other nannies ONLY do stuff for the baby?

You pay 20 hours a week and the charge sleeps 3 hours a days while she is on the clock!? What does she do half the time - nap, watch tv or doodle around on her smartphone??
Redo the contract. Meal prep, vacuuming, all laundry is common.

No, nannies don't touch your stinkin undies.

[Anonymous]

Most nannies are not on dcum and most do light housekeeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your nanny is not at fault here OP.

Light housekeeping in regard to the nanny profession is generally anything child-related and child-related ONLY.

Emptying out the dishwasher and folding a load of laundry may be more of a family duty since it may consist more of the general family's dishes/laundry vs. just the baby's.

Since you did not clearly define in the beginning what exact chores you expected to be performed, then it is a little too late to have certain expectations at this point.

In my opinion, what your nanny is performing for you in the housekeeping dept. is sufficient enough for her role.

Well said!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't empty the dishwasher and fold one load of clothes? Nannies are not maids or a jack of all trafes. Nannies take care of children and CHILD related duties which do not include emptying dishwasher, folding your clothes, or anything to do for an adult.

+1

[Anonymous]

Folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher are the definition of light housework. Cleaning up after the child and washing the child's things are just part of a standard nanny job that doesn't explicitly include housework. Is this your nanny's first job?

[Anonymous]

I think of light housework in the context of there is "heavy housework" - the standard clean you'd get if you hired a cleaning service, which usually includes things like mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, cleaning mirrors & windows, vacuuming, etc - and then there is "light housework" that encompasses the little stuff done everyday to keep the house in order, like loading & unloading the dishwasher, laundry, wiping down counters after cooking, taking out the trash, etc.

I would never expect a nanny to do all, or even most, of our daily housework, but if the job description lists light housework, 1-2 tasks a day related to the household are part of the job. We're upfront about that, but to claim that "light housework" can only relate to the child is pretty ridiculous. Childcare is restricted to children. Housework, by definition, relates to the house and many, probably most, nanny jobs do include some housework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think of light housework in the context of there is "heavy housework" - the standard clean you'd get if you hired a cleaning service, which usually includes things like mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, cleaning mirrors & windows, vacuuming, etc - and then there is "light housework" that encompasses the little stuff done everyday to keep the house in order, like loading & unloading the dishwasher, laundry, wiping down counters after cooking, taking out the trash, etc.

I would never expect a nanny to do all, or even most, of our daily housework, but if the job description lists light housework, 1-2 tasks a day related to the household are part of the job. We're upfront about that, but to claim that "light housework" can only relate to the child is pretty ridiculous. Childcare is restricted to children. Housework, by definition, relates to the house and many, probably most, nanny jobs do include some housework.

In all my nanny jobs, not one included housekeeping. Many of the families had FT housekeepers.

[Anonymous]

Through the whole day I am constantly unloading, reloading, and running the dishwasher. The family I'm with now has never asked me to do laundry, but in the past I have folded all the kids' laundry and put it away (which takes up a large chunk of the day). With the family I'm with now, whenever I see clothes that need taken care of (i.e. a basket full of clean clothes in the kids rooms), I make sure to put it away.

My point is it sounds like your nanny wants to cut corners. What you have described is "light housework", especially if the dishwasher are dishes the kids & her have used during the day.

[Anonymous]

mfs525 wrote:In my search for a nanny I requested she be responsible for "light housework". When I hired her I did not define what this was. She is willing to do the laundry for my daughter and clean my daughters bottles, clean her dishes and put away her toys.

However, I have asked her to empty the dishwasher (1x a week) and fold 1 load of laundry (1x a week). She refuses to do these tasks stating this is not included in "light housework".

She watches one child, my daughter who generally takes two 1.5 hour naps a day. I pay her the going rate and she works for me 20 hours a week.

Have any others experienced this? Is my request for light housework reasonable? Or do other nannies ONLY do stuff for the baby?

I requested that my nanny do everything in relation to the children. This includes their laundry, and washing bottles when they were nursing.

However, she has started to do dishes because DH and I are slobs and I think the pile irritates her no end.

I never asked her to do them. If I did, I would pay her more.

That's the way in works in other jobs--promotion and more duties, more pay. Otherwise, you end up with disgruntled people. Why would you want someone crabby watching your mini-me now?

If you start out defining those tasks in exchange for the pay, that's different.

Just think whether what you are about to do is acceptable in your own line of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

mfs525 wrote:In my search for a nanny I requested she be responsible for "light housework". When I hired her I did not define what this was. She is willing to do the laundry for my daughter and clean my daughters bottles, clean her dishes and put away her toys.

However, I have asked her to empty the dishwasher (1x a week) and fold 1 load of laundry (1x a week). She refuses to do these tasks stating this is not included in "light housework".

She watches one child, my daughter who generally takes two 1.5 hour naps a day. I pay her the going rate and she works for me 20 hours a week.

Have any others experienced this? Is my request for light housework reasonable? Or do other nannies ONLY do stuff for the baby?

I requested that my nanny do everything in relation to the children. This includes their laundry, and washing bottles when they were nursing.

However, she has started to do dishes because DH and I are slobs and I think the pile irritates her no end.

I never asked her to do them. If I did, I would pay her more.

That's the way in works in other jobs--promotion and more duties, more pay. Otherwise, you end up with disgruntled people. Why would you want someone crabby watching your mini-me now?

If you start out defining those tasks in exchange for the pay, that's different.

Just think whether what you are about to do is acceptable in your own line of work.

This is PP. In case anyone accuses me of exploiting my nanny by leaving piles but not explicitly telling her to do them, she has been with us for many years, and we have a very good rhythm now. She does some dishes when she wants, and I appreciate it.

I don't spring new tasks onto her. When I had another baby, she got a substantial pay raise, with the same hours.

[Anonymous]

I understand what you want OP. problem is what everyone here has already outlined - most nannies are scared of the slippery slope and consider their realm to just be child related.

You need to either just accept the above as fact and know that most nannies would react the same way, or be willing to put in the time (and hope for some luck) to find one if the few personalities where the person is happy to help out however you ask. Those folks do exist but often I think they take on xtra duties as they become closer to the family and/or kids start going to school and they take on more duties to stay in the employment of a family they like

You can post for mothers helper or nanny/housekeeper but from experience no one is really looking for that job, especially not on dcum. Maybe care.com or somewhere else?

[Anonymous]

A nanny is not a maid. She takes care of children, their laundry, meals, dishes used by them. Nannies do not make your bed, clean up after you, do your laundry, at least not for the rate you are paying. Pay her $100/hr and the sky's the limit.