How much time is reasonable to leave a 9 month old in a play pen in a 6-8 hr day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. You didnt answer the questions and you can keep the nasty sarcasm to yourself.

I am sincerely looking for suggestions to improve this situation short of finding a new nanny.

Do many MBs give there nannies exact play schedules to follow? Is unreasonable to ask the nanny to only use her phone during nap time or to contact us?
What is a reasonable amount of time for "individual play" for a 9 month old?

You need a new nanny, period. Sarcasm is justified if you are seriously that oblivious! I am a career nanny and have never used a play pen, not ever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your response. Our nanny does not have a car, so no they do not go out. We have a stroller and she is welcome to take our baby on walks to the park but the winter snow hasn't allowed for that yet. (We are in OH). So they have been limited to our house.

I've seen our nanny use Sesame Street other days. She use to hold our baby and interact some while it was on, but lately I see that my daughter is just sitting on the floor staring at the TV while our nanny is texting.

Ugh! No tv until children are 2. Now, occasionally breaking that rule works for some, but regularly having a baby watching tv is damaging to their developing brains. Is your "nanny" a teenage babysitter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your response. Our nanny does not have a car, so no they do not go out. We have a stroller and she is welcome to take our baby on walks to the park but the winter snow hasn't allowed for that yet. (We are in OH). So they have been limited to our house.

I've seen our nanny use Sesame Street other days. She use to hold our baby and interact some while it was on, but lately I see that my daughter is just sitting on the floor staring at the TV while our nanny is texting.

Ugh! No tv until children are 2. Now, occasionally breaking that rule works for some, but regularly having a baby watching tv is damaging to their developing brains. Is your "nanny" a teenage babysitter?

+1. I would never let a baby watch tv!! I first allowed TV with my charges when they were 3.5 and even then they only got to watch a 20 minute mickey mouse episode before naptime to relax. we called it our "quiet time" and some days we didn't even do that. I would tell nanny TV is only okay when the baby is napping (if you even want to allow your nanny to watch tv, which I think she shouldn't given that she doesn't seem to even know how to do her job)

[Anonymous]

Why is the nanny watching tv? Did you tell her she could watch tv and text all day? These things should be forbidden. Texting during nap time should be allowed. She should only put baby in the playpen if she needs to use the bathroom or do chores. Yes a schedule might help but 1 hr for breakfast ? That seems crazy for a 9 month old it should be 20-30 minutes tops.

[Anonymous]

Someone this lazy is not salvageable at all OP. That is awful awful and I find it hard to understand you do not realize this. Fire her ASAP.

[Anonymous]

OP, time for a new nanny. This one is a dud. Only time baby should be in the playpen is if she is cleaning or going to the bathroom. If she is cooking, baby can hang out in the kitchen with her in the high chair. I would say an 15-20 minutes a few times a day max. Only longer for a nap or household duties.

[Anonymous]

I care for 2.5 yo twins and their infant sister and their infant sister receives better and more attentive care than you are describing your nanny providig with no other children! If this is the second time in a row this has happened, then it is likely something about your work situation or pay or interview proccess that is turning off good nannies, leaving only the duds who can't afford to be picky. Maybe you should look into a daycare center or nanny share situation where someone other than you is doing the hiring. I don't mean that in a rude way, mind you, I just think that you are obviously not gettin what you want by hiring on your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I care for 2.5 yo twins and their infant sister and their infant sister receives better and more attentive care than you are describing your nanny providig with no other children! If this is the second time in a row this has happened, then it is likely something about your work situation or pay or interview proccess that is turning off good nannies, leaving only the duds who can't afford to be picky. Maybe you should look into a daycare center or nanny share situation where someone other than you is doing the hiring. I don't mean that in a rude way, mind you, I just think that you are obviously not gettin what you want by hiring on your own.

This is good advice. What are you paying her, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. thank you for your responses. Our nanny is 66 yrs old and a mother of 4. We found her on care.com.

To the person who suggested that unless our baby is crying, it's ok to leave her in the play pen: I'm sorry but its not ok with our daughter. She is a very pleasant and happy baby...to a fault. For example, she will happily sit in a poppy diaper for hours. Does that mean its ok to leave her in it? No! She gets a diaper rash and that is probably what happened yesterday. In the same way, she will quietly sit in the play pen for hours, but that doesn't mean she's happy. She's certainly not smiling. If you take her out of the play pen and let her crawl around or interact with her she is all smiles. Our nanny has commented on "how nice it is to care for such a happy and easy baby."

Taking away the play pen is a good idea but I'm afraid to do it if our nanny keeps texting so much. Our house is baby proffed, but I'm afraid our daughter will get hurt via a bad fall, sticking something in her mouth, etc.

MBs. - what limits do you set on your nanny's cell phone use?

NO cell phone use at all unless it is to call us or 911 when the baby is awake and out of her crib. No exceptions. She can text to her hearts content during the baby's two daily naps. This is NOT an unreasonable job requirement at all.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps just hire a responsible nanny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again.....just to be clear, when I care for my baby I rarely use the play pen except when I need to use the bathroom, prepare her food, put in a load of laundry, etc. I would love for a nanny to use it only for these purposes too, but I guess I've lowered the bar for nannies and i wonder if that is expecting too much. i get that the nanny does not love our child and probably most are doing just for the money. I'm becoming jaded because our nanny acts like she is so caring for our daughter and loves being a nanny when I'm physically present, when she was interviewed, and the first two weeks. But now 75% of the time I check into the camera she is on her phone and my daughter is doing "individual play."

I am a nanny and I NEVER use my phone and certainly never watch TV when I am working.

You ARE being ridiculous in thinking this is normal nanny behavior or work ethic. I have absolutely no clue why you are allowing this to continue. Stop being such a wimp.

[Anonymous]

OP here: The problem is that my schedule is not attractive to many nannies. I'm a full time nurse. I have to work a rotating schedule for now in a new unit. Every week I work different days and sometime different hours. I sent emails to about 30 nannies describing our scheduling needs and received only two interested responses...one of which backed out because they found another family with a set schedule. Most responses I received said they were already working full time for a family or that their schedule would not work with mine. So that is why we feel like we are stuck and have to work with the nanny we have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: The problem is that my schedule is not attractive to many nannies. I'm a full time nurse. I have to work a rotating schedule for now in a new unit. Every week I work different days and sometime different hours. I sent emails to about 30 nannies describing our scheduling needs and received only two interested responses...one of which backed out because they found another family with a set schedule. Most responses I received said they were already working full time for a family or that their schedule would not work with mine. So that is why we feel like we are stuck and have to work with the nanny we have.

Get a friend or family to help you, OP.

[Anonymous]

If your husband has regular hours, he can watch baby.

[Anonymous]

You can't just settle for whoever you get. Please.