Nanny expectations re: food prep

[Anonymous]

I am an excellent nanny but a horrible cook. So during interviews if a family asks me if I am willing to cook for their child, I always say I can scramble eggs, fry them but not boil them. But I CAN boil pasta. That's about it.

At such a young age, you shouldn't expect your nanny to actually cook since kids this age like their food fast + simple.

Maybe warmed up Mac & Cheese with some sliced apples.

Perhaps your nanny prefers to focus on keeping your child safe at all times and may be worried that she will get distracted between your child and the hot stove.

It is a legitimate concern.

If she is good in all other areas, let this slide.

It's not a deal-breaker.

[Anonymous]

Our nanny prepares a hot breakfast for our son and the other child in our share. She will make eggs, French toast, oatmeal and then include fresh fruit that she cuts up, yogurt or cheese. For lunch, she typically makes a hot lunch: some sort of curry, rice or pasta, a protein (kids aren't big on meat), veggies, fruit. Because she knows my husband enjoys her food, she will often make extra for us to have for lunch and dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I love to cook and make all food for my charges from scratch (and we go grocery shopping weekly so that I can get anything I need to make their meals). I use nutritional guidelines from the AAP to plan their meals.

Sounds good to me.

I bet your employer is paying you more than OP is paying her person.

OP here. I suppose pay is certainly relevant to this discussion! We pay $22/hr for one child. Does that change anyone's answer? I feel better after reading some of these replies- and this isn't something we clearly discussed or put in the contract, so I think I'm not going to push it too much.

If you want to, you can offer a few dollars more in exchange for the extra work you want her to do. But put it clearly in your written agreement. You can even do a 30 trial with the extra pay, so you can see if it's worth it to you.

Are you serious? OP is already paying well over market rate for, what sounds like, a mediocre nanny. Why should she offer MORE?

OP, you aren't asking for anything out of the ordinary or over the top here. Many nannies do meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking from scratch as part of their daily activities and do not expect to be compensated extra for it.

It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

that's oxymoronic. Every nanny's job scope changes year after year because the baby / child is changing year after year.

If my nanny came to me and "Oops potty training is not in my job, more money.", "Oops, going to Gymboree is not in my job, more money," "Oops, making purees not formula, is not in my job, more money," "Oops, walking to/from school is not in my job, more money," "Oops, vacuuming up toddler crumbs is not in my job, more money," I'd laugh her right out of my house. stat.

8 hours of childcare, child is different every few months and every day is different. Slacker nannies are easily identified and easily replaced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I love to cook and make all food for my charges from scratch (and we go grocery shopping weekly so that I can get anything I need to make their meals). I use nutritional guidelines from the AAP to plan their meals.

Sounds good to me.

I bet your employer is paying you more than OP is paying her person.

OP here. I suppose pay is certainly relevant to this discussion! We pay $22/hr for one child. Does that change anyone's answer? I feel better after reading some of these replies- and this isn't something we clearly discussed or put in the contract, so I think I'm not going to push it too much.

You have one lazy, overpaid nanny OP.

Talk to your friends with nannies to get enlightened. Dcum has too much overexaggerated BS.
Our nanny was paid $15-19/hour over our five years and always made healthy food for our children.
Bethesda.

Does she have any cheap friends?

She has an excellent network of fellow caring nannies. If she needs to leave early for the dentist or something, one of them fills in. Now we have 3 extra talented babysitters we know too! And my co-worker just hired one of them for their new baby coming! We couldn't be happier about the care and attention our children receive. Going on year 5 now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I love to cook and make all food for my charges from scratch (and we go grocery shopping weekly so that I can get anything I need to make their meals). I use nutritional guidelines from the AAP to plan their meals.

Sounds good to me.

I bet your employer is paying you more than OP is paying her person.

OP here. I suppose pay is certainly relevant to this discussion! We pay $22/hr for one child. Does that change anyone's answer? I feel better after reading some of these replies- and this isn't something we clearly discussed or put in the contract, so I think I'm not going to push it too much.

If you want to, you can offer a few dollars more in exchange for the extra work you want her to do. But put it clearly in your written agreement. You can even do a 30 trial with the extra pay, so you can see if it's worth it to you.

Are you serious? OP is already paying well over market rate for, what sounds like, a mediocre nanny. Why should she offer MORE?

OP, you aren't asking for anything out of the ordinary or over the top here. Many nannies do meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking from scratch as part of their daily activities and do not expect to be compensated extra for it.

It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

Or she can remove all goldfish from the house along with other crappy snacks.

[Anonymous]

Without having read previous comments....

I think the amount of food prep/cooking a nanny does is really dependent on how comfortable she is doing so and how much time you want her spending in the kitchen. Some typical meals my nanny kids eat include:

Breakfast: oatmeal & apples; cheerios & berries; peanut butter toast & banana

Lunch: pbj, yogurt, banana; chicken nuggets, apple, cheese stick; mac & cheese with peas; meatballs with zucchini strips; pizza & roasted broccoli

Snacks: veggies & hummus; crackers & peanut butter; fruit & yogurt dip; granola bars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I love to cook and make all food for my charges from scratch (and we go grocery shopping weekly so that I can get anything I need to make their meals). I use nutritional guidelines from the AAP to plan their meals.

Sounds good to me.

I bet your employer is paying you more than OP is paying her person.

What? Where on earth are you getting this assumption? What is wrong with you that this OP can't ask a legitimate and specific question without being attacked for being an MB instead of a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nanny here. I love to cook and make all food for my charges from scratch (and we go grocery shopping weekly so that I can get anything I need to make their meals). I use nutritional guidelines from the AAP to plan their meals.

Sounds good to me.

I bet your employer is paying you more than OP is paying her person.

What? Where on earth are you getting this assumption? What is wrong with you that this OP can't ask a legitimate and specific question without being attacked for being an MB instead of a nanny.

Attacked? Chill.

[Anonymous]

Tell her what to make and provide the imgredients

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her what to make and provide the imgredients

GL with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

That would work for a machine, but not a child. Look, children grow. Don't nannies know that? Shouldn't they expect that the child will change? What else do you think the nanny should be able to refuse to do because she didn't have to do it before? Potty training? Putting shoes on? Giving purees? Helping the kid go down the slide? Reading? Playing with bigger toys? Taking to activities? This is becoming ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

$22/hour for one child is VERY high. We pay less than that for two. At that rate, your nanny should definitely be preparing meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

That would work for a machine, but not a child. Look, children grow. Don't nannies know that? Shouldn't they expect that the child will change? What else do you think the nanny should be able to refuse to do because she didn't have to do it before? Potty training? Putting shoes on? Giving purees? Helping the kid go down the slide? Reading? Playing with bigger toys? Taking to activities? This is becoming ridiculous.

All of those have to do with childcare. Extra housekeeping is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

That would work for a machine, but not a child. Look, children grow. Don't nannies know that? Shouldn't they expect that the child will change? What else do you think the nanny should be able to refuse to do because she didn't have to do it before? Potty training? Putting shoes on? Giving purees? Helping the kid go down the slide? Reading? Playing with bigger toys? Taking to activities? This is becoming ridiculous.

All of those have to do with childcare. Extra housekeeping is different.

You don't think feeding a child has anything to do with childcare? Should nannies be paid less for mixing formula bottles too?

PS: Anything related to the child is childcare. Housekeeping refers to things you do for the household and family members OTHER than the child. Doing the child's laundry is not housekeeping, it's the nanny's job. Doing the parents' laundry would be housekeeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It doesn't matter what OP is already paying. It's bad form to add new duties that weren't agreed upon up front without increasing compensation. Like it or not, overpaid or not, doing that is a recipe for resentful nanny. OPs realistic choices here are to let the issue go, specify her expectations regarding cooking and offering more pay for more work, or advertise for a new nanny at the same rate clearly laying out her expectations up front.

I don't disagree that for the rate OP is paying that she should be able to have a nanny that cooks. It's simply not realistic to expect her current nanny to happily increase her workload for no extra pay. Do you want someone angry and frustrated with you caring for your kids everyday?

That would work for a machine, but not a child. Look, children grow. Don't nannies know that? Shouldn't they expect that the child will change? What else do you think the nanny should be able to refuse to do because she didn't have to do it before? Potty training? Putting shoes on? Giving purees? Helping the kid go down the slide? Reading? Playing with bigger toys? Taking to activities? This is becoming ridiculous.

All of those have to do with childcare. Extra housekeeping is different.

You don't think feeding a child has anything to do with childcare? Should nannies be paid less for mixing formula bottles too?

PS: Anything related to the child is childcare. Housekeeping refers to things you do for the household and family members OTHER than the child. Doing the child's laundry is not housekeeping, it's the nanny's job. Doing the parents' laundry would be housekeeping.

Sorry, thought it was a different thread. Nope, I've already expressed that I can't understand why anyone would hire a nanny who refuses to cook.