Learning experience or reason to fire nanny?

[Anonymous]

Not sure what everyone is reacting to. I would not be happy if anyone taking care of my 20 month old child didn't use the shoulder belts. We belt our kids in too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what everyone is reacting to. I would not be happy if anyone taking care of my 20 month old child didn't use the shoulder belts. We belt our kids in too.

But would you immediately consider firing your nanny for this offense? Would you even consider it? Or would you just atress to her that this is an important safety habit and ask that she comply going forward?

People are reacting to the overdramatic tone her. You don't jump to firing for something that reasonable people could view differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP again. Two things affected my decision about the lack of shoulder strap being a huge safety issue - 1. I have NEVER EVER seen an under 2 not fully buckled into a stroller and know literally dozens of kids around DC's age. This could be a local thing. I think parents here are A Lot more uptight about safety than probably 99% of the country just because you hear of bad things happening to kids all time. Nanny used to work in the suburbs so I can excuse her not knowing what the local norms are. 2. The nanny has disregarded my safety instructions before. I asked nanny to not dress DC on top of the dresser/changing pad, saying DC should not needlessly be seated at that height, and the very next week, I came home to find him sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter! (FYI I don't think dressing the kid on the dresser is a huge no-no, I just prefer it not be done there) This was actually worse because unlike when dressing DC, she was not paying her full attention to DC as she was cleaning the kitchen. Given I specifically said not to seat DC at that height, I was really baffled by this. I also previously told nanny that she should use the high chair if she ever needed to keep DC confined / safe (e.g., DC keeps trying to touch hot stove). The high chair is literally right next to where she seated DC...! I have other examples, too. Anyway, these kinds of incidents I guess have sensitized me to nanny's attention to safety.

I was flabbergasted about your reaction when I read the OP; however, hearing that there are ongoing safety concerns makes it more reasonable.

If she's not securing your possessions, it's worth a strong warning and/or hiring her (not locking the front door and/or your vehicle would both qualify, imo).

If she's disregarding common sense safety precautions (including putting a mobile child with poor balance on a counter!), it's definitely worth a strong warning and/or firing her.

If she's disregarding every warning you've given her, she needs to go asap.

[Anonymous]

Op I didnt use the shoulder straps once my child could sit up properly, It was more fun for her to be able to sit up and look around without being strapped to the back of the seat. If it makes you feel better I also walk 2 dogs and one day one of the dogs pulled across the front and the stroller went sideways, almost fell over but not quite. DD stayed in the stroller with just the waist part on.
This is not something to fire a Nanny over.