When do you hate being a nanny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I have my degree in Early Childhood Education from a top 20 university. I hate having to get on my hands and knees to clean up the floor under the high chair. I understand that not dropping food is a learning process but I hate having to clean it up.

Sorry to jump in since I'm not a nanny, but yikes. I have a PhD from the second ranked university in the world. I don't mind wiping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, etc. It's necessary for the bigger goals I have, i.e. it's a matter of context.

What I hate is having the nanny think of me as competition when we should be one team, working together in a loving but also organized and disciplined way to raise a child to be a good person and eventually a contributing member of society.

-MB

Funny thing is it's usually the MB who views the nanny as competition not the other way around. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to form a team with parents with the children's best interest at mutual heart only to find that it's all well and good as long as I'm the one who wipes the floor. Everytime.

I'm the PP MB. Call me! I frequently wipe the floor on my knees while the nanny holds my kid in the mornings. I don't think it's her job exclusively to clean up my kids messes and vice versa.

To the snarky PP and the "you told her" crowd... I certainly didn't get anywhere in life by keeping quiet. I'm the PP you responded to and I hope you didn't feel that I was being snarky. And I have absolutely no problem cleaning up after my charges. Or cooking for them. Or changing their diapers or cleaning up their vomit or any of those things. The best jobs I have had were the ones were my employers viewed me as an equal and part of team. I think I was just trying to say that it is much more common for a nanny to have to navigate mommy guilt than the other way around. Good nannies don't try to compete with parents for their child's affection. It is futile and not good for the child. Good nannies have their charges best interests at heart and that extends to the family they work for. You know how hard it is to parent? Imagine having your MIL as your parenting boss and you cannot challenge her in any way shape or form. That's what it's like being a nanny sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have my degree in Early Childhood Education from a top 20 university. I hate having to get on my hands and knees to clean up the floor under the high chair. I understand that not dropping food is a learning process but I hate having to clean it up.

Sorry to jump in since I'm not a nanny, but yikes. I have a PhD from the second ranked university in the world. I don't mind wiping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, etc. It's necessary for the bigger goals I have, i.e. it's a matter of context.

What I hate is having the nanny think of me as competition when we should be one team, working together in a loving but also organized and disciplined way to raise a child to be a good person and eventually a contributing member of society.

-MB

Funny thing is it's usually the MB who views the nanny as competition not the other way around. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to form a team with parents with the children's best interest at mutual heart only to find that it's all well and good as long as I'm the one who wipes the floor. Everytime.

I'm the PP MB. Call me! I frequently wipe the floor on my knees while the nanny holds my kid in the mornings. I don't think it's her job exclusively to clean up my kids messes and vice versa.

To the snarky PP and the "you told her" crowd... I certainly didn't get anywhere in life by keeping quiet. I'm the PP you responded to and I hope you didn't feel that I was being snarky. And I have absolutely no problem cleaning up after my charges. Or cooking for them. Or changing their diapers or cleaning up their vomit or any of those things. The best jobs I have had were the ones were my employers viewed me as an equal and part of team. I think I was just trying to say that it is much more common for a nanny to have to navigate mommy guilt than the other way around. Good nannies don't try to compete with parents for their child's affection. It is futile and not good for the child. Good nannies have their charges best interests at heart and that extends to the family they work for. You know how hard it is to parent? Imagine having your MIL as your parenting boss and you cannot challenge her in any way shape or form. That's what it's like being a nanny sometimes.

Thank you. Someone with sense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate being a nanny on nights like tonight when I can't sleep and know I have to chase a 20 month old around for 9.5 hours tomorrow in the heat. Ugh...

Same. I also agree with the other nanny about vacation. I have 2 weeks and parent think they're being oh so generous. My friends go outbid the country every other month.
One day I'll get there.

What do your friends do for a living that that they get to travel internationally every other month? Are they Instagram stars?

A few are self employed, one does something for hotels, one is some sort of it. A group of them do something for the government. These aren't super long vacations. They're a week, sometimes 2.
For example one of my friends when to the Dominican republic a month ago, next week she's going to Punta cans.

One of my friends went to south America a couple of months ago and now she is in Europe.
I went to California for a week last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did some of you expect your job to involve?

Please stop. Everyone in every profession dislikes something about their job. In just this one thread, please let the nannies speak freely.

Stop what? It was a question and I am nanny speaking freely so not sure what your issue is

Stop posting. All jobs have aspects that an individual can hate. Let the nannies have their thread without your comments. Please.

So as a nanny I'm not entitled to say anything I never said there aren't aspects of the job people can dislike/hate I just wondered what people had expected in the beginning? I have been in the position where the family have outlayed my responsibilities in the beginning and then they end up expecting you to do something else! My question is reasonable maybe you're just ignorant

NP here. You can know about a part of your job, accept it, do it, and still hate it, PP.

[Anonymous]

Being a nanny for many many years I've had quite a few instances that make me think what the hell.

But what still gets me mad enough to "hate" my career path is the lack of down time/adult time/zone time.

As someone who is older many of my friends in other fields of work, that they gave been in for years, and will decided last minute 'hey let's go to lunch' leave their offices whenever and go out to eat with co-workers, friends etc for hours. They will have time to sit on the computer and shop, zone to Facebook (or dcum), but of course they still get their job done. It's just a different environment then what I am in.

In this field we can't just say hey I feel like going to lunch early and walk out, leaving whatever issue in the office. We can't say God I'm so not feeling it today let me just sit in front of a computer and zone for a while with my office door shut. Most days we are on from start to finish. What little down time is still not away from our 'office '

[Anonymous]

I have 2 charges,one of them is a high maintance child and to make matters worse she doesn't nap all day..I keep her entertained at all times otherwise she cries when I stand up.we go out to baby related activities everyday, playgrounds,long walks this child will not nap, I have given up eating lunch a long time ago! It's not possible I feel drained at the end of the day.I'm really beginning to hate coming to work to her..her parents are sweet but it's becoming a nightmare..also I hate my job when parents work from home, my families do that a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 charges,one of them is a high maintance child and to make matters worse she doesn't nap all day..I keep her entertained at all times otherwise she cries when I stand up.we go out to baby related activities everyday, playgrounds,long walks this child will not nap, I have given up eating lunch a long time ago! It's not possible I feel drained at the end of the day.I'm really beginning to hate coming to work to her..her parents are sweet but it's becoming a nightmare..also I hate my job when parents work from home, my families do that a lot.

+1. I hate my job when the mother works from home. My poor charge is miserable and whining all day.

[Anonymous]

Thing I love about being a nanny: children. Things I hate about being a nanny: parents who act like children.

[Anonymous]

I hate when I have to watch the parents make mistakes that I think will really be worse for the kids. I know that these are their kids and that making mistakes is part of the learning proccess and I let little stuff (like too much tv or junk food) go easily, but every so often there will be a big decision that I really just know in my bones is the absolute wrong thing and it is so hard to have to stand by and watch (or worse yet, help implement) something that is actively bad for the kids.

[Anonymous]

I won't say hate, but there are things that drive me nuts. No dedicated reading time, but there's dedicated screen time. Saying they want kids eating healthy food, but it turns out to be processed cap with zero nutritional value. Children indulged so they stop screaming in the moment, teaching them to scream every time they want something. Expecting me to give information after kids are put to bed rather than spending 5 minutes after getting home. Scheduling things and not telling me until 10 minutes prior.

[Anonymous]

Lack of breaks. The only break I get is when my charge sleeps. Otherwise I am always "on", as one other poster mentioned. Even when my charge is sleeping, I am cleaning up messes or taking care of house tasks, so my down-time can be small or nonexistent. I know it's not plausible, but it would be amazing to have a 15 minute break twice a day just to sit down and zone out/clear my head. However, I used to work at a daycare center that didn't offer any breaks and at the end of each day I was completely mentally drained - it was awful. Nannying is much better because, even though I don't have breaks, working with one child is much less draining than working with 20 children.

[Anonymous]

I hate everything about my weekend nanny job (yes, I have posted about it before - sorry!) I am staying until the end of the year and feel nothing but dread from now until I drive home on Sunday night. Seriously, except for the money, I hate everything about it.

But I love my weekday nanny job! There is honestly not one thing that I even dislike about it. Amazing charge, wonderful employers, benefits, good pay, freedom, appreciation - seriously, everything any nanny could ever want!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate everything about my weekend nanny job (yes, I have posted about it before - sorry!) I am staying until the end of the year and feel nothing but dread from now until I drive home on Sunday night. Seriously, except for the money, I hate everything about it.

But I love my weekday nanny job! There is honestly not one thing that I even dislike about it. Amazing charge, wonderful employers, benefits, good pay, freedom, appreciation - seriously, everything any nanny could ever want!

Hang in there, PP! Not much longer!

[Anonymous]

Giving up having a life of my own in order to facilitate other people's lives.

I realize that is the way it is with any full time job, but . . . . Like, at the end of the day, their pets have been taken care of (by me) but when I get home, my own pets have not been taken care of and I need to take care of them as well. My employers kitchen is tidy when I leave at the end of the day, and sometimes dinner is going in the crockpot. I get home to my house and my kitchen needs to be cleaned up and dinner prepared. Etc. Etc. I have very little time for conversations with my own friends and family.

So I race through with the responsibilities of my own life. So I don't have much of a life of my own. Because I am facilitating their lives. I often know what is going on with their extended family more than I know what is going on with my own extended family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Giving up having a life of my own in order to facilitate other people's lives.

I realize that is the way it is with any full time job, but . . . . Like, at the end of the day, their pets have been taken care of (by me) but when I get home, my own pets have not been taken care of and I need to take care of them as well. My employers kitchen is tidy when I leave at the end of the day, and sometimes dinner is going in the crockpot. I get home to my house and my kitchen needs to be cleaned up and dinner prepared. Etc. Etc. I have very little time for conversations with my own friends and family.

So I race through with the responsibilities of my own life. So I don't have much of a life of my own. Because I am facilitating their lives. I often know what is going on with their extended family more than I know what is going on with my own extended family.

You can find a good nanny position with fewer hours, PP. I only work 38.5 hours a week at 27 an hour for one child.