Can I ask my nanny to handle housekeeping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: my nanny does some non-baby related tasks like unloading dishwasher, receiving packages (including Blue Apron deliveries which is kind of like your groceries example), letting in service people, and taking out kitchen trash. We don't ask for more time-intensive stuff like general cooking because we want her to focus on the baby, but 5 minutes of unloading a dishwasher doesn't really hinder that. She still spends all our baby's waking time singing, narrating, playing, going to the park/library/gymboree/music class, etc.

What you listed here sounds very reasonable and some of the pushback seems to be from nannies who are opposed to general house chores on a matter of principle or something... maybe unloading the dishwasher is something they wouldn't do even with $100/hour and 10 weeks of paid vacation a year. That's okay--to each their own. Your pay and benefits are quite good, so you should be able to find plenty of other applicants who will be happy to take on these tasks.

While I agree that OP's requests are reasonable, I would rather have a nanny whose major emphasis is on teaching my child than doing my dishes. Yes, our nanny does unload the dishwasher and manage the house (deliveries, ordering, grocery shopping now that DD can happily go with her, cleaning playroom, DD's laundry, keeping track of her class fees, paying cleaning and repair people), I am more impressed by her teaching abilities. In interviewing nannies, I asked about teaching experience and education rather than if she was willing to unload the dishwasher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would all depend.

It is unreasonable to add in other responsibilities to her job if she has already been hired status quo.

And if you do add add’l duties to her workday, make sure to adjust her hourly rate to reflect new duties.

I am a terrible cook so having to cook for anyone besides my charge would make me stressed out!
I do not mind unloading the dishwasher, but personally do not feel it is the Nanny’s duty to do so unless most of the dishes were dirtied during her shift.

Baby laundry is entirely optional.
Some Nannies are okay being a child laundress, I would not.

I once had a Mother blame me initially when her dryer wouldn’t heat up properly.
When I told her, she immediately blamed me for breaking it since she had used it the day before & it had worked perfectly for her.

Turns out it needed a part.
She gave me too much dang credit.
No way do I have the smarts to turn off the heat on a clothes dryer!

Baby laundry is optional? You’re a nanny. Baby laundry is a requirement in almost every job because it pertains to the baby. You sound like a Diva nanny. I wouldn’t hire someone that doesn’t know how to operate a washing machine and dryer.

PP Here:

Me....A D-I-V-A Nanny??!
If only you truly knew me....

Yes, children’s laundry IS optional.
Not every Nanny position requires it.
None of my Nanny friends are required to be responsible for washing their charge’s laundry which is not so unusual.

And by the way, I DO know how to operate a washing machine + dryer.
It’s just that a part went bad on a previous client’s dryer & she unreasonably assumed that I had broken it since it worked the day before when she used it.
It wasn’t until after her husband diagnosed the problem that she realized it wasn’t my fault after all.

Not being snarky,
Just offering a rebuttal.

[Anonymous]

Most nannies don’t mind helping out with these tasks. Helping out being the operative phrase; don’t leave her tons of dishes leftover from the weekend or pile up kids clothes because you’re lazy. I do these things as part of my job but I deeply resent having to clean messes I had nothing to do with making.

[Anonymous]

i always did those things at work as a nanny. i enjoy having a couple of tasks to do that are not child related. one can only sit on the floor playing make believe or reading the same story six times in a row for so long. it is also unhealthy to give a child 100% of your attention, 100% of the time. learning to play alone is a big part of a child's development. of course, keep them in eye/earshot, make sure they are safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most nannies don’t mind helping out with these tasks. Helping out being the operative phrase; don’t leave her tons of dishes leftover from the weekend or pile up kids clothes because you’re lazy. I do these things as part of my job but I deeply resent having to clean messes I had nothing to do with making.

Op here. I will scrap everything except receiving packages because we want our child to be the main focus. We don’t want any nanny to feel like we are taking advantage of her. Btw, I already mentioned that we have a weekly housekeeper and we are very clean people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are looking to hire a nanny for our infant. We need a nanny 3 days a week for 33 hours. We will be offering $23 hour net, 4 weeks paid vacation, 5 paid sick days, paid holidays, guaranteed hours, and a stipend for health insurance. We expect the nanny to handle baby housekeeping but also want her to handle emptying the dishwasher, receiving groceries and packages, and throwing a recipe in the crock pot 1-2 times a week. Is it unreasonable to ask?

You must be completely upfront in your initial contact.

Also, your offered rate must be gross, not net.

[Anonymous]

Some parents just like stretching their dollar to the max!!

They assume that since the Nanny is already in the home, that she might as well unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, take out the trash as well as feed Fido.

What these parents do not realize is that by adding household chores, attention is taken away from their precious child.
Even if it is only 1%, that is time that is focused on something else....Not your child.

I hate being distracted by chores.
I hate even using the word since it reminds me of being a child myself ironically.

I hate stressing about making sure I get the laundry finished or the dishes put away before my bosses get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. We haven’t hired our nanny yet. We are starting to look. We are thinking of either $23 net or $25 gross depending on the nanny’s tax situation. We will cut out crock pot meals but need a nanny to receive packages on occasion. We also have groceries only delivered once a week in our area, and we can’t. choose the day, which falls on the nanny’s workday. We can scrap dishwasher if needed.

All we require out of the packages is her to clean up after baby and herself, stock new supplies, and wash/sterilize baby bottles. Our housekeeper will
do laundry and all other cleaning. I know it will change but he sleeps a large amount during the day. He is on a schedule sleeping 8-10, 11:30 -12, 1:30 - 3:30/4, and 5/5:30 - 6. We want our nanny to take breaks and she will have a good amount of time to do that. We will require a nanny 3 days from 7:30-6:30, and he will sleep 5-6 hours out of the day.

OP, where are you and when do you need a nanny? Our nanny is amazing, and would do all of the above, and we are moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Nanny here and I make all of the kids food from scratch including meals for the parents as well once or twice a week. I also take out the trash as needed on my shift, unload the dishwasher daily, do grocery shopping for kids and parents and feed the cat if he needs it.

I also managed to provide excellent and attentive care to my charges (now 2 1/2-year-old twins, but I have been here since they were six months old). Even at this age, they nap for at least an hour and a half a day. I eat my lunch for half an hour, then do whatever cooking needs to be done for the day. I do grocery shopping with the kids in tow and they love and learn a lot through that process. We also cook together. When they were too young for any of that to be a factor, they were also sleeping all day and there was plenty of time to do other things during naptime. By the time they’re old enough that they are sleeping at all during the day, they will be starting half-day preschool a few mornings a week and I will be able to get these things done then. I find that the amount of time you have during the day is fairly consistent, you just have to break the tasks done differently depending on what kind of breaks you have. All this is to say that it is absolutely reasonable to look for a nanny who provides this as well as excellent care. The biggest thing that I look for in a family with regards to additional tasks is that they are clear on the fact that if for some reason I am not able to do anything but childcare on a specific day that I am going to prioritize the kid and things might not get done. 90 percent of the time I check off everything on my list, but sometimes things happen and I need to focus on the kids. If you can let go on the days when it’s not possible to get it all done, then it’s totally reasonable to ask nanny to use down time productively.

I would have thought you were my nanny except we have a dog and our twins are 3 1/2. Glad to know our nanny isn't the only one out there like this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most nannies don’t mind helping out with these tasks. Helping out being the operative phrase; don’t leave her tons of dishes leftover from the weekend or pile up kids clothes because you’re lazy. I do these things as part of my job but I deeply resent having to clean messes I had nothing to do with making.

Op here. I will scrap everything except receiving packages because we want our child to be the main focus. We don’t want any nanny to feel like we are taking advantage of her. Btw, I already mentioned that we have a weekly housekeeper and we are very clean people.

OP piece of advice - assuming you're going to want to keep your nanny, I would discuss these other things with them, as you will likely want the nanny to take on additional duties like cooking when your child gets older. I'd be pretty unhappy if I had a baby nanny who then refused to cook for my kid once they started eating solids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some parents just like stretching their dollar to the max!!

They assume that since the Nanny is already in the home, that she might as well unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, take out the trash as well as feed Fido.

What these parents do not realize is that by adding household chores, attention is taken away from their precious child.
Even if it is only 1%, that is time that is focused on something else....Not your child.

I hate being distracted by chores.
I hate even using the word since it reminds me of being a child myself ironically.

I hate stressing about making sure I get the laundry finished or the dishes put away before my bosses get home.

What do you think stay at home moms do? Do you not think they empty the dishwasher during the day? Most kids could stand to not be focused on 1% of the day. Also, they sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some parents just like stretching their dollar to the max!!

They assume that since the Nanny is already in the home, that she might as well unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, take out the trash as well as feed Fido.

What these parents do not realize is that by adding household chores, attention is taken away from their precious child.
Even if it is only 1%, that is time that is focused on something else....Not your child.

I hate being distracted by chores.
I hate even using the word since it reminds me of being a child myself ironically.

I hate stressing about making sure I get the laundry finished or the dishes put away before my bosses get home.

What do you think stay at home moms do? Do you not think they empty the dishwasher during the day? Most kids could stand to not be focused on 1% of the day. Also, they sleep.

She's NOT a sahm. She's a nanny. There's a huge difference and I say this as a sahm myself. Chores take a ton of time and nannies/sahms need breaks too. Working with young children is exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some parents just like stretching their dollar to the max!!

They assume that since the Nanny is already in the home, that she might as well unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, take out the trash as well as feed Fido.

What these parents do not realize is that by adding household chores, attention is taken away from their precious child.
Even if it is only 1%, that is time that is focused on something else....Not your child.

I hate being distracted by chores.
I hate even using the word since it reminds me of being a child myself ironically.

I hate stressing about making sure I get the laundry finished or the dishes put away before my bosses get home.

What do you think stay at home moms do? Do you not think they empty the dishwasher during the day? Most kids could stand to not be focused on 1% of the day. Also, they sleep.

She's NOT a sahm. She's a nanny. There's a huge difference and I say this as a sahm myself. Chores take a ton of time and nannies/sahms need breaks too. Working with young children is exhausting.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

The nannies on here are crazy and so entitled. OP, what you are looking for is very reasonable and you are being upfront. You are also offering generous pay and benefits. If a nanny doesn't want to do these tasks then they won't apply. Do not scale back what you're asking for and make sure you don't end up with a nanny who takes advantage of your generosity. We've been there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The nannies on here are crazy and so entitled. OP, what you are looking for is very reasonable and you are being upfront. You are also offering generous pay and benefits. If a nanny doesn't want to do these tasks then they won't apply. Do not scale back what you're asking for and make sure you don't end up with a nanny who takes advantage of your generosity. We've been there.

+1 and I'm a nanny