nanny and personal phone calls

[Anonymous]

Our nanny is generally very nurturing. However, she spends a lot of time on the phone during the work day. How much time should a nanny have to be on the phone for her personal needs? She recently had a death in the family, so there has been an uptick, but regardless, her baseline phone activity was quite high. She takes care of tasks, but I am not paying her to just make sure she keeps my toddler out of harm's way. She should be interacting with my toddler. I am very close to giving her a warning about this behavior, but I don't want it to be too close to her family member's death. How have you all handled nannies and personal phone calls?

[Anonymous]

OP sounds unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP sounds unhinged.

Don't you have anything original to say? OP doesn't sound "unhinged" at all. OP, I would give her one more week of high phone activity and then have a conversation with her about your expectations.

[Anonymous]

You can just say "Nanny I understand that with a recent death in your family you may need to speak with other family members both to make arrangements and for emotional support. But I noticed that you spent a lot of time on the phone before this. Can I look forward to you engaging DD and not spending as much time on the phone by next week?"

[Anonymous]

I agree that a nanny should be engaged + interact w/your child during her stay.

You need someone who actually plays w/your child and gives him the one-on-one attention he needs during the day.

A babysitter is simply someone who comes to your home, keeps their eye on your child, thus ensuring his safety. A nanny does so much more.

Are you paying your nanny a fair and competitive salary OP? If so, then I say you have every right to complain to her that you need her to spend less time on her phone and more time interacting w/your child.

However, if she is making a pitiful wage, then I wouldn't expect too much.

It is all relative. GL.

[Anonymous]

How does op know all this? Is she following the nanny all day long?

[Anonymous]

I have been very clear with our nanny from the get-go -- no personal calls (including texting) except when DD is in her crib napping. Obviously if she had a family emergency I would understand but we let our last nanny go because of excessive texting/talking on her phone. Our nanny has one weekday a week off, both weekend days and two plus hours when DD is napping -- that is more than enough time to handle any personal business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny is generally very nurturing. However, she spends a lot of time on the phone during the work day. How much time should a nanny have to be on the phone for her personal needs? She recently had a death in the family, so there has been an uptick, but regardless, her baseline phone activity was quite high. She takes care of tasks, but I am not paying her to just make sure she keeps my toddler out of harm's way. She should be interacting with my toddler. I am very close to giving her a warning about this behavior, but I don't want it to be too close to her family member's death. How have you all handled nannies and personal phone calls?

A nanny should ONLY take or make personal calls when she is on her lunch break and the charge is asleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny is generally very nurturing. However, she spends a lot of time on the phone during the work day. How much time should a nanny have to be on the phone for her personal needs? She recently had a death in the family, so there has been an uptick, but regardless, her baseline phone activity was quite high. She takes care of tasks, but I am not paying her to just make sure she keeps my toddler out of harm's way. She should be interacting with my toddler. I am very close to giving her a warning about this behavior, but I don't want it to be too close to her family member's death. How have you all handled nannies and personal phone calls?

A nanny should ONLY take or make personal calls when she is on her lunch break and the charge is asleep.

Parents should have a nanny ONLY if they have basic common sense, which the above bimbo clearly doesn't have.

Hint: Many parents have more than one child. Those children don't always sleep at the same time. Same for nanny shares.

Nanny isolation is unethical, maybe even illegal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny is generally very nurturing. However, she spends a lot of time on the phone during the work day. How much time should a nanny have to be on the phone for her personal needs? She recently had a death in the family, so there has been an uptick, but regardless, her baseline phone activity was quite high. She takes care of tasks, but I am not paying her to just make sure she keeps my toddler out of harm's way. She should be interacting with my toddler. I am very close to giving her a warning about this behavior, but I don't want it to be too close to her family member's death. How have you all handled nannies and personal phone calls?

You posted at 4:43 pm. Are you at work? If so, you cannot complain about your nanny because you are not paid to post on DCUM or do any personal business.I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can just say "Nanny I understand that with a recent death in your family you may need to speak with other family members both to make arrangements and for emotional support. But I noticed that you spent a lot of time on the phone before this. Can I look forward to you engaging DD and not spending as much time on the phone by next week?"

She will start looking for a new job immediately. Treat your nanny like an adult!

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks to those who responded with insight. We pay her well plus her health insurance premium plus gave her a cash advance to help cover her family members funeral expenses. She has a half day off every week and gets w / e off, plus my child naps for about three hours/day. I don't follow nanny around all day because I've got a business to run, but I do have a home office where I can hear the phone. And if this is what's happening when I'm working out of the home office, then I can only imagine what's happening when I'm meeting with clients, at meetings, etc Again, I appreciate those who replied with insight.

[Anonymous]

I bet most nannies are bored to tears, just like most parents when they have nothing else interesting to do.

Not every nanny *loves* her work.
What do you expect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bet most nannies are bored to tears, just like most parents when they have nothing else interesting to do.

Not every nanny *loves* her work.
What do you expect?

If a nanny doesn't love her work I would expect her to get another career.

OP, I would definitely talk to her about her phone use when working. I am a nanny and I never talk or text while my charges are awake. I take care of personal business when they are napping or wait until I get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet most nannies are bored to tears, just like most parents when they have nothing else interesting to do.

Not every nanny *loves* her work.
What do you expect?

If a nanny doesn't love her work I would expect her to get another career.

OP, I would definitely talk to her about her phone use when working. I am a nanny and I never talk or text while my charges are awake. I take care of personal business when they are napping or wait until I get home.

+1 Another nanny here and I have never needed to text or make any personal calls when my charges were awake except to answer calls from my employers. I have been fortunate that I have no family emergencies and all other personal calls are easily made during my lunch break and the kids' nap time. I have been a nanny for fifteen years.