What to do about food
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Anonymous
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I have just accepted a new nanny job and the family is wonderful. I will be bringing my 19-month-old along with me and DC will be 10 months. MB sent me their contract today and it states that they will provide food for me and my son. That is very generous, however we (my son and I) are vegan and I am gluten-free due to an allergy. It's not something that I ever felt was pertinent to share with them as it doesn't affect how I will perform my job duties and we never discussed food further than what DC is currently eating in the interview. This may be silly, but I'm a little worried that they may actually have concerns about this. My charge and my son could be eating very different foods once DC is eating table food. Also, it may take a little longer to prepare two different meals or there may be some issues when one child wants what the other is eating. I can think of many ways to get around these issues and really don't even think they are issues at all, but I'm a little worried about how my employers may feel about it.
Should I just say "no thanks" to them providing our food, or should I explain our diets and get into detail about the logistics of it? Should I ask them to only provide simple vegan foods like fruits and veggies and I'll bring the rest of our food to keep at their house? I will be taking the metro to work and it's a bit of a walk, so taking a week's worth of food would be kind of a pain. Not impossible though. |
Anonymous
| Can't you just say "Actuallly I have celiac disease so I am more comfortable bringing my own food, but thank you"? |
Anonymous
| A baby vegan? Don't you want your child to be healthy and strong? |
Anonymous
| OP here. Yes, of course I can simply say I'd prefer to bring my own food. I was just wondering if it would be appropriate to ask them to still provide some produce and such, while I bring the rest of our food. Is it unprofessional to take a generous offer and ask them to alter it to fit my needs? |
Anonymous
Yeah I'm not really sure why you are overthinking this. As for the wanting to share foods as they get older. This is something you will deal with no matter what. Your son will want want another kid has. Eventually you will have to teach him he cannot have other kids' food. Now for your charge, you can make a little extra And give it to their kid if he's interested. As for the "what if our foods take more time" argument....there are plenty of vegan and gluten free recipes that don't take anymore Time than a regular meal. However in your situation I would just say that given your dietary restrictions, you think it's best for you to bring meals from home. And they will likely keep snacks stocked. |
Anonymous
It's not unprofessional. It's just that you've hit a rare jackpot with being able to bring your kid and to have what seems like generous employers. You don't want to come off as "you must accommodate our needs exactly" right away. Just tell them your dietary restrictions and say you will bring your main meals. They will likely say something along the lines of "well we want to make sure we have stuff here for you. Can you give me a list of things you like?" I would approach it from that angle vs saying "we will bring our own meals but can you please provide produce and other things?" |
Anonymous
| They are probably just trying to be decent and letting you know upfront that its ok to eat their food. I would leave the contract as is and just mention to them you have no issue serving meat, fish, and dairy to your child but your family is vegan and you have medical issues so you'll generally be packing your own food. |
Anonymous
No, you either eat what is provided or bring your own. If it is standard veggies/fruit that they keep in the house, fine, but don't ask them to do a separate grocery shopping trip and spend more because you want specific food. |
Anonymous
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I have celiac disease, and I tell employers all the time. Usually it's for newer casual jobs where parents always want to order pizza and ask what I want. I always say I have celiac disease, so I can bring my own meal.
My one family did provide a lot of GF snacks for me, but their son also had allergies, and many of the things that were safe for him were safe for me. I would just say, "thank you for the consideration, but we have dietary restrictions, so we can provide our own food." If they ask what your restrictions are and offer to provide things you can eat, great, if not just bring your own on a daily basis. I never found a need to bring a weeks worth of food to store at my employers house. |
Anonymous
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I would let your new boss know ASAP. I don't think it will be a HUGE issue, however if you are not okay with cooking/preparing anything meat-related, they may take issue with it.
Talk to them and try to work out a good compromise. Like you stated, perhaps they can provide you and your son with vegan only food(s). Or you can choose to bring along your own. Remember, they are looking for someone who will care for their child adequately. As long as you can assure them your dietary needs as well as your baby's will not interfere with this care, I see no issue whatsoever. Good luck, I hope it goes well. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| I would make sure that if you do tell them you are vegan that you also convince them that you know how to make proper meals to because if my brand new nanny just told me she's vegan my first thought would be that she would leave my child malnourished. |
Anonymous
| Nice that they offered. I'm appalled when I hear of families telling the nanny to bring her own food. |
Anonymous
Do not ask them to provide special food for you and your child! Just tell them that you will be bringing your own food - and make sure you bring enough for their child is he/she is interested. |
Anonymous
[guardian]
Done correctly, children can be very healthy and strong Vegans. Please know what you're talking about before making comments. |