cleaning up breakfast/dinner dishes

[Anonymous]

Nannies, does it bother you to clean up breakfast or dinner dishes if your MB preps a meal and gets the kids started eating before you got there? Lately, I have been noticing our date night babysitter is not cleaning up the dinner dishes, and I am wondering if it bothers our regular nanny as well that she has to clean up after the breakfast that I made.
It's not like I am expecting anyone to scrub pots and pans. It's typically spaghetti or pizza for dinner and cereal or yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

[Anonymous]

This is a nanny forum where nannies rule. So yeah, the answer you get is "you are terrible person, not fit to have a nanny, how dare you!"

Truth is, yeah, typically nannies don't do that but depending on how much you are paying, kids' ages, and other aspects of the job environment, there are plenty of nannies happily cleaning dinner dishes for job safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a nanny forum where nannies rule. So yeah, the answer you get is "you are terrible person, not fit to have a nanny, how dare you!"

Truth is, yeah, typically nannies don't do that but depending on how much you are paying, kids' ages, and other aspects of the job environment, there are plenty of nannies happily cleaning dinner dishes for job safety.

Do you think it's taking advantage somehow? I mean, the other option is just to have the nanny make dinner or breakfast. I am not going to wake the kids up early/take off work early so they can eat breakfast/dinner and I can have the dishes done by the time the nanny gets there. I always felt like I was making her job easier by prepping the meals myself, but maybe not.
The kids ages are 1, 3, 5, and 7. I don't live in DC, so the rate is hard to compare.

[Anonymous]

One of my friends cooks in such a way that she makes a huge mess in her kitchen. She splatters things all over, she cuts up a garlic only to use half and leaves the other half out, poorly judges how big of a bowl she needs and dirties one before switching to another, etc. When I cook, I clean as I go, so for example, after I put a pan of baked ziti in the oven, immediately all the prep dishes get cleaned. So I wouldn't ever want to clean up my friend's kitchen. But if someone had to clean up my kitchen it'd be a very different experience.

Regardless, it seems a common courtesy to always leave another person a clean kitchen and clean bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my friends cooks in such a way that she makes a huge mess in her kitchen. She splatters things all over, she cuts up a garlic only to use half and leaves the other half out, poorly judges how big of a bowl she needs and dirties one before switching to another, etc. When I cook, I clean as I go, so for example, after I put a pan of baked ziti in the oven, immediately all the prep dishes get cleaned. So I wouldn't ever want to clean up my friend's kitchen. But if someone had to clean up my kitchen it'd be a very different experience.

Regardless, it seems a common courtesy to always leave another person a clean kitchen and clean bathroom.

Or nanny could make breakfast /dinner for kids and leave a clean kitchen for OP

[Anonymous]

Experienced nanny here. I really don't see an issue with this. I can understand a date night sitter not doing it, but a day nanny should. It's one thing if it were my employers dishes, but the dishes used for the kids, I would see that as part of my duties. Most employers I've had kept a clean home but I never had an issue with cleaning a few of their dishes or folding a occasional load of their laundry left in the dryer. It's not all that difficult.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny and don't mind cleaning up the kids breakfast, I usually come in while their eating and take over.
Sometimes I'll put the parents studs away of it was a busy morning.
I don't do dinner dishes. When I come in in the morning, I do not want to do anyone's dinner dishes. I find that very respectful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a nanny and don't mind cleaning up the kids breakfast, I usually come in while their eating and take over.
Sometimes I'll put the parents studs away of it was a busy morning.
I don't do dinner dishes. When I come in in the morning, I do not want to do anyone's dinner dishes. I find that very respectful.

Disrespectful, not very respectful.

[Anonymous]

Of course I do all breakfast dishes but have never been left dinner dishes from the night before! When I sit at night, I will do the dinner dishes if it was the kids who were using them but not for the parents) again, I have never been required to do so for the parent's dishes even in the evenings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nannies, does it bother you to clean up breakfast or dinner dishes if your MB preps a meal and gets the kids started eating before you got there? Lately, I have been noticing our date night babysitter is not cleaning up the dinner dishes, and I am wondering if it bothers our regular nanny as well that she has to clean up after the breakfast that I made.
It's not like I am expecting anyone to scrub pots and pans. It's typically spaghetti or pizza for dinner and cereal or yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

If the children are eating the meal when I arrive, of course I do the dishes. It is part of my job. I will not, however, last long in any job where there are dishes or any mess left over from the day or meal before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nannies, does it bother you to clean up breakfast or dinner dishes if your MB preps a meal and gets the kids started eating before you got there? Lately, I have been noticing our date night babysitter is not cleaning up the dinner dishes, and I am wondering if it bothers our regular nanny as well that she has to clean up after the breakfast that I made.
It's not like I am expecting anyone to scrub pots and pans. It's typically spaghetti or pizza for dinner and cereal or yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

If the children are eating the meal when I arrive, of course I do the dishes. It is part of my job. I will not, however, last long in any job where there are dishes or any mess left over from the day or meal before.

This.

I'm an MB. I virtually never leave the nanny any of our dishes to clean. But, if the kids are up early enough that I am giving them b'fast when the nanny gets there, then she finishes that up, including clean-up. Likewise, if the kids aren't done w/ dinner when I get home then the nanny leaves on time and I handle the dinner clean-up.

Neither of us generate huge messes to clean up and we're both thoughtful and careful about how we leave things. So it works out just fine. Sometimes I'm putting a dish in the dishwasher that the nanny used. Sometimes she's sticking my glass from last night in, etc... but it's fully a two way street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a nanny forum where nannies rule. So yeah, the answer you get is "you are terrible person, not fit to have a nanny, how dare you!"

Truth is, yeah, typically nannies don't do that but depending on how much you are paying, kids' ages, and other aspects of the job environment, there are plenty of nannies happily cleaning dinner dishes for job safety.

Do you think it's taking advantage somehow? I mean, the other option is just to have the nanny make dinner or breakfast. I am not going to wake the kids up early/take off work early so they can eat breakfast/dinner and I can have the dishes done by the time the nanny gets there. I always felt like I was making her job easier by prepping the meals myself, but maybe not.
The kids ages are 1, 3, 5, and 7. I don't live in DC, so the rate is hard to compare.

Why can't you clean up as you go along? This is what I do and it isn't difficult. I would have a fit if nanny left a mess for me and I'm sure she feels the same. A nanny is NOT a general maid for lazy parents. A nanny takes care of childten and does cleaning related to them, not their lazy, shiftless patents.

[Anonymous]

It didn't bother me at first because it was a dish here or there. Now it's full blown pots and pans left for me the next morning on top of the breakfast mess. Not even kidding when my MB is home for lunch she leaves food out on the counter and tubs of food. I get so annoyed. One time she left me this burnt pan. I soaked it but did not clean it. It sat for three days until I gave in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nannies, does it bother you to clean up breakfast or dinner dishes if your MB preps a meal and gets the kids started eating before you got there? Lately, I have been noticing our date night babysitter is not cleaning up the dinner dishes, and I am wondering if it bothers our regular nanny as well that she has to clean up after the breakfast that I made.
It's not like I am expecting anyone to scrub pots and pans. It's typically spaghetti or pizza for dinner and cereal or yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

This is a child-related task so the nanny should have no problem cleaning up. Exceptions to this rule are big messes or meals that are not for the kids. On the other hand, it would be obnoxious to me if a mess was left and I was told not to worry about it. I'm going to clean it up if it's in my workspace because it will get in my way all day and my standard as a nanny is cleanliness. However, beware of this becoming a norm. A minor, child-related, occasional mess is okay but lots of nannies fear and hate the reality of things snowballing, so cleaning dishes one day might lead to it becoming what is expected, and then she starts being expected to do more without a pay bump.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely love my MB but she is a big mess and can't seem to remember to put dishes in the dish washer...if she sees me doing it she says "please don't do those, the maid is coming tomorrow".... I am a neat freak and of course clean them when she isn't around. Drives me nuts but I never let it bother me bc they treat me Amazing in every other aspect of the job!