Kids Laundry and School Lunches

[Anonymous]

Hi quick question:
Is doing kids laundry a definite expected responsibility that a nanny HAS to do, or is it a bonus for a family?
Every website says something else.

And is it typical for a nanny to prepare the kids lunch boxes the night before and put them
Into the fridge, so that all the mother has to so in the mornings is to put them into their backpacks?
Does every nanny so that? What are your experiences!
Thank you!

[Anonymous]

If I were a na,by the answer would be no.

[Anonymous]

Unless you have a million kids, all under school age, or infant multiples, you should expect the nanny to do laundry.

Nannies generally prepare food for their charges, so school lunches seem reasonable, too, though not something every job will need, and not something I would necessarily expect of a part time after-school nanny.

Be careful hiring someone with the promise that they won't have to do even child-related chores. You will quickly find you want to replace them with someone who will.

[Anonymous]

Some do, some don't.

1. Child laundry is usually expected, as long as it's reasonable (you don't dump 2 weeks dirty clothes from 4 kids on the nanny after coming back from vacation) and as long as she has time to do it. If she works after school, how much time is spent at the house each day versus taking kids to and from school and activities? If she's at the house an hour or less, it's reasonable to start a load or switch it to the dryer, but not both. And if she's got kids underfoot, folding clothes can take a long time. Are you okay with her starting a load, leaving it in the washer for a few hours before switching it to the dryer, leaving it in the dryer overnight and taking the load to activities to fold there? I had to show one set of parents the schedule for them to realize that that's what it would require for me to be able to fit it in. If the nanny can reasonably fit it in, sure, kids' laundry is expected. But be prepared for it not to be done in a timely manner if a child drops a nap, child is sick, nanny is sick but working or your kids are overscheduled.

2. Cleaning the kids' rooms should be the children's task once they are school age. That means that the dirty clothes are already waiting for the nanny in the laundry room, she doesn't have to track them down.

3. Most nannies are happy to cook for their charges, but they cook what is being eaten during the nanny's shift. The only normal exceptions are the nanny packing lunch in the morning for the child to take to school and the nanny preparing dinner for the children to eat as mom/dad come home and the nanny leaves. If you want the nanny to cook from scratch, make baby food, make food for weekends on Fridays, make family dinner or prep lunches in the afternoon for the next day, those can be negotiated, but they aren't the norm.

4. Most nannies expect to keep the children's area tidy. However, definitions of tidy differ, and some families want more or less done or have stipulations about when and how things can be done. If you want the nanny to clean the kids' toys off the floor, that's reasonable if the kids aren't old enough to do it themselves. If you expect the nanny to wash the kids' toys every week, but don't allow for time, it's not reasonable.

Each family has their own set of expectations, and it's up to you to negotiate for what you want and need. Many nannies won't do any cooking, cleaning or laundry, many will only do things solely for the children. Some nannies will sweep the kitchen floor before allowing a child to crawl through grit. But once the family starts asking for things to be done that do not directly pertain to her shift, nannies start watching for job creep.

[Anonymous]

In my view a nanny who does not do anything (neither lunch, nor kids laundry nor other chores) is not a nanny. She/he is a baby sitter.
On the other hand, a nanny who is asked to clean instead of reading a book to a child, is also not a nanny - she is a housekeeper who also watches kids.
A nanny is a part of a family, true team player and is there to help out at any amount that does not interfere with her main job: spending time with kids.
It is a personal choice of every parent, but only royals can afford a PhD nanny who does not move her fingers when all baby bottles are dirty.
In my view, all children related chores should be in nannies' job description to start with.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your responses!!!
I forgot to add She's a part time nanny, not a full time nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your responses!!!
I forgot to add She's a part time nanny, not a full time nanny.

That was already clear. If she's part time and only works after school, does she have time to do everything you want? Possibly, she might. You need to talk to her, not us. But be prepared for her to either turn you down, ask for more hours or ask for a rate increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your responses!!!
I forgot to add She's a part time nanny, not a full time nanny.

I don't think part-time nannies have to make lunch ready.....it you agree to do kunch, they will make you do dinner, weekend food etc . MB will never be satisfied no matter how much you do....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your responses!!!
I forgot to add She's a part time nanny, not a full time nanny.

I don't think part-time nannies have to make lunch ready.....it you agree to do kunch, they will make you do dinner, weekend food etc . MB will never be satisfied no matter how much you do....

You know, it is possible to write out a work agreement that lists the chores the nanny is supposed to do. A good boss will stick to it. A bad boss won't, but then the nanny can come back with something written down.

It doesn't take that long to make lunches and the kids can help. The hard part is usually deciding what to pack in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Every job is different and I don't think anything should be assumed. I think every nanny employer should guarantee hours and offer sick days. That doesn't mean they all do, and I can't go into a negotiation acting entitled. If you've already hired someone and didnt specify this as part of her duties in the beginning, I think it is fair to assume she took your job under the belief that this was not something she would have to do. To add it now is not going to go over well and comes across as a bit entitled.

[Anonymous]

I personally think that if a family requests their Nanny to do laundry duties during her shift, that is an extra perk. Caring for a young child is a huge responsibility in itself. Adding the sorting, washing, drying, folding & putting away their clothing is another huge responsibility as well.

So if they wanted a Nanny/Laundress, I would only do so if I got paid a higher wage.

Re: Making school lunches...I don't think it is fair that you have to do that since you are not working during their school hours. However if you get quite a few hours per day in downtime, it would be a nice thing to do for your family as long as they pay you well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally think that if a family requests their Nanny to do laundry duties during her shift, that is an extra perk. Caring for a young child is a huge responsibility in itself. Adding the sorting, washing, drying, folding & putting away their clothing is another huge responsibility as well.

So if they wanted a Nanny/Laundress, I would only do so if I got paid a higher wage.

Re: Making school lunches...I don't think it is fair that you have to do that since you are not working during their school hours. However if you get quite a few hours per day in downtime, it would be a nice thing to do for your family as long as they pay you well.

Nannies who are expected to do school lunches for the next day are typically after school nannies, with maybe one hour to do laundry, lunches, shopping and other tasks before pick up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some do, some don't.

1. Child laundry is usually expected, as long as it's reasonable (you don't dump 2 weeks dirty clothes from 4 kids on the nanny after coming back from vacation) and as long as she has time to do it. If she works after school, how much time is spent at the house each day versus taking kids to and from school and activities? If she's at the house an hour or less, it's reasonable to start a load or switch it to the dryer, but not both. And if she's got kids underfoot, folding clothes can take a long time. Are you okay with her starting a load, leaving it in the washer for a few hours before switching it to the dryer, leaving it in the dryer overnight and taking the load to activities to fold there? I had to show one set of parents the schedule for them to realize that that's what it would require for me to be able to fit it in. If the nanny can reasonably fit it in, sure, kids' laundry is expected. But be prepared for it not to be done in a timely manner if a child drops a nap, child is sick, nanny is sick but working or your kids are overscheduled.

2. Cleaning the kids' rooms should be the children's task once they are school age. That means that the dirty clothes are already waiting for the nanny in the laundry room, she doesn't have to track them down.

3. Most nannies are happy to cook for their charges, but they cook what is being eaten during the nanny's shift. The only normal exceptions are the nanny packing lunch in the morning for the child to take to school and the nanny preparing dinner for the children to eat as mom/dad come home and the nanny leaves. If you want the nanny to cook from scratch, make baby food, make food for weekends on Fridays, make family dinner or prep lunches in the afternoon for the next day, those can be negotiated, but they aren't the norm.

4. Most nannies expect to keep the children's area tidy. However, definitions of tidy differ, and some families want more or less done or have stipulations about when and how things can be done. If you want the nanny to clean the kids' toys off the floor, that's reasonable if the kids aren't old enough to do it themselves. If you expect the nanny to wash the kids' toys every week, but don't allow for time, it's not reasonable.

Each family has their own set of expectations, and it's up to you to negotiate for what you want and need. Many nannies won't do any cooking, cleaning or laundry, many will only do things solely for the children. Some nannies will sweep the kitchen floor before allowing a child to crawl through grit. But once the family starts asking for things to be done that do not directly pertain to her shift, nannies start watching for job creep.

for 50 hours a week and 9:09 in hours I do not Think so how about if you can stay home and take care of your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some do, some don't.

1. Child laundry is usually expected, as long as it's reasonable (you don't dump 2 weeks dirty clothes from 4 kids on the nanny after coming back from vacation) and as long as she has time to do it. If she works after school, how much time is spent at the house each day versus taking kids to and from school and activities? If she's at the house an hour or less, it's reasonable to start a load or switch it to the dryer, but not both. And if she's got kids underfoot, folding clothes can take a long time. Are you okay with her starting a load, leaving it in the washer for a few hours before switching it to the dryer, leaving it in the dryer overnight and taking the load to activities to fold there? I had to show one set of parents the schedule for them to realize that that's what it would require for me to be able to fit it in. If the nanny can reasonably fit it in, sure, kids' laundry is expected. But be prepared for it not to be done in a timely manner if a child drops a nap, child is sick, nanny is sick but working or your kids are overscheduled.

2. Cleaning the kids' rooms should be the children's task once they are school age. That means that the dirty clothes are already waiting for the nanny in the laundry room, she doesn't have to track them down.

3. Most nannies are happy to cook for their charges, but they cook what is being eaten during the nanny's shift. The only normal exceptions are the nanny packing lunch in the morning for the child to take to school and the nanny preparing dinner for the children to eat as mom/dad come home and the nanny leaves. If you want the nanny to cook from scratch, make baby food, make food for weekends on Fridays, make family dinner or prep lunches in the afternoon for the next day, those can be negotiated, but they aren't the norm.

4. Most nannies expect to keep the children's area tidy. However, definitions of tidy differ, and some families want more or less done or have stipulations about when and how things can be done. If you want the nanny to clean the kids' toys off the floor, that's reasonable if the kids aren't old enough to do it themselves. If you expect the nanny to wash the kids' toys every week, but don't allow for time, it's not reasonable.

Each family has their own set of expectations, and it's up to you to negotiate for what you want and need. Many nannies won't do any cooking, cleaning or laundry, many will only do things solely for the children. Some nannies will sweep the kitchen floor before allowing a child to crawl through grit. But once the family starts asking for things to be done that do not directly pertain to her shift, nannies start watching for job creep.

for 50 hours a week and 9:09 in hours I do not Think so how about if you can stay home and take care of your kids?

PP, I'm the one you responding to, and I'm a nanny...

[Anonymous]

How many children do you have, OP? Ages?
What is the nanny's weekly schedule?
What is the nanny's compensation package?

OP may very well be out of bounds if the nanny doesn't have time to do the kids' laundry. Getting it folded can be time consuming. And if some of the kids are in school, why aren't they folding their own laundry?

Making the kids' school lunches would be like making their weekend meals. But again, that's another chore the parents should be expecting their kids to be learning to do.

Because OP wants to now burden the nanny with tasks that were obviously not discussed in advance, she needs to first renegotiate the agreement, both ways. That means offering a better compensation package in return for increased services/responsibilities. Nanny may or may not feel able to take time away from her child care responsibilities to do laundry and school lunches.

Perhaps mom or dad can engage their children with these tasks during evening "quality time"? Don't they want their school-aged children to learn how to fold clothes and make a sandwich?