MBs, does your nanny use her PTO?

[Anonymous]

Or nannies, do you use yours?

I always feel like I will be unreliable and leave my nanny family in a bind if I use my PTO. I've been working for them for 18 months and I've taken one day when I had a horrible stomach bug from the kids and one day for my wedding. I've been missing out on a lot of things lately and I hoenstly just thought I have PTO so maybe I should have taken a day or two here and there and not missed my friends bachelorette party or a chance togo visit my brother in the military.

I guess I'm just wondering, MBs- do you get annoyed when your nanny takes days off? Would using her PTO possibly reflect negatively on yearly reviews or on performance based raises and Christmas bonuses? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the typos I'm on my phone.

[Anonymous]

We want her to take time.off. I think breaks are important for everyone and lead to better job performance. We ask for 2 weeks or more notice so we can get coverage easily. There was one time she asked a week in advance for a certain reason but we were able to accommodate it.

[Anonymous]

1) There's never a good time for your nanny to go on vacation.

2) There are worse times, and it would be great if you could keep that in mind. These will differ for each family, but in my case, it would be weeks that the kids are all out of school/camp.

3) The more notice the better.

4) I of course expect her to use her vacation, just as my boss expects me to use mine, even though I'm sure in her mind there's never a good time for me to take it either.

5) If you're waiting for them to say, "Please, go; we don't need you!", then you're essentially hoping they'll realize they can do without you altogether.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the responses.

So do you take the day off wheb your nanny does or who watches the kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the responses.

So do you take the day off wheb your nanny does or who watches the kids?

Depends. 50% of the time it's a combo of me and DH. Depends on what shift I work. 30% of the time my parents. 20% of the time DHs parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the responses.

So do you take the day off wheb your nanny does or who watches the kids?

Depends. 50% of the time it's a combo of me and DH. Depends on what shift I work. 30% of the time my parents. 20% of the time DHs parents

Woops got cut off. 20% of the time DHs parents or my cousin who babysits.

[Anonymous]

You are an idiot for not taking g time off. You need to know, however, if you quit or are fired, they have to pay you for unused PTO.

[Anonymous]

I may be inconvenienced, but that's the price I pay for having a nanny rather than a daycare, you know? This is the whole point of creating your village and being able to draw on backup care.

The best thing is to give as much notice as possible. Obviously sometimes you're sick and can't, but planning a three-day weekend? Tell me you want that Friday off! Give me the time to make other arrangements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may be inconvenienced, but that's the price I pay for having a nanny rather than a daycare, you know? This is the whole point of creating your village and being able to draw on backup care.

The best thing is to give as much notice as possible. Obviously sometimes you're sick and can't, but planning a three-day weekend? Tell me you want that Friday off! Give me the time to make other arrangements.

+1. I'd rather you take PTO than burn out, get sick or fall asleep on the job due to exhaustion.

[Anonymous]

I always take my 2 weeks vacation plus ask for an extra week off unpaid. I've never taken a sick day (8 years at the same job). Wish I had all the days pto ask never get sick and could have 3 weeks paid. Nanny family goes away a couple weeks in summer and I'm paid so I guess it works out.

[Anonymous]

We expect our nanny to use her leave time. We ask for plenty of notice so that we can plan for when she's off, and we have in our contract that one week of leave will be scheduled concurrent with the family's vacation.

Obviously there are occasional sick days, or half days for dr's appts, or whatever. It's all pretty manageable as long as we know it's coming - it's only the last minute sick day that is hugely stressful.

When our kids (twins) were babies we would use an agency nanny for an extended absence of our nanny (like vacation or long illness). Otherwise we tag team using our vacation time, or occasionally we have a family friend who can babysit for part of a day. So it's a patchwork.

You should take some vacation time. We all need time to live our lives outside work.

[Anonymous]

Of course you take your time off. I typically do mine in a few long weekends thoughout the year.

Contact them in writing ideally at least 8 weeks beforehand. In email: "MB/DB, I am planning a getaway sometime in May. Would X, Y or Z weekend work best for you? I will be taking A Thursday, Friday and Monday off."

Then bring it up in person within the next week to be sure they saw it.

About 5 weeks out (from the earliest possible date) I both email and say, "I need to know your preference for my days off in May, as I will be booking my travel next week." In the email version, I resend the original email below my message."

If they still haven't committed by the 4 week mark, I email and say in person, "Since you hadn't expressed a preference, I booked my time off plans for X weekend. I will leave notes for my replacement. Let me know if there's anything else you'd likee to prep for the backup sitter."

2 weeks before, I hand them a folder with notes for the backup sitter on the kids' routine.

The Monday of I remind then that I won't be in on Thursday-Monday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the responses.

So do you take the day off wheb your nanny does or who watches the kids?

I can find an alternate sitter pretty easily if I know a week in advance (more notice is even better). It is not a problem if I can plan ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the responses.

So do you take the day off wheb your nanny does or who watches the kids?

We do a mix of things. Sometimes it's me, sometimes I can find a backup person for all or part of the time, sometimes it's DH. If I was in a real pickle, there is a drop-in daycare here. Like the other poster said, as long as I have enough notice, I can figure something out.