Working from home

[Anonymous]

Nannies how do you feel when MB/DB work from home? How would you feel if this became a more regular occurrence?

[Anonymous]

I would quit. Honestly.

Dealing with a working-from-home parent is very difficult. The child naturally wants to be with his parent so the struggle to keep the child away from the parent becomes the job rather than the care and teaching of the child. There are nannies who always work with stay-at-home mothers but I have never been one of them.

[Anonymous]

I've done it twice before and I'll never agree to this kind of arrangement in the future.
Some parents play the game and "hide" in their office during the day ... but some don't and are in the way all the time, disrupting our activities.

It's not worth it unless you agree not to be in the way and you're clear about it with the nanny.

[Anonymous]

I would not accept the change. As stated above, a SAHP is very disruptive to the child. And while I certainly understand the need for a parent to come running when they hear their child crying, this undermines the relationship the nanny and child have.

I worked for a very wealthy family where the mother was a SAHM. Each child had their own nanny so there were three of us for three children. The other two nannies were afraid to discipline their charges or even say "no" for fear the mother would hear the child crying or tantruming and assume the nanny was doing something wrong. My new theory is that this is one of the reasons that wealthy children are so messed up and spoiled.

[Anonymous]

I'm a WAH MB and I never run to my kid when she's with nanny and crying. I hide in the office unless I know they're out of the home. In the evening, I finish work and take DC over while nanny wraps up for the end of the day. I think WAHP can be more difficult to work for since we naturally see and hear more, but it's important to choose your battles and be tactful about discussing issues so nanny doesn't feel like you're constantly looking over her shoulder. I have a longer conversation with nanny every few weeks and will bring up issues then or ask her questions and make it seem like I'm finding out something just then (although I might not be fooling her). I think nanny is reasonably happy with the arrangement.

[Anonymous]

I think with the right ground rules and a good house set up it can work. It's important to make sure parents understand that unless they have time to spend with their child, it's best to stay out of sight and then visit over lunch etc when they have time to play. Otherwise they're essentially teasing their kid who badly wants their attention and can't have it. Which obviously isn't fair to the child.

I've worked with SAHPs and one SAHM. All working situations were fine because we understood our roles and had basic boundaries to help the day run smoothly. I heavily screen for personality when I'm looking for work and tend to only work with people I would otherwise like spending time with. It helps eliminate micro managers, obsessive and garden variety weirdos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think with the right ground rules and a good house set up it can work. It's important to make sure parents understand that unless they have time to spend with their child, it's best to stay out of sight and then visit over lunch etc when they have time to play. Otherwise they're essentially teasing their kid who badly wants their attention and can't have it. Which obviously isn't fair to the child.

I've worked with SAHPs and one SAHM. All working situations were fine because we understood our roles and had basic boundaries to help the day run smoothly. I heavily screen for personality when I'm looking for work and tend to only work with people I would otherwise like spending time with. It helps eliminate micro managers, obsessive and garden variety weirdos.

I'm a WAH/SAHM (work part time). My kids have never known any differently, and it works fine. One of the major reasons it works is that their nannies have been awesome and fun, and I'm boring. I actually mean this; they want to see me, but if the nanny is heading to the park, or pulling out a game, they'd much rather hang with her. So it's all fine.

[Anonymous]

I have worked for two WAH families and am perfectly comfortable with it.

[Anonymous]

I worked for a WAHM for about 2 years. She was in her office from 8-5pm, minus when she'd come down for lunch when the kids were already in bed napping. If she needed to leave to run an errand, she would text me and let me know to distract the kids for a few minutes so she could slip out of the house. It was a great arrangement for us. I liked knowing that I was done at 5pm each day and didn't have to worry about traffic. Her company was in DC and no one there wanted to be on the phone at 6pm ET, so meetings didn't run over.

I would absolutely do it again if I thought the WAHP would be scarce and stick to routine.

[Anonymous]

I hate it. Even if the parents aren't ever in the same room as us, I constantly feel on edge just knowing they are home.

[Anonymous]

Hi ,
I am working as nanny with a family who works from home. Mom is stay at home and Dad work from home. In the beginning mom used to watch me how I am with kids. I was not comfortable. But, I just ignored and do my job. Now it's year and things working very well. One time I mentioned to her that most of nannies don't want to work where parents are at home. She agreed that it's not comfortable situation for any one who works as Nanny. After that conversation she stoped to notice my work. Infact after four months of my work she stopped. Now I am very happy with family and I do my work with honesty

[Anonymous]

I work for a WAHM. She takes business calls intermittently throughout the day. When she is not on a call, she is hanging out with us (if we are home). It is super irritating. The baby naturally wants to be with her and is very confused with her comings and goings. After this position ends, I never want to work for a WAHP again.

[Anonymous]

WAHP and SAHP are both horrific. I think inexperienced nannies just starting out should take those jobs until they hit their stride - and then never again. For an educated and experienced nanny, nothing is worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate it. Even if the parents aren't ever in the same room as us, I constantly feel on edge just knowing they are home.

If you're confident in your abilities, having some level of supervision at work shouldn't be a problem. What are you worried about?

[Anonymous]

We're going on year 4 with our fabulous nanny. I WAHM, but I'm not full time, so I'm around. We're all happy with the arrangement.