What does your nanny do all day with your child?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is almost 2.5 years old and my nanny has been with us for a little over a year now. I really like our nanny but I feel like my daughter is not learning much from her. Does your nanny plan things for your kid to do? I have tons of books, puzzles, art supplies, musical instruments, etc but it doesn't seem like nanny uses any of them. Also want to mention that she takes classes 3x a week for art, gym, and music. I initially only had her in a gym class but added the other 2 classes because nanny mentioned toddler seemed bored.

Should I draw out a lesson plan for nanny? I'm a single mom and I work a lot of hours so I don't have a lot of time. Do you think switching to daycare would be a good idea? Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

What is their current routine?

[Anonymous]

2.5-year-olds learn through play, a lesson plan would be redundant.

Sounds like your nanny is educated on child development, you should brush up as well.

Your daughter should learn as she plays.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny for 2.5 year old twins
We do-
Sensory bins
Crafts
Work on letters and numbers
Story time at the library
Childrens museums
Cooking/baking
Dance parties
Visit different parks
Indoor play spaces in the winter
Picnics in the summer
Pretend play- house, grocery store, doctor, etc
Build with blocks
Train table
Build forts
Obstacle courses in the basement
Run errands
Age appropriate yoga
Make music with instruments and sing songs
Work on fine and gross motor skills
We're just starting games like freeze dance and red light/green light

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t consider putting your child into daycare until she is perhaps three years old.

Does your Nanny read your daughter storybooks every day?
Sing songs?

[Anonymous]

Nanny for 2.5 yo twins here. We do an outing each day (so for us a class would count aa our big outing) and other than that we mostly play. Yes, I could make a list like the one above about activities, but it’s not really necessary for young kids to have a big to-do list each day and they learn more from activities that are grounded in reality or self-directed.

So on a typical day: I get them up and dressed, we practice sitting on the potty and read a book or sing a song while they sit. They play with whichever toy they are obsessed with that week while I lay out breakfast. They clean up toys (with help), then choose their dishes for breakfast and sit at the table and put bibs on. We eat and they clean the table and get shoes and coats on while I put food away. We go on our outinf and usually get home just before lunch, so we repeat rhe breakfast routine basically, then nap.

After nap, if I am still cooking, I might invite them to help me, or have them do a more guided activity nearby so I can keep an eye on them, then we have an hour or two to practice going potty every 20-30 minutes with big kid undies in between and we do more guided activities like puzzles, coloring, stickers, sensory bins, playdough, etc. then since I have to be right on top of them to monitor their potty status, as it were. Then I put diapers back on and they get another half hour of free play time before dinner, then it’s bath, stories and bedtime.

[Anonymous]

I had the same concerns about my nanny and asked here recently, and decided to part ways with her based on the feedback I received. I think nannies are all over the map, and mine was one who had to be reminded to read to the child, never did anything creative, didn't show the child how to play with the music toys or other toys that we had, never made any crafts, etc. You can find someone who will do those things if you interview more carefully next time. I've found a new nanny who does crafts, cooks for the kid (rather than just microwaving leftovers), and is just generally more engaged. If you're even questioning it, then it's not a good sign. When I raised my concerns with the nanny agency I used, they said most people are calling them saying the nanny is so wonderful, they are so grateful for all the nanny teaches the child, etc. The agency said if you don't feel that way about your nanny, you should move on, because people do feel that way after they've found the right match. Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Yes, our nanny has things planned for DD every day and always has - since she was born (DD is now two). She has DD is a class every morning (gym, dance, music, ballet) and organizes a playdate most afternoons. One afternoon a week, nanny hosts a playgroup with DD and six of her friends that always involves an art project and a story time. Nanny has a schedule to get in at least one hour of reading a day (broken into 20 minute segments or so now) and plays imagination games with her every day.

We live in a warm weather area so "outside" is part of DD's life everyday as well.

Yes - if your nanny cannot give you a sense of teaching and engaging your daughter, I would certainly ask her too.

[Anonymous]

Our nanny has been with us for six years and spends the majority of the day just with the youngest until mid-afternoon when they pick up the eldest. They go to a playground or park (or both) every single day. They go to different libraries 2 or 3 times a week for Story time.

Basically they leave the house after breakfast, and come home in time for Quiet Time after lunch bc the 4 yr old still sometimes naps. Then they read, maybe do an errand or art project, then go pick up the big kid, have snack, go play outside. Then the older one starts homework while Nanny starts prepping dinner and younger one either colors or reads or helps in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

There are two kinds of nannies: the first is the nanny who is a teacher and the second is the housekeeper who babysits.

Which one do you have, OP? In different families, I can see a need for either type of nanny.

I decided, before my children were born, that I wanted a teacher/nanny. Nanny has always engaged my children from the time they born. She has projects, classes, lessons, reading time and free play worked into every single day and I give her free-reign. Nanny does the children's laundry, grocery shopping for the children (and sometimes for us), keeps their closets organized and packs away out grown clothing, and has the kids put away their toys before she leaves for the day - but no other household chores.

I think it is important when hiring to decide which kind of nanny you want and not expect that you will get both. There simply are not enough hours in the day.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks all for the responses. My nanny seems to be very hardworking, but I think most of her experience has been with preschool/elementary aged kids so maybe that's the issue? I'm going to talk to her next week when she gets back from her vacation.

Her daily routine currently looks something like this: wake up, goto bathroom, eat breakfast, wash up, go to class, come back, play a little/nap, eat lunch, and then whatever the nanny has planned which is usually just play. At one point nanny was giving her the tablet for a hour a day which I didn't realize till I watched the camera footage a month later, so I told her not to do that.

[Anonymous]

What does "just play," mean? Is the nanny playing with your child, or sitting nearby while your child plays?

Our nanny does a little of both, but she spends lots of time on the floor with the children. She does let them direct the play for the most part, rather than planning ahead, but they do lots of different things, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2.5-year-olds learn through play, a lesson plan would be redundant.

Sounds like your nanny is educated on child development, you should brush up as well.

Your daughter should learn as she plays.

Sounds like the nanny is being lazy. Children do learn through play. However, at this age, she needs to be doing more than playing.
-literacy: alphabets, spelling his/her name, books, puzzles
-math: counting, sorting, puzzles (2.5 should be working on 8-12 piece puzzles)
-science: how do things work? Sensory bottles, mixing colors etc
-fine motor: cutting, writing, lacing etc
-gross motor: self explanatory.

A lesson plan would be great! It will give the nanny time to plan activities and make sure she is covering all areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all for the responses. My nanny seems to be very hardworking, but I think most of her experience has been with preschool/elementary aged kids so maybe that's the issue? I'm going to talk to her next week when she gets back from her vacation.

Her daily routine currently looks something like this: wake up, goto bathroom, eat breakfast, wash up, go to class, come back, play a little/nap, eat lunch, and then whatever the nanny has planned which is usually just play. At one point nanny was giving her the tablet for a hour a day which I didn't realize till I watched the camera footage a month later, so I told her not to do that.

Preschool?! Then she should have no problems planning activities for a 2.5 year old!

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who posted about letting my nanny go because of these issues. My husband and I spoke to our nanny twice about this, and she did become more engaged with our baby, but was clearly resentful about it (tone of voice/acting bored when reading to baby, complaining about having to talk to the baby so much, saying that she thought the baby was becoming spoiled by the attention). I think a tiger can't change its stripes. So I would talk to her to give her some fair warning and a chance to change, but I agree with the PP who said that there are babysitter/housekeeper nannies and teacher nannies. It's hard to turn one into another. Giving a child an iPad for an hour a day is a huge red flag. So give her a warning talk to be fair and see how she does, but you may want to prepare to hire someone else. You'll feel better knowing you're getting the care that you want for your child, and your nanny will be free to find a job with older children who don't need as much engagement.