what do your kids call your nanny?

[Anonymous]

I do want them to show some sort of respect and not just use our nanny's first name, but I feel like "Ms." is too formal and "Aunt" is too familial.

What do your kids call their nannies?

[Anonymous]

Nanny or Nanny Mary. This was completely our wonderful nanny’s decision. Nanny also insists that DS call her teachers and our housekeeper Miss Whatever.

The sweetest thing is when she gets my son together with her former charges and they are all shouting for Nanny Mary!

[Anonymous]

How is Miss too formal? I am Miss First Name, similar to a preschool teacher. I am not the children’s aunt, obviously. And I think it is low class to call non-relatives “aunt”, but that’s just me.

[Anonymous]

Nanny.

[Anonymous]

In the DC area, first name.

In the more-south-south, where we are now, Ms. FirstName.

[Anonymous]

Nanny here. I am from the South and I teach them to call other adults Mr. or Miss First Name (for close friends) or Mr. or Mrs. Last Name (for those they don’t know well). But I go by my first name. Miss is too formal and distant for such an intimate relationship, and calling me aunt devalues both their actual family members (because an outsider is taking that title) and me (because it implies that we need to pretend I am family in order for me to be important). What usually happens is that they end up giving me a nickname when they are first learning to speak and I treasure that name above any formal title I could earn.

I do wonder whether there is a big difference in opinion on this between nannies who usually work with kids preschool-aged and older and nannies like me who start with newborns.

[Anonymous]

They use her first name. We've had three nannies over the years (and a few subs for vacations) and almost all of them have preferred to just be called by their first name.

[Anonymous]

First name

[Anonymous]

My charges are 2 and they just call me by my first name but when I worked in centers, the twos and up called me Ms. ___. I’m totally fine with them calling me by my first name but okay with them calling me Ms. ___ as they get older, like 3 and up- it totally doesn’t matter to me.

However, calling a nanny “aunt” seems unprofessional and I wouldn’t want them calling me auntie. Either my first name or if I had a nickname then that’s cool too (if my name was hard to pronounce).

[Anonymous]

I have always been called Nanny.

[Anonymous]

Always first name here too, but I think "Nanny FirstName" would work if that feels more comfortable and your nanny is okay with that. I don't personally know anyone whose kids call their nannies by anything other than their first name, though.

[Anonymous]

(PP and should add that we live in an area where there is not much formality generally--preschool teachers are also called by first names. "Ms." or "Mr." for teachers didn't start till elementary school, and my kids call most other adults either by first name or, for close friends, by "Auntie FirstName."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They use her first name. We've had three nannies over the years (and a few subs for vacations) and almost all of them have preferred to just be called by their first name.

+1. This was our nanny's preference as well

[Anonymous]

First name or nanny

[Anonymous]

They call me "Nanny" or "Nanny 1stname" and it's fine by me.
I don't like to be called Auntie and always stop it right away when parents refer to me this way.