Was This Fair??

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny for 2 children - ages 1.5 and 2.5.
I have been with this family since the 2.5 YO was 2 months so a little over 2 years altogether.

Yesterday I took the kids outside to play Play-doh, we played it on the driveway out front for about 45 minutes or so.
When we were through playing, I put the Play-doh away and we went inside the house.

When the father arrived home he was furious.
He told me that he was unable to park his car in the driveway since there was residual Play-doh stuck on the cement of the driveway.
He stated that he had an expensive car (he drives an Audi) with pricey tires and he did not want to get Play-doh on his tires.
He then asked me nicely (?!) if I wouldn’t mind scraping the Play-doh off the driveway so he could park his car there. (In the meantime he had parked it on the street.)
He gave me a small scraper as well as a broom.
He then went inside the house and I began attempting to scrape off the driveway > after about an hour of scraping I couldn’t get anymore off and I quit and told him that I was done.
There still was 50% left but it was by then dried up and thus embedded into the concrete.

When I relayed this story to my nanny friend later on she told me it was unfair of my boss to ask me to do this……
Since it was his kids that created the mess.

She told me my employers do not respect me and that this was a clear signal that they did not.

She encouraged me to quit.
WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Why are you playing with play-doh outside? That's so bizarre. How big of a mess was it that you couldn't get it all up after an HOUR? Why not use a hose or something and just wash it away?

[Anonymous]

The mother had instructed me to only allow the children to engage in Play-doh outside the house because she doesn’t want the kids to get it on anything in the house.

And I was going to hose down the driveway but the father told me not to, he said that would only embed the solution into the concrete more.
He told me to just scrape it off dry.

-OP

[Anonymous]

In the middle of the winter? You put down something under it. This is bizare.

[Anonymous]

Who's playing play doh outside on the concrete ?
Sorry but that's nuts. The mom asked you but it's your job to say no. I've never seen kids playing with play doh on the ground, next time say ok but bring a table so that the children can play ON the table, and then it's easy to clean up the mess.

The dad was right to ask you to scrape off the remaining pieces of dough. You should have been smarter in the first place.

-Nanny

[Anonymous]

I am a mother of a 3YO and a 5 1/2 YO and my children have played Playdough everywhere, inside, outside, in the grass, on the wooden terrace, yes even on the concrete driveway and sidewalks!
It eventually washes away since it is water-soluble.
I think it is made of flour/dye/salt anyway.

I would never ask my babysitter or nanny to scrape it off the ground.
Just like I wouldn’t ever ask her to scrub colored chalk out of the driveway or sidewalk either.

Smh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who's playing play doh outside on the concrete ?
Sorry but that's nuts. The mom asked you but it's your job to say no. I've never seen kids playing with play doh on the ground, next time say ok but bring a table so that the children can play ON the table, and then it's easy to clean up the mess.

The dad was right to ask you to scrape off the remaining pieces of dough. You should have been smarter in the first place.

-Nanny

I could never ask my nanny to do anything so demeaning as scrape anything off of my driveway.
Slavery is illegal.
What a horrible way to treat the person in charge of your kids!
If I were annoyed I would have helped her or just scraped it off myself.

[Anonymous]

He was rude. You should have respectfully said no.
Its also weird they don't want playdoh in their house at all. There is no kids playroom, or kids play table thats allowed to be messy? If not, you should suggest one.
If it comes to it, buy a cheap tablecloth from dollar tree to use play doh on, inside or outside, throw it away when done.

[Anonymous]

In answer to your question, I would definitely have to quit.
Cleaning up after kids is the nature of the job, ex: washing bottles/dishes used, picking up the toys off the floor, Etc.
But no employer should ask their nanny to get on her hands and knees outside and scrape off Playdoh off the driveway.

That is outrageous and unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the middle of the winter? You put down something under it. This is bizare.

Not everyone is in the DMV even though that's where this website was started. Jeff has repeatedly said people from everywhere are welcome here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In answer to your question, I would definitely have to quit.
Cleaning up after kids is the nature of the job, ex: washing bottles/dishes used, picking up the toys off the floor, Etc.
But no employer should ask their nanny to get on her hands and knees outside and scrape off Playdoh off the driveway.

That is outrageous and unacceptable.

Not only would I quit (if my employers asked me to do this!) but I would have also quit immediately.
Meaning I wouldn’t give notice.
How demeaning of a family to request their child’s nanny scrape off their driveway or sidewalk!

[Anonymous]

I would not have scraped anything off of the concrete.

Or if I was feeling feisty I would have told the father to do it, after all HIS kids made the mess.

Nannies sometimes do light housekeeping as part of their job descriptions but scraping driveways is not included imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not have scraped anything off of the concrete.

Or if I was feeling feisty I would have told the father to do it, after all HIS kids made the mess.

Nannies sometimes do light housekeeping as part of their job descriptions but scraping driveways is not included imo.

Its wrong to leave a mess. If you cannot clean up, don't do anything messy. Common sense is to cover the surface.

[Anonymous]

Did the playdoh also get ruined with rocks and crap from the driveway? So bizarre. I would have put the playdoh on something, not the ground.

Go to the dollar store and buy 10 table cloths or shower curtains and you put them down for crafts and such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who's playing play doh outside on the concrete ?
Sorry but that's nuts. The mom asked you but it's your job to say no. I've never seen kids playing with play doh on the ground, next time say ok but bring a table so that the children can play ON the table, and then it's easy to clean up the mess.

The dad was right to ask you to scrape off the remaining pieces of dough. You should have been smarter in the first place.

-Nanny

I could never ask my nanny to do anything so demeaning as scrape anything off of my driveway.
Slavery is illegal.
What a horrible way to treat the person in charge of your kids!
If I were annoyed I would have helped her or just scraped it off myself.

I wouldn't ask anybody to do it either UNLESS they did the mess themselves.
Sorry but that's only fair. She should have said no.