how many breaks do you give your nanny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I too spend more time sitting around when the grandparents come to visit. Not because I am lazy but because I am aware that the grandparents flew thousands of miles to see their grand-kids and I don't want to interfere with their playing/bonding.

+1

I'm the PP who said this, and I'm surprised no one else mentioned it! The whole day/schedule is different when family is visiting.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP who said that the nanny should get a one hour break while the child is asleep, and perhaps another 15 minute break if the child takes two naps. If the child naps more than that, the nanny should be doing other things around the house--not heavy cleaning, but tidying up, cooking, managing the dishwasher, laundry, planning activities or kid meals, keeping an online photojournal of her time with the kids, etc. She should not be napping, watching tv, reading magazines or the like outside her 1 to 1.25 hours of breaks unless that was negotiated up front.

That said, it is unreasonable to schedule the times that nanny can sit down and have a snack or cup of tea on the job, as long as she is watching your child while she does it. Drinking tea while watching your child play is akin to drinking tea in front of your computer at work. Maybe she is less than 100% on and engaged during those times, but very few humans can sustain full engagement with a young child all day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I too spend more time sitting around when the grandparents come to visit. Not because I am lazy but because I am aware that the grandparents flew thousands of miles to see their grand-kids and I don't want to interfere with their playing/bonding.

I agree that this is typical. I am always grateful that my nanny is gracious to and engages with visiting grandparents. This does mean more coffee/tea/chat breaks for the nanny, so less gets done around the house, but it also requires the nanny to be "on" all day in a way that is different from when she is alone with the kids. My nanny seems to enjoy the company, and I think that the extra social time is good because it enables the nanny to talk to my kids about their grandparents and support those relationships when the grandparents are not in town. Also, chatting with the nanny has given both my mom and MIL a greater sense of connectedness to the children's day to day life, which has made them big fans of the nanny and far more comfortable with my decision to work than they otherwise might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the PP who said that the nanny should get a one hour break while the child is asleep, and perhaps another 15 minute break if the child takes two naps. If the child naps more than that, the nanny should be doing other things around the house--not heavy cleaning, but tidying up, cooking, managing the dishwasher, laundry, planning activities or kid meals, keeping an online photojournal of her time with the kids, etc. She should not be napping, watching tv, reading magazines or the like outside her 1 to 1.25 hours of breaks unless that was negotiated up front.

This just reads so...dumb...to me.

I do ALL of these things. Shall I list them? I keep an extremely detailed log of our day. I wash, dry, and fold the children's laundry. I prep all the baby food, portion it, refrigerate and freeze it. I pick up necessary groceries. I load, run, and empty the dishwasher (GASP of the parents' dishes too and GASP I don't mind). I vacuum everywhere but the parents' bedroom. I sanitize all toys and books. I keep the toy boxes in order on a DAILY basis. I wash the bathtub since I give all the baths. I wash, dry, and put away the cloth diapers. I sanitize the diaper pails. I consolidate and take out the trash and recycling from the entire house. I bring in the mail and any packages. I wipe off the kids' fingerprints from the windows. I could go on and on, but I won't. I do all of these things and today I STILL had over two hours with nothing to do. So yeah, okay PP, I guess I "shouldn't" be allowed to read my book during that time, I should what, stand at attention outside the children's bedroom? A nanny who gets everything in her contract done on time, who builds great rapport with the kids, who communicates well with parents, who knows the neighbors, arranges and hosts play dates, takes the kids to community activities, basically a nanny who DOES HER JOB WELL, should be allowed to enjoy any downtime she gets in her day. Tomorrow the kid's might only nap 45 minutes, which I'll use to get everything cleaned, tidied, cooked, put away, whatever, but maybe they'll nap three hours again and I'll have a long break. And that will me being lucky, not lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the PP who said that the nanny should get a one hour break while the child is asleep, and perhaps another 15 minute break if the child takes two naps. If the child naps more than that, the nanny should be doing other things around the house--not heavy cleaning, but tidying up, cooking, managing the dishwasher, laundry, planning activities or kid meals, keeping an online photojournal of her time with the kids, etc. She should not be napping, watching tv, reading magazines or the like outside her 1 to 1.25 hours of breaks unless that was negotiated up front.

This just reads so...dumb...to me.

I do ALL of these things. Shall I list them? I keep an extremely detailed log of our day. I wash, dry, and fold the children's laundry. I prep all the baby food, portion it, refrigerate and freeze it. I pick up necessary groceries. I load, run, and empty the dishwasher (GASP of the parents' dishes too and GASP I don't mind). I vacuum everywhere but the parents' bedroom. I sanitize all toys and books. I keep the toy boxes in order on a DAILY basis. I wash the bathtub since I give all the baths. I wash, dry, and put away the cloth diapers. I sanitize the diaper pails. I consolidate and take out the trash and recycling from the entire house. I bring in the mail and any packages. I wipe off the kids' fingerprints from the windows. I could go on and on, but I won't. I do all of these things and today I STILL had over two hours with nothing to do. So yeah, okay PP, I guess I "shouldn't" be allowed to read my book during that time, I should what, stand at attention outside the children's bedroom? A nanny who gets everything in her contract done on time, who builds great rapport with the kids, who communicates well with parents, who knows the neighbors, arranges and hosts play dates, takes the kids to community activities, basically a nanny who DOES HER JOB WELL, should be allowed to enjoy any downtime she gets in her day. Tomorrow the kid's might only nap 45 minutes, which I'll use to get everything cleaned, tidied, cooked, put away, whatever, but maybe they'll nap three hours again and I'll have a long break. And that will me being lucky, not lazy.

Exactly!!! I'm an MB and this is how I feel. My nanny works incredibly hard. I know this because I know what it takes to care for my kids when I'm doing it. My nanny also does many of the things this poster noted (some basic cleaning on occasion - beyond just the kids' stuff, some occasional shopping if she knows we're running low on something, receiving mail/deliveries/workmen, etc...) If there are days when she can find the time to put her feet up and relax, nap, email, read, whatever... I am thrilled for her and I hope she takes advantage of every moment she can grab to recover. That way she's better equipped to handle my toddler maniacs and enjoy them. To micromanage when/if she could take breaks seems absurd to me. Life with kids doesn't work that way - it isn't a factory job. A nanny who worked that way wouldn't be right for our family. And I can't imagine a competent, experienced, capable nanny wanting to be micromanaged like that either.

Let him/her do the job. Let them have whatever small amount of pseudo-downtime is available (after all, even if someone is sleeping the nanny is still on call - it isn't truly a break, it's more of a lull!). Let your nanny be the competent professional you hope you hired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the PP who said that the nanny should get a one hour break while the child is asleep, and perhaps another 15 minute break if the child takes two naps. If the child naps more than that, the nanny should be doing other things around the house--not heavy cleaning, but tidying up, cooking, managing the dishwasher, laundry, planning activities or kid meals, keeping an online photojournal of her time with the kids, etc. She should not be napping, watching tv, reading magazines or the like outside her 1 to 1.25 hours of breaks unless that was negotiated up front.

This just reads so...dumb...to me.

I do ALL of these things. Shall I list them? I keep an extremely detailed log of our day. I wash, dry, and fold the children's laundry. I prep all the baby food, portion it, refrigerate and freeze it. I pick up necessary groceries. I load, run, and empty the dishwasher (GASP of the parents' dishes too and GASP I don't mind). I vacuum everywhere but the parents' bedroom. I sanitize all toys and books. I keep the toy boxes in order on a DAILY basis. I wash the bathtub since I give all the baths. I wash, dry, and put away the cloth diapers. I sanitize the diaper pails. I consolidate and take out the trash and recycling from the entire house. I bring in the mail and any packages. I wipe off the kids' fingerprints from the windows. I could go on and on, but I won't. I do all of these things and today I STILL had over two hours with nothing to do. So yeah, okay PP, I guess I "shouldn't" be allowed to read my book during that time, I should what, stand at attention outside the children's bedroom? A nanny who gets everything in her contract done on time, who builds great rapport with the kids, who communicates well with parents, who knows the neighbors, arranges and hosts play dates, takes the kids to community activities, basically a nanny who DOES HER JOB WELL, should be allowed to enjoy any downtime she gets in her day. Tomorrow the kid's might only nap 45 minutes, which I'll use to get everything cleaned, tidied, cooked, put away, whatever, but maybe they'll nap three hours again and I'll have a long break. And that will me being lucky, not lazy.

Nanny, you sound like a rare breed. My experience talking with other moms, listening to the whiny nannies on this board (how dare you ask me to sanitize a diaper pail?), and even with my own nanny tells me that most nannies--even the career nannies who consider themselves professionals--do not do anything close to your scope of work, and certainly not without specific requests from the parents. I don't think any parent would begrudge you whatever down time you can find in the day. The problem is that you are the exception, not the rule.

[Anonymous]

Someone is a bit of a micromanager. Are you for real?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone is a bit of a micromanager. Are you for real?!?

Micromanagement would be to require the nanny to do certain chores at certain times of day and then report back to MB daily with a list of everything she got done. Limiting the amount of time a nanny spends watching tv and otherwise enjoying personal time on the job is called management. I know the idea of having a manager and being accountable for how you spend your work hours is tough for some of you nannies to grasp, but that is how the work world works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone is a bit of a micromanager. Are you for real?!?

Micromanagement would be to require the nanny to do certain chores at certain times of day and then report back to MB daily with a list of everything she got done. Limiting the amount of time a nanny spends watching tv and otherwise enjoying personal time on the job is called management. I know the idea of having a manager and being accountable for how you spend your work hours is tough for some of you nannies to grasp, but that is how the work world works.

Are you an MB? Because you sound like a nightmare to work for in the home or the workplace.

I'm an MB and we employ a nanny for our twins. My nanny is a professional. She has lots of experience, great instincts, and has earned my trust in every way imaginable. She has daily access to and control of everything I hold most dear in the world.

If she wants to watch TV during the very little down time she has then she is welcome to do so. She gets more done in a day than I can fathom. I come home to happy, healthy, kids in a clean, organized space. Sometimes she cleans my kitchen. Once in a while she makes dinner for us. I don't know how she does it and I don't need to know the details, clearly she manages her time amazingly well. If I come home unexpectedly during the day I might find chaos (I have) and that's fine. Sometimes I find her watching tv with her feet up, having a cup of tea. If that happens it's because everything in the house is under control - further testament to her skills. She can do whatever she wants with her down time because she does a great job and everything I care about gets done by the end of the day.

Good management is hiring well and trusting and supporting your staff so the desired results and outcomes are achieved. It isn't dictating the means/methods to the end.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely LOVED answer number 3. I am a nanny myself and the person who wrote it absolutely gets it. Good on you and everyone follow her suit!

[Anonymous]

I absolutely LOVED answer number 3. I am a nanny myself and the person who wrote it absolutely gets it. Good on you and everyone follow her suit! (I mean the post that started with Oh my seriously!)

[Anonymous]

OP are there any tasks you ask your nanny to do during the day that aren't getting done because she's taking these breaks? If not, then I would not make a big deal about the breaks. As a nanny myself, spending eight hours straight with a toddler all day everyday can be exhausting and its probably more beneficial for both your child and the nanny that she takes a few minutes here and there to recharge so she can a better nanny to your child the rest of the day instead of being worn out.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is ... enjoy the first year. Two naps, lots of downtime. Once the nap drops to one, then another baby comes ... it's a different job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question, OP, is how many "breaks" do you take over the weekend, when nanny isn't there. Or do you have a weekend nanny to?

That is really irrelevent. OP is not the one being paid for every hour. it is up to her what she does

Taking care of your child IS a job, no matter if you're the bioparent, or the hired help, or something inbetween.

The job should ALWAYS be done in the best way possible, whoever is doing it.

Never thought of taking care of my child as a job! although I do it in the best way possible as determined by me (her mother)!

NEWS FLASH, OP. Your nanny does consider taking care of your child a JOB! This is why you PAY her because it is a JOB. How dense can you be.

[Anonymous]

Ya'll- OP's kid is in elementary school by this point.

ZOMBIE THREAD.