how many breaks do you give your nanny?

[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.

Thank you! This is what our great nanny does too (except for the cloth diapers). She cleans the kitchen and sweeps outside (she just does and I have ever asked her to and I always say thank you). Baby still sleeps 3 hrs a day in two naps and she manages to do a ton and I always tell her to sit and have lunch and tea and take a break. I come home and pick up the baby from afternoon nap and she'll be finishing up mopping the kitchen. In return we pay well and give her random days off when I want to hang with the baby and don't have too much work. And if one day she didn't get the laundry done because the baby was fussy so she sat and rocked her, I don't even notice sincr she'll tell me how concerned she was about the fussiness and what they did all day to distract my daughter and make her happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to ask everyone a nanny related question as this is my first nanny. How many breaks does your nanny have throughout the day? Our nanny shows up at 8 and starts her day with a cup of coffee if the little did not wake up. If the little one is up she has coffee later. Then she eats something around 10:30 and has tea for half hour while our son who is 2 years is left to play on his own. Then she takes another break around 1 p.m. when the LO goes for his nap. Finally, she has an afternoon tea and a snack for about 30 minutes. Her breaks are 2 hours out of the 8 hours she is in our house. Of course, everything is paid for by us. I work in an office and there are no breaks. We normally have our lunch in front of our computers. So, I was just wondering if these frequent breaks are common for nannies. Thanks a lot for replying!

Op is a nut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to ask everyone a nanny related question as this is my first nanny. How many breaks does your nanny have throughout the day? Our nanny shows up at 8 and starts her day with a cup of coffee if the little did not wake up. If the little one is up she has coffee later. Then she eats something around 10:30 and has tea for half hour while our son who is 2 years is left to play on his own. Then she takes another break around 1 p.m. when the LO goes for his nap. Finally, she has an afternoon tea and a snack for about 30 minutes. Her breaks are 2 hours out of the 8 hours she is in our house. Of course, everything is paid for by us. I work in an office and there are no breaks. We normally have our lunch in front of our computers. So, I was just wondering if these frequent breaks are common for nannies. Thanks a lot for replying!

am a nanny for 27 years,I always have breaks only when I have my lunch,and when baby going to nap.

[Anonymous]

This post is from 3 years ago... Op has probably gone through 12 nannies since this was written.

[Anonymous]

If you do all aspects of your job and you luck out with time for a break some days, take a damn break. It's lucky to have a break, not expected.

Plus, what are you going to do once your charge stops napping (aka your break)? quit and find a baby family? that's professional.

[Anonymous]

I have fond memories of that one time six months ago when I had time to lay in bed with the three year old and we watched Peppa Pig together for a half hour. Good times.

[Anonymous]

I schedule my own "breaks" whenever I need to.
Don't most responsible nannies do that?

[Anonymous]

Why can't she eat when she's hungry? She's not taking a real break and leaving the house. Nannies don't get hour lunch breaks. Every job I've had in stores, offices and as a nanny allow me to eat when I want. ????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to ask everyone a nanny related question as this is my first nanny. How many breaks does your nanny have throughout the day? Our nanny shows up at 8 and starts her day with a cup of coffee if the little did not wake up. If the little one is up she has coffee later. Then she eats something around 10:30 and has tea for half hour while our son who is 2 years is left to play on his own. Then she takes another break around 1 p.m. when the LO goes for his nap. Finally, she has an afternoon tea and a snack for about 30 minutes. Her breaks are 2 hours out of the 8 hours she is in our house. Of course, everything is paid for by us. I work in an office and there are no breaks. We normally have our lunch in front of our computers. So, I was just wondering if these frequent breaks are common for nannies. Thanks a lot for replying!

Last year my son was in pre k 3.5 hours a day. Then came home and napped for two hours. I still paid a full 9 hour day because I needed her to be available. If he were to sick she would be the one dealing with him. You also are paying for her presence. Even when the kid is asleep.

[Anonymous]

Hello,
I understand your question completely. While others don't seem to get what you mean. I also dealt with a similar situation and it can be tough to deal with. I have a live in nanny and we provide everything plus extra things we do for her in addition to just what we offer her as a live in. The best thing you can do is set hourly breaks if you are home. I give my nanny a two hour break where she is completely child free and able to go do whatever she likes. I work from home so I can take over during those two hours. However, if you are going to an office I would say she takes a break when the child naps. During the rest of the time she can have her tea while she's doing housework. She can eat a snack while she's folding laundry. She should be engaging with your two year old not sitting around drinking tea. And she should have set hours from start to finish. Her job is a nanny and you are paying her. As long as she gets her set breaks during the child's nap then the rest of the day should be engaging with your son and light housekeeping. So for a full day I would say two hours. Hope this helps. Manage your nanny don't let her slack off and push you around.