Napping/resting while on the job RSS feed

Anonymous
We had a nanny who did this. It became annoying because she did it every day. Not only that, she was late every day - by about a half hour. (She claimed it was five minutes.)

Turns out, she stayed up late with her boyfriend drinking, smoking, whatever. Every single night. I found this irresponsible on her part. We are not responsible for covering her extracurriculars.

She did not last that long. I would have felt differently if it was occasionally and we did not pay her $25. an hour. And we made no demands on her. But really.
Anonymous
Nanny here. Fire immediately. You can't dictate what she does outside of work but that also is not your problem. I work 50 hour weeks and go to school FT. I work 10-11 hour days with infants and toddlers and I have NEVER taken a nap.

During my charges nap I clean his laundry, make homemade food, wash bottles, and clean play area. Then I eat a snack or lunch and sometimes have rest for up to an hour but I watch tv, study, or surf on my phone.

I would never allow my charge out of my sight. I don't take personal calls. Sometkmes I would leave my charge in the crib for like 5 if I have to switch out laundry or to finish up what I'm doing, but never crying for 45 minutes. Fire her immediately. I would not trust her caring for my child.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
You should definitely fire your nanny, OP, and avoid "nannies" like the one above who feels entitled to her hour lunch, regardless of your child's needs. That is just crazy.

I think it's very unprofessional for a nanny to sleep on the job. I don't have a problem with downtime, or a nanny watching TV, reading, texting, whatever during nap time. But sleeping is not OK with me. I need a nanny to be alert on the job for the safety of my child.



Your position doesn't make sense. Why TV and not a short nap (both while the child is sleeping)? DS's nanny takes her downtime in his room as he sleeps. If she falls asleep I don't see the problem as she would wake up the instant she heard him stir as he is sleeping two feet away from her chair. And the Japanese have done studies on cat-naps and found them to increase energy and awareness - two qualities I would like my son's nanny to have for the afternoon.


Sure it does. If she is watching TV, she is awake and if she is sleeping, she is not awake and therefore not alert. You are making an assumption that a sleeping nanny would instantly wake up if your DC stirs. Maybe, especially in the example you give where she is seated right next to him. But there is no guarantee in that and no guarantee a nanny sleeping in another room (even with a monitor) would wake up quickly. My DC is a little Houdini and would wake up without a sound and free herself to go walking around the house as soon as she could take two steps. I needed a nanny who was absolutely awake and aware when working. Your situation is different. That's fine, of course, but there is nothing wrong with being opposed to a nanny sleeping on the job.

To the next poster who talks about sleeping because she is a 24 hr nanny? Different situation entirely.



No, you are right, PP. You do get to dictate what your nanny can and cannot do and if sleeping is unacceptable to you then sleeping is unacceptable for your nanny. But again, let me point out that our nanny may nod off in the chair in the same room with our child only so I don't see the danger. But I find the use of cell phones totally unacceptable when my child is awake and many parents/nannies feel this is unreasonable. But like you, I do get to dictate the confines and restrictions of the job I am offering.
nannydebsays

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Anonymous wrote:disagree with nannydeb -- if my child vomited in his crib while sleeping, there's no way I would need to tiptoe around the subject and disguise a warning within information. Nor would I tell the nanny that it happens on my watch, too, if it doesn't. If your child vomits he needs to be picked up and cleaned, pronto. And that is exactly what you can/should say.


If the nanny knows there are nanny cams, I absolutely agree with you. I worded my response poorly. I think there are 2 options here:

1) Nanny knows there are cams and doesn't give a rip. In that case, she needs to be fired pronto.

2) Nanny doesn't know there are cams. Then OP has 2 choices - a) disclose there are cams, and either formally warn or simply fire, b) give the "heads up" sort of warning and see if nanny steps up her game at all.

Not knowing the situation more than what was said here, my instinct would be to fire for cause ASAP. But OP may feel her child isn't in immediate danger, and want to observe nanny for a few days before deciding what to do.
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