Household help?
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Anonymous
| We have a full time nanny starting with our 10 month old soon. We are currently negotiating her contract and rate. Things like picking up the baby's toys and washing bottles seems obvious, but what are some other reasonable things to expect or ask for? |
Anonymous
| Dishwasher, baby's laundry, straighten up the kitchen, living room and baby's room. |
Anonymous
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Anything and everything directly related to care of the child. Our nanny handles all of my DD's laundry, makes her food (purees when she was younger - healthful meals now), straightens her room and bathroom and washes/disinfects toys (more important when the child is younger as everything goes in her/his mouth).
I also asked that DD be read to for at least one hour every day and that her nanny not use her phone when out of the house. |
Anonymous
| Will you be needing/wanting the nanny to take your son to any kind of class or activity? Driving, and if so in whose car? Organizing playdates? |
Anonymous
| Definitely "other duties as requested"! |
Anonymous
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Basically anything child related.
So yes, making sure the play areas are picked up as well as the dishes/bottles are washed or at least loaded into the dishwasher. Most nannies will also be expected to sweep up any stray crumbs on the floor, wipe the counters after use and always wipe down the table and high chair after meals. You can ask for the nannies to do extra duties such as baby's laundry, wiping down the stroller, organizing closets and cupboards as well as mixing baby formula if there is any downtime, but for the most part let your nanny relax during her downtime. I know, I know there are many nanny families that think since the nanny is technically on the clock, she should be doing chores since after all, she is in the home. I think this is unfair and inconsiderate. Cab drivers sometimes need to wait while a client runs an errand or two, they may sit in their taxis reading the paper, but they still get paid. Firefighters as well, even when it is an off fire season for them, it's not like they agree to less pay since there is more down time. |
Anonymous
Most nannies won't agree to that clause. If the parents don't have a contract already (and I frequently work with parents who have no clue about contracts), I have a blank contract in which they can check off each thing they want. But, I also make sure that it's possible. I had one family who wanted me doing full housekeeping (full house every day) while trying to also teach 1, 2 and 4 year olds... Needless to say, but I told them their expectations were unreasonable. Many nannies won't do housekeeping. Of the nannies who are willing to do housekeeping unrelated to children, most will require a written list of job expectations. Other duties as requested doesn't fly. |
Anonymous
| At that age, most nannies do child-related work only. Our kids are much older now (teens and pre-teens) and our nanny has transitioned to a nanny/house manager role, where basically half her day is spent dealing with house-related issues--grocery shopping, errands, laundry--and the other half is spent with the kids when they all get home from school. |
Anonymous
put the clause "anything additional as it comes up". Eventually, and quickly, there will be outings, driving, classes, food purees to make, breakfast/lunch/maybe dinners to make for the children, etc. put in that you will give occasional feedback or information sheets (baby is sick, do this, medicine is that, car seat safety, pool IDs, etc.). |
Anonymous
| Perhaps "additional child care related duties". Then give examples of what your family may need. |
Anonymous
Any ns,ny who agreed to this is screaming, I WILLINGLY ACCEPT JOB CREEP! |
Anonymous
I can live with that, as long as the additional duties are possible within work hours. One family tried to tell me that I had committed to shampooing nursery carpet twice a month, but I pointed out that I made sure that the contract read when time and chidcare permits. Because I wasn't allowed to have the child nap anywhere other than the crib in the nursery, there were to be no noises in the nursery during nap time and I wasn't to do cleaning anytime other than during nap time, they tried to have me do it over the weekend instead... Um, no... |
nannydebsays
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The issue here is that virtually ANYTHING can be called "child related duties" - need the whole house vacuumed and dusted? Yep, because any dust in any room could cause issues for the child, so that work is child related. Need the tub and toilet cleaned? Yep, because if the child touches a dirty tub/toilet is could make them sick -voila, child related!
I would avoid any vague statements - if your new nanny is experienced and savvy, she will politely refuse to sign a contract that sets her up for job creep, and if she isn't experienced and you start loading her with "child related duties", she'll be pretty likely to leave once her year is up. Think of what you would like to have removed from your "plate" of child care duties: Laundry? Toy sorting/cleaning/rotation? Clothes sorting and storage? Dishwasher duty daily (ok as long as YOU put your stuff in the dishwasher, and don't leave the sink full of gross dishes for nanny to load), meaning run the dishwasher after lunch and put the dishes away daily or every other day. Keep child's room and play space tidy? A totally legit request as long as you define what "tidy" means. |