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[quote=Anonymous]I have had 4 nanny jobs over six years.  All of them have had a parent working from home (or in one case a SAHM who needed part-time help with infant twins).  In only one of those situations was it a problem.  The concerns vary greatly with the age of the child and with the layout of the house and with the expectations of the parent.

Infants and young toddlers will be very disrupted by even seeing mom/dad.  For that age, I often offer the rule of thumb that it's better to stay out of sight unless they have at least 15 minutes to come in and visit.  Playing with us for fewer than 15 minutes just isn't worth the 5 minutes it takes the kids to "recover" when they leave.  For older kids, the biggest problem is being clear about who is incharge for discipline.  I explain clearly up front that there are two ways to handle this.  1) I have have the authority to discipline the kids and they back me up 100% in front of the kids (and if they don't like how I've handled something they text/email/tell me when kids aren't present and I will course correct for next time) or 2) Mom/dad are ultimately in charge and I am just there to supervise play when they are happy (and if any discipline issues arise I will send them in to mom or dad to address.  Most parents quickly see that #1 is the only way for them to get any real work done, but I had one parent who was truly looking for #2, and didn't mind being interupted every 5 minutes.  That was workable too, because the expectation was clear.

Be sure to have at least one interview in their home and ask to be shown where they will work and where kids will be.  Also ask how they plan to accomodate naps/meals.  IME, having the parent drop by right before a nap or halfway through a meal tends to be the most disruptive.  What's worked well for me is to send a text about 20 min before a nap and right before a meal and then text them an all clear after.  Parents can either come then if they have a break and handle the nap put-down or mealtime personally or stay out of sight until after the all clear.

The rule for avoiding issues is the same as any other in the nanny world: communicate clearly and up front.  Discuss all this with the parents and have it in writing.  If you are flexible and professional, you may find that you enjoy the adult interaction during your day![/quote]

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