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[quote=Anonymous]MB here.  OP, my hunch would be that you're dealing with first time parents, first time employers of nannies, people who are used to being in control and knowing what to do who are now out of their element, people who are nervous and trying to figure out how to be parents/employers/etc...

Don't take it personally would be my first, and major advice.

Do give it time.

Do ask for a "touch base" kind of conversation.  "Are you comfortable with our working relationship?  Are you comfortable with the level of care I'm providing?  I see my role as supporting you both as parents, but I also have lots of years experience in working w/ infants, so I'm not sure how much you would like me to offer suggestions or would you prefer I not do that?"

You might need to subtly provide some support for the parents - telling them how great they're doing, how in your experience the first year for new parents is always an amazing time, that kind of thing...

I would really bet it's just insecurity, on a bunch of levels, that's fueling their behavior.  I was a first time parent trying to figure all of this out, but with a work background that made me feel like I had to seem like I knew what I was doing at all times.  And there's tons of societal pressure on new moms to do everything perfectly.  So allowing the expert you've hired to care for your kids can be weirdly difficult.  You almost feel like a failure if someone else is telling you how much your child should be eating (or whatever), even though rationally you know that's silly.

Try to find little ways to let the parents feel empowered, and try to remember that they're probably threatened by your competence - even though that's exactly what they hired you for.

If they're decent rational people they will settle down.  If they're neurotic micromanaging nightmares you'll figure that out soon enough.

Good luck.   I think this probably has to be a really tough part of being a nanny - I'm so much more experienced as an MB now than I was a couple of years ago, but only time taught me how to do it well.  I struggled with all the things I listed above in the beginning, and I know many other mothers who've said similar things to me.  It doesn't mean we don't value and appreciate you tremendously, it just means we're all nervous and insecure.

So hang in there, don't take it personally, and try to approach it as one more area where you have more experience.  Hopefully they will settle down.[/quote]

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