Reply to MB told me she didn't want an overweight nanny

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]First, nannies are not covered by anti-discrimination law. Know your rights, and know which ones you don't have. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are not required to follow federal anti-discrimination laws. Some states have lower limits, but the lowest I know of is 5 employees.

Second, weight is not a covered category, even if anti-discrimination law did apply.

Third, we have had two young, very overweight nannies (early 20s). Both were active, and appeared healthy. Bot h had ongoing, chronic and acute health problems related to their weight that resulted in a lot of time off for doctors' appointments and A LOT of days of "not feeling well" related to their conditions and joint and back issues. These are young women, and they are having many of the issues my menopausal friends relate (though my friends are healthier, frankly).

Our current nanny has been with us for three years. We are now encountering activities she can't participate in with them because of her weight (a ropes course is the most recent example).

So, in the future, I would hire someone with a little extra weight, but I will not hire a substantially overweight nanny again. It's like the mental health thread; I am not allowed by dictates of being a kind, trusting, and pleasant employer to ask nanny candidates to undergo a physical or do regular drug testing. That would be considered invasive. So, I am going to err on the side of hiring someone who looks like she's as active as she tells me she is in her interview.[/quote]

Sometimes looks aren't predictors.   I am very overweight due to genetics.  I eat a salad for lunch/dinner, smoothie with fruits and vegetables for breakfast.  Not only am I capable of running around and doing things with kids, I am strong enough to carry kids long distances in an emergency (my personal opinion is that any nanny should be able to carry their unconscious charge out of the house, at the minimum,  and that if she takes them hiking, she should able to carry them down).  All of the ropes courses I have done had a high weight cut off, something around 300 or 350, but the true test was whether the person could buck the belt correctly (I can).  Why would you not ask references for examples of what the nanny did with their children and whether there were any issues that precluded her joining in?  Weight isn't the only thing that could keep a nanny on the ground at a ropes course,  there are a number of other issues that would do the same thing (fear of heights,  high blood pressure resulting in dizziness, laziness, disinterest in physical activity, etc.)?[/quote]

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