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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How do employers handle their nannies down time? So, in my nanny share, for example, if the nanny has several hours a day when both boys (6 months each) are sleeping, is it appropriate for me to ask her to do things related to the boys? Like work on new toys, i.e. activity boards etc? She is taking classes at night and currently does homework.[/quote]

OP, it is completely reasonable for a nanny to have child-related duties that she attends to throughout the day - it's a little different in a share (e.g. she shouldn't be doing laundry for one family when she can't complete it for the other) but things like cleaning toys, preparing food, researching activities, and so on are perfectly reasonable.

However.

1) You should have negotiated the things you wanted done when you hired her. Adding more responsibilities to her job description now means sitting down and proposing the new tasks, not simply assigning them to her. She may ask for a raise or additional benefits and this is completely reasonable because you are changing the terms of the job (particularly if she asked when you hired her about doing homework during nap time and you agreed she'd be able to do that).

2) You should remember that some days she will have a lot of down time, some days she will have none, and this will fluctuate even more as the kids get older. If you're looking at it as trying to make sure she's working every minute of the day you're going to have a bitter nanny - and you'll be a frustrated employer. Instead, figure out what you and your share partners need and want to have done, approximate how much time you think those requests will take (make sure it's within her average weekly down time), and make sure you tell her that your priority is childcare and if the babies don't nap or other tasks require her more immediate attention (i.e. emergency baths/laundry after a blow-out diaper) that you understand. If she's a professional she will still manage to get things done 99% of the time.

3) There are NOT enough child-related tasks to fill her down time right now. Accept that she will simply get some time off during the day, remind yourself that a refreshed adult gives better care than an exhausted one, and remember that in a year she might not even get a quiet 20 minute lunch break to herself, never mind several hours a day. Like most jobs, nanny positions have an ebb and flow of being more/less work and offering more/less down time as the children grow and if she's experienced she'll be cognizant of that; a nanny who works with toddlers-preschoolers can work 10-12 hours straight without a single minute "off."[/quote]

+1[/quote]

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