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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, we've had shares and employed full time nannies.  Our expectation was and is that our nannies should have an hour of downtime during her work day.  The rest of the time, they should expect to be working.  That's what we always told them and it seems to go over well.

Also - and this probably needs to be talked over while you discuss the contract - certain housekeeping duties are squarely a part of the standard nanny duties.  Baby laundry, clean-up of play areas and the baby's room, for instance, are standard nanny duties.  They aren't part of the "light housekeeping".  They are what nannies ought to be doing as part of the childcare services.[/quote]

What about the days where she gets less than an hour? Do you pay her extra, or is she allowed to ignore the kids for a while?? What about when they stop napping? You cannot mange every moment of down time, to think you can is ridiculous. Im sure your bosses would love to figure how to keep you off DCUM, talking on your phone, and blabbing with your coworkers. Your nannies are likely nodding to your face and doing their own thing during the day, so long as it gets done, as they very well should. [/quote]
Days where she gets less than an hour are simply part of the job, just like I have days at the office where I have to be glued to my desk working at breakneck speed.  On days that aren't that crazy, I am expected to take no more than an hour for my midday break.  We are professionals and we are expected to fill our days with productive work.

Children nap for quite some time, you know. [/quote]

SOME children nap for some time. That's my point. In a share, the amount of down time is even more unpredictable than normal because you have two children with their own idiosyncrasies. If you start piling on a bunch of tasks to fill the down time you *think* she has, on those days where naps aren't what you expect, for one child, the other, or both, she will not get a break. You may say its part of the job, but then your job suddenly sucks, and it wouldn't be too hard for her to find one that doesn't. I've never, in my ten years of nannying, had an employer try to dictate what I do during nap time. They're usually just so happy with my performance, they really could care less what goes on while their child sleeps better than they ever do for them. [/quote]
I'm sure there are days when children don't sleep well, but generally speaking, young children have predictable nap times. The days they don't are exceptions, not rules.  Just like you never had employers dictate what you do with nap time, I've never had nannies that objected to my expectation of their downtime vs. work time ratios.  It's not hard to find nannies who agree to work with this. [/quote]

No disrespect intended, but you truly sound impossible.  with every word you typed, you are revealing (to me at least),to her, that you are paying her, and you appear to resent it. It comes across as passive-aggressive. I did a test run with a mum who worked from home, and I truly wanted to give it a go. I knew what the baby's schedule was, but she constantly kept leaving her room, and checking "did you do this/that?"...I left, thanked her for her time, and informed her when she contacted me, that I would not be a good fit. Too much stress for a pay cut, and a micromanager. I've also found that parents in a share who have all these expectations of the nanny FREAK out, if they are left with the 2 babies. I had to leave early because I was sick (parents brought in a sick child) and they truly could not deal with it.  Only expect of a nanny, what you are capable of doing with 2 infants around. [/quote]

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