OP - this is outrageous. I have a nanny and would never want her and my DD to be anything BUT comfortable in the house during the day - be it winter or summer. I'm horrified that your employers are so controlling that they won't allow you and their children to be comfortable in their house. That's awful. I'm sorry.

If I were in your position, I would probably turn it up in the middle of the day while they're gone then lower it before they got home. Yes, kind of a sketchy thing to do, but it may be your only choice. They're clearly not reasonable if they're putting you in this position in the first place.

Anonymous wrote:But it's a bad reference,OP, because it concerns the health of tenants who do not control their heat. It has nothing to do with you and if you reference it in your request, you will appear to be less reasonable. Just leave it out of your request and suggest 68F because that is a reasonable request on its own.

Buy the same safety concerns are relevant. It should not be mentioned in the request but the point was to determine what is a reasonable temp to ask for at all. If the code had said 65 degrees then that would have been an indication the request for 68 was unreasonable. As someone who never feels comfortable below 70 this information tells me it it's probably ridiculous to other people to make my comfort the standard.

At my last nanny job the dad was obsessive about his new NEST thermostat. He would monitor it all day from work. He would often turn off the AC and turn down the heat from the comfort of his climate controlled office while the baby and I roasted and froze. One day I stood at the thermostat and changed it back every time he adjusted it for 20 minutes! When Mom came home I told her something must be wrong with it because it had gone haywire, changing itself all afternoon. She must have had a little talk with him because it stopped.

Thankfully as a nanny I have never had to deal with heating or cooling problems. I simply turn it up or down at my leisure. I've never had a mb or db question it.

As your bosses, I think they would want you to work in a comfortable environment as well as have their children be looked after in one.

I cannot imagine any parent thinking anything else.

I worked for a family like this that seemed to turn off the AC/heat while they were at work. I can understand not wanting to heat/cool the house while it's empty (I was only there for 4 hours a day), but it was so uncomfortable during the time I was there. Honestly, I never ended up saying anything, but I definitely think you should since it sounds like you work full time. I would probably wait until it starts cooling down to the point that you don't think you can handle it. If they don't have the heat on then just ask them if you can turn the heat up while you're in the house. Maybe tell them you will turn it back down when you're out of the house.

Honestly, I can't imagine someone not turning the heat on. No AC in the summer is terrible, but AC is a luxury not a requirement. Heat is a necessity at some points in the winter, and if they don't turn it on they could be at risk of their pipes freezing. Hopefully they understand!

But it's a bad reference,OP, because it concerns the health of tenants who do not control their heat. It has nothing to do with you and if you reference it in your request, you will appear to be less reasonable. Just leave it out of your request and suggest 68F because that is a reasonable request on its own.

Op here. I used tenant law as a reference because I assume there are sound health and safety reasons behind the city laws. It has been challenging to cope with the excessive heat and I believe my concern will come as a surprise after being so tolerant with the heat. I will try to be direct, as i should have been over the summer.

I think it is a reasonable request to ask that the heat be kept at 68, although it is important that your situation doesn't fall under landlord tenant law.

My work place is kept around 65, which is ok with me because I always have a sweater and move around quite a bit during the day. I wouldn't want a workplace much warmer, but that's me.

GL.

This is why I only work for wealthy families. No nitpicking about paying me a living wage and A/C or heating wars.

I'd just ask and be direct. Say summer was challenging with the heat and you want to make sure there won't be an opposite repeat with winter and if so, the other family has offered to host the share during the cool months. Be direct, most people don't realize how their actions affect others, especially since they're not home all day. When they are home, they probably have the oven on, and go to be within 3 or so hours of getting home so they're not going to get it. Personally, I prefer cold over heat the the summer would have been a deal breaker, but everyone has their own deal breakers.

Over the summer my NF would not allow me to turn the AC on. They did set up several fans but there were some days when it felt like they were just pushing hot air around. Their home is mid to large size with windows along every wall, so I am sympathetic that the cost can really add up. Now that we are going into winter I am really concerned they may not want to heat the house properly as well. My tolerance for cold is much less then for heat. I can't imagine sitting in the house with my boots and coat on all day.

Would I be crossing a boundary to ask what their plan is for regulating the temperature in the winter? I checked landlord/tenant codes for DC, they require a consistent temperature of at least 68, is that a reasonable request? Also, we are in a share and I wonder if I should ask that the share be moved to the other families house for the winter if they can't/won't heat the house. The other family has told me they have a newer energy efficient home so they pay very little for heating and cooling.