Whenever I interview with a potential new family to work for, I have told them I have four reasons why I would refuse to work with a family.
!. You are mean.
2. You don't pay.
3. Your house is hot.
4. Your house is so messy I can't properly do my job.

I am in my 50's. If the temp is above 74 degrees, I have hot flashes. If I have hot flashes, I am instantly very cranky. No one wants a cranky nanny.

Tell her you control the temp, or else... just quit.

That much heat is bad for the kids. They must be exhausted and dehydrated. Tell them they'd pay attention better and read more etc with a little cooler air. Hearing the pool in summer seems a total waste!

I visited my niece in LA o, late Aug. And it's as hotter than Hades. They kept AC at 80 but finally turned it to 76 for me. Your employer is cheap and either adjust or I would find a new job. I bet her office is nice and cool!

Op here- Thank so much for the replies. Not to give up to much indie but we are inland California, so may-sept is pretty hot. I'm going to talk to my bosses again tonight, because I can't live like this anymore. I'm becoming a lazy nanny because doing physical stuff makes us all (kids included) so hot.

I'm on the west coast too, in a city that doesn't have a reputation for heat. It does get hit in the summer and we're not used to it so most houses don't have central ac. Global warming is definitely affecting out weather, making it much hotter. My first nanny job was for a family from the east coast. Their house was situated so the hot afternoon sun beat in and made the kitchen at least 100 degrees. The kids couldn't sleep. It was awful. The mom bought two window ac units then decided she didn't want to spend the money on them and complained when the guy at the family owned hardware store wouldn't take them back. She said he was giving good Jews like her a bad reputation. (Never mind he wasn't the one returning two ac units at the end of summer because she was too cheap to use them.) the next summer it got hot again and I told them on Friday I wouldn't be back until they got the ac installed and running because it was simply too hot for all of us. Monday morning the ac was in the window and on.

You need to just tell them the work environment is untenable and needs to change. Be prepared for them to say see ya but don't give in. This is your health.

I would sit them down and talk to them about this. Tell them you seriously cant work under these conditions and you are prepared to leave over it. Hopefully they will see sense and turn it on

I live in SoCal & it does get pretty hot and humid here, especially July-October.

While not as hot as perhaps Florida, the weather still gets sticky hot + unbearable.
If you are located more inland, the worse it is.

Even a fan may not help since they blow hot air anyway. ;(

Talk to your boss and stress how uncomfortable you are on a daily basis, that the heat truly affects how well you can (or cannot!) do your job, etc.

If she refuses to see how this may be affecting her children as well, then if you want to stay with this family, you'll have no choice but to endure the summer heat or you can always find a more considerate family to work for.

Best of luck to you either way.

Anonymous wrote:You're not unreasonable, it's not normal (I've always specifically shown our nanny where the thermostats are and how to adjust to make it more comfortable for her) and you are totally within your rights to ask for a change. If she won't decrease the block at all (even just a degree?) and won't provide fans then you might consider bringing your own fan, but otherwise you're stuck and have to decide if it's better to stay or go.

Honestly, I'm just confused why she'd have a block on the AC to keep it from turning on and at the same time keep the pool heater on - does she have some sort of issue where she's always cold?

Agreed that it's weird she will heat the pool, but not cool the home. Otherwise, I can see it being normal that she won't turn the AC on, depending. I'm from the west coast (CA) and many homes, especially close to the beach, don't even have AC. I also used to live in France where it is both hot and humid in the summer and many homes there don't have AC. It's what you're used to. But it's also totally reasonable for you want the AC on to be comfortable and do your job. If your boss doesn't budge, find another job.

Unreasonable. We keep our house at 68 and will turn it to 70 if people complain about being cold.

You're not unreasonable, it's not normal (I've always specifically shown our nanny where the thermostats are and how to adjust to make it more comfortable for her) and you are totally within your rights to ask for a change. If she won't decrease the block at all (even just a degree?) and won't provide fans then you might consider bringing your own fan, but otherwise you're stuck and have to decide if it's better to stay or go.

Honestly, I'm just confused why she'd have a block on the AC to keep it from turning on and at the same time keep the pool heater on - does she have some sort of issue where she's always cold?

Op here- I'm not in a humid area (west coast). Just wanted to mention that in case that make a difference in replies. Boss knows that in uncomfortable, plus the kids complain as well.

Meant "just as HOT!"

Ugh. Yeah, I would quit. 82 is super hot in the summer when it's humid and you can't get any relief from outside if inside is just as cold. 78 is reasonable. She knows this is an issue for you. She doesn't care. Quit and hope their next nanny hails from somewhere equatorial.

My boss has a block on the a/c and it won't turn on until it's at 82 degrees (some days 78, if I'm lucky). I feel like this is totally unreasonable. It makes it really hard to do my job because I'm so lethargic and don't want to run around with the kids or use the oven. Their pool heater is on all summer set to 90 degrees. Their pool gives me a headache it's so hot. There is literally no relief. I've asked for fans, did not receive fans. I've been here many years and don't want to quit, but I can't take it anymore. I'm overweight but I feel like even if I was thin, 78-82 in the summer is way too hot. Am I being unreasonable? I just want to know what's normal for other nannies. I feel like I can't be the nanny I want to be, when I am so hot. I don't want to run and dance and play with the kids or cook like I used to, because all that makes me even hotter. I'm not asking for 68 degrees, but a little a/c would be nice. Sometimes after an outing we just read in my car to get some relief with cool air. Why do parents do this? Saving a few dollars on the a/c, and now you have a nanny too hot to do her job properly.