I think it is just good old-fashioned common sense to pick up any toys used during your stay as a child's Nanny.

One should automatically know this, not have to be specifically instructed to do so.

OP, based on your post, it seems the assumption is that the mess is being created during your nanny's work hours, however, you didn't explicitly state this, so I'm curious. Is the mess you're referring to definitely being created solely during nanny's work hours and not before she arrives in the morning, after she arrives in the evening, or on the weekends?

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny and your request is reasonable and necessary. Nanny should be teaching your child to put his toys away and do it with him. I don't let my charge move on to the next activity until he has cleaned up from the prior activity. Chaos and a messy play area are not good for brain development or self-control - not to mention that this is something he/she will be required to do in school and preparing a child for school IS the nanny's job.

This. This is a big deal to me (I'm a MB). It is literally the first thing that came up in early reviews (the first couple of months) with our current nanny. She is wonderful, but would much rather play than clean up, and she's not a naturally neat person. She is, however, a stellar nanny, and has worked hard to make this happen. Now, she's better at getting them to clean up than I am, and they get it done quickly.

What the hell is she doing then? It takes like 2 minutes to clean up a room with toys. I would have waited like, two days before saying something if I were coming home to a mess. If I give you a clean house, you should be giving me a clean house.

I am a nanny and your request is reasonable and necessary. Nanny should be teaching your child to put his toys away and do it with him. I don't let my charge move on to the next activity until he has cleaned up from the prior activity. Chaos and a messy play area are not good for brain development or self-control - not to mention that this is something he/she will be required to do in school and preparing a child for school IS the nanny's job.

Definitely yes! Encourage your son to clean up. Also, as he plays with the toys, instead of taking them all at once, you can teach him to put some toys away if he's not longer playing with them or planning on taking out another one. That'd make easier cleaning up time.

Yes it's reasonable, but I'd frame it more in terms of your second point than your first. No point in saying "you used to vacuum but the place is a wreck now," when you could just say "I really want Larlo to get in the habit of cleaning up after he's done playing, can you make sure he tidies up after he's done with a game or toy?"

When our nanny first started, she put everything away in the play room every day, and even vacuumed it once a week.

2 years later, the house is a disaster when we get home. The mess is not confined to the playroom and I'm stepping over trucks as I walk through the hallway etc.

I try not to bring up too many issues with the nanny because we like her a lot and of course she's great with our son. Our contract has no cooking, laundry, or other cleaning in it so it's not like she has other chores to do.

Two things:

1) I'd like her to start tidying up again. It doesn't have to be perfect but it's been out of control lately.
2) I'd actually like my son to start tidying up. We have him help clean up before new activities on nights/weekends so he knows it's a thing, but obviously won't do it unless prompted.

Is it reasonable to ask her to start tidying things up again, and ask her to encourage my son to participate?

TIA.