I have a question for bosses. You are concerned that nannies aren’t taking public transportation and practicing social distancing.
I’m a nanny and have been doing this for the last week. My bosses are not doing this in any way. They will start working from
home next week, but have zero plans of changing day to day activities. They will still travel, go out for dinners, gym, etc...

They also don’t plan to change things for the kids. Two of the kids (they have 4) are teens and still going to the mall, movies, and restaurants.
They are all going out of town this weekend.

I’m a nervous wreck. I have some undelying health conditions that are under control, but could put me at greater risk. My parents (mid 60’s)
are staying with me for a while and I’m worried for them as well.

What is a reasonable expectation here? I want to be respectful of their work commitments and fulfill my obligations, but am very uneasy about them not taking this seriously and not changing anything with their routines.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, employers should definitely arrange for alternative transportation options if the nanny uses public transportation. Like pronto.

Nanny lives in if: a. she doesn’t have dependents and b. Employer has room.

Nanny commutes if above aren’t true until someone in nanny’s family/employer’s family gets sick.

Families may want to arrange private transportation (picking nanny up, rental car for the duration, etc) to keep nannies out of mass transit.

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MB and worry about this as well. I have a 6 month old so she only goes outside in the stroller anyway. But our nanny is near 60, has a husband and grown children. She commutes via public transportation. If she can't come then I can't work from home (or dh can't). And if preschool is closed then she'll have my 4 year old to deal with too.
If I knew it was going to be 2 or even 3 weeks then I'd just send her home and pay her and split the leave with my dh. But an indefinite timeline is scary and the uncertainty is stressing me and her out. She said she'll keep coming as long as she's healthy and we and our extended families are healthy. But I don't know what's right. I can't send her home with pay and not work for an extended time either.

OP here, thanks. I understand it's confusing for everybody because the situation is so new and unusual.

I'm an MB and worry about this as well. I have a 6 month old so she only goes outside in the stroller anyway. But our nanny is near 60, has a husband and grown children. She commutes via public transportation. If she can't come then I can't work from home (or dh can't). And if preschool is closed then she'll have my 4 year old to deal with too.
If I knew it was going to be 2 or even 3 weeks then I'd just send her home and pay her and split the leave with my dh. But an indefinite timeline is scary and the uncertainty is stressing me and her out. She said she'll keep coming as long as she's healthy and we and our extended families are healthy. But I don't know what's right. I can't send her home with pay and not work for an extended time either.

Anonymous wrote:If you choose to stay home, they will need to have to hire someone else so don't expect to be paid or have your job after this. You are working in their house so far less risk especially if they are home. You plan activities, take kids out, etc.

Take kids out where? Where there are no other people?

If you choose to stay home, they will need to have to hire someone else so don't expect to be paid or have your job after this. You are working in their house so far less risk especially if they are home. You plan activities, take kids out, etc.

Or nannies that commute through public transportation? What are the scenarios here?

Anonymous wrote:Do you live alone, OP? How do you get to work each day? Is there any possibility for you to live-in with your employers during the duration even part of the time?

The key in containment is not to get within six feet of strangers. So no playgrounds, libraries, play dates for the children. But you can certainly play outside.

My advice is to talk to your employers. Look, this is new for all of us. It’s not like there is a protocol for nannies.

OP here and yes I personally live alone but what about nannies with families (kids or elder care). How can we make this balance work?

Anonymous wrote:Do you live alone, OP? How do you get to work each day? Is there any possibility for you to live-in with your employers during the duration even part of the time?

The key in containment is not to get within six feet of strangers. So no playgrounds, libraries, play dates for the children. But you can certainly play outside.

My advice is to talk to your employers. Look, this is new for all of us. It’s not like there is a protocol for nannies.

I'm lucky my car commute is short. But all we do outside of school is go to playgrounds, libraries and playdates. My employers do not have room for a live in and I wouldn't be interested in that anyway. But you are right about talking to my employers. Still interested in opinions on this from anyone who has something to contribute.

Do you live alone, OP? How do you get to work each day? Is there any possibility for you to live-in with your employers during the duration even part of the time?

The key in containment is not to get within six feet of strangers. So no playgrounds, libraries, play dates for the children. But you can certainly play outside.

My advice is to talk to your employers. Look, this is new for all of us. It’s not like there is a protocol for nannies.

OP again and on the positive side it seems that young children are not as adversely affected by the virus as adults. I'm over 50. Does that mean I have to worry less about possibly infecting my "kids"?

Anonymous wrote:I would tell you to stay home and you would be paid in full. I would not put you at risk and I certainly would not expect you to move in for the duration!

Thanks. OP here and I appreciate that. My understanding is that if feds and attorneys have to telework they are required to have childcare. I don't want to bail on them but what is my broader responsibility here? What are your plans if your childcare falls through? Have you thought about this? What about your partner?

I would tell you to stay home and you would be paid in full. I would not put you at risk and I certainly would not expect you to move in for the duration!

My employers have informed me that they will be working from home indefinitely. Obviously this is a special situation and I wish to support them as much as possible. Schools will probably close as well meaning everyone will be staying home except for us. What's the right thing for me to do here? Should I stay home in terms of the national big picture? How will I deal with everyone being home and maybe not being able to go anywhere? How much guidance and flexibility is reasonable to ask of my employers? What about social distancing? Any advice from MBs and DBs would be appreciated here as well as fellow nannies chiming in as well.