She needs a break as she’s not allowed to watch tv or be on phone with baby at all. She does whatever she wants - relaxes and watches tv

Anonymous wrote:What do your au pairs normally do while the baby is napping (please no unhelpful comments about how I shouldn’t have trusted an au pair with a baby). I’m wondering if it’s acceptable for us to expect her to clean up after baby’s meals, do baby’s laundry, etc. while the baby is napping.

I never had an affair, but my nanny always just had her lunch. I let her do whatever she wanted.

that would be the logical thing to do. thats the best time to get anything done especially when the child sleeps for a long time.

Anonymous wrote:Let her have a break ( on the clock ) she can clean up and do the babies laundry while the baby is awake can’t she? As a parent I didn’t wait til my baby was asleep to do these things.

Exactly.

Let her have a break ( on the clock ) she can clean up and do the babies laundry while the baby is awake can’t she? As a parent I didn’t wait til my baby was asleep to do these things.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you should tell her when exactly she needs to be doing certain tasks. Just tell her what tasks you want done within her work windows. Longtime au pair mom.

+1

We definitely had kid’s laundry as an au pair task. And cleaning up after kids lunch etc. As long as she gets it done, who cares when she does it?

AP duties while baby sleeps(not sure how an AP could watch a baby …) wash bottles, baby laundry.

I don’t think you should tell her when exactly she needs to be doing certain tasks. Just tell her what tasks you want done within her work windows. Longtime au pair mom.

Just think about what you would do if you are taking care of the baby by yourself. I did the baby chores while my son was napping but I definitely cherished the time to relax as well. If your baby already have a routine, say taking a nap for 1.5 hours 2 times a day, I would assign the AP 45 minutes to do the chores and 45 minutes just to relax during each nap.

I take care of a newborn and clean bottles and do her laundry when she sleeps. Then I relax,eat my lunch or take a bathroom break because this is my only down time. If I’m lucky I get ten mins of relaxing

Totally appropriate to ask her to do tasks while the baby naps.

That said, look at the whole picture. Do you have her working 45 hours each week with a young child? That can be exhausting and isolating, and I would be inclined to give her a break while the baby naps. On the other hand, if she is only working, say, 30 hours or so, or getting help from you throughout the day, I would definitely have her work through the naps!

Yes, you can ask her. But be mindful she needs a mental break too to be fresh.

And of course you count the hours regardless of whether she does these chores or not.

What do your au pairs normally do while the baby is napping (please no unhelpful comments about how I shouldn’t have trusted an au pair with a baby). I’m wondering if it’s acceptable for us to expect her to clean up after baby’s meals, do baby’s laundry, etc. while the baby is napping.