If someone had told me watching young kids at a zoo, aquarium, museum, etc. was my birthday present (even if I was being financially compensated for it) I would have just laughed and demanded a homebaked birthday cake afterwards.

^
Were you paid for watching the kids?

I once was given something similar.
A past nanny family (nf) included me in a weekend trip to stay on their boat for two nights.
They told me it was a surprise birthday gift but I had to watch three kids on Sat/Sun for 8 hours each day so when I didn’t have them with me I was automatically spent.

Some “gift.”
Haha

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it was my birthday about two weeks ago and my employer (NF) had been talking about taking me to the local amusement park in our area for a week prior.
She had been telling the kids that we would be celebrating my special day at this park and told me how exciting it would be!
Well on my birthday the kids and I were driven to this park by the father. He paid my admission to enter and told me Happy Birthday and that this was his birthday present for me. I thanked him graciously.
Well he then stated that he actually was called into work that day and after dropping me and the kids off inside he left and promised to pick us all up three hours later at the exit gate which he did.
When I later told a few of my Nanny friends how nice it was that my DB paid for me to enter this amusement park for my birthday they laughed and told me that that was what employers always do when their nanny takes her charges somewhere.
One Nanny told me she had an annual zoo pass paid for by her employers since part of her job was taking her charge to the zoo weekly.
They told me a real present would have been if I could have spent the entire day there, more than three hours without having small kids in tow!

Did my employer think I am dumb?
Or am I just ungrateful?

It sounds like you weren't bothered about this gift until your friends made fun of you. Why do you think your employers think you're dumb? Was it a great gift? No, not at all. It's something that should be standard for a nanny to receive. But that doesn't make you dumb. Being appreciative of a special outing isn't dumb.

It was a thoughtful and kind gesture to do for your birthday.
Just appreciate the fact that someone made an effort even if it was very minimal.
Many bosses could care less about recognizing their employee’s birthday.

I would give them a Thank You card and include a “LOL” next to your name signature.

I guess your bosses think that Nannie’s are so stinking poor that they will be super grateful to just step inside an amusement park period.
What they do not understand is that nothing is a true gift when young children need to be supervised at the same time.

A real gift would of been for two tickets to said amusement park so that nanny can take a friend with them and enjoy a kid-free day there!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah that’s not a good present.
My NF paid for memberships to the science center and aquarium for me so I could take the kids as part of my day with them.

Yes a family does typically pay for the nanny’s way if she will accompany the child(ren) inside a venue.

So your boss needs to do better.
So much better.

Your boss is actually the dumb one, for actually verbally explaining to you that this is a gift for you.

I once worked for a family that had two kids and I traveled with them to Disney World in FL.
I had to sit with the kids during the plane ride and entertain them while their parents sat a few aisles back.
I had to share a hotel room with the Grandmother which meant lights out at 6:30-7PM every night.
Since they paid for my flight, hotel, restaurant meals and park admission they didn’t pay me at all for the 8-11 hour days I was in charge of the kids.

This was about seven years ago before I knew that traveling Nannie’s got paid and that all the excursions, meals, lodging, etc. were not bonuses since the vacation was not my own.
Never again!

Anonymous wrote:So it was my birthday about two weeks ago and my employer (NF) had been talking about taking me to the local amusement park in our area for a week prior.
She had been telling the kids that we would be celebrating my special day at this park and told me how exciting it would be!
Well on my birthday the kids and I were driven to this park by the father. He paid my admission to enter and told me Happy Birthday and that this was his birthday present for me. I thanked him graciously.
Well he then stated that he actually was called into work that day and after dropping me and the kids off inside he left and promised to pick us all up three hours later at the exit gate which he did.
When I later told a few of my Nanny friends how nice it was that my DB paid for me to enter this amusement park for my birthday they laughed and told me that that was what employers always do when their nanny takes her charges somewhere.
One Nanny told me she had an annual zoo pass paid for by her employers since part of her job was taking her charge to the zoo weekly.
They told me a real present would have been if I could have spent the entire day there, more than three hours without having small kids in tow!

Did my employer think I am dumb?
Or am I just ungrateful?

It sounds like you weren't bothered about this gift until your friends made fun of you. Why do you think your employers think you're dumb? Was it a great gift? No, not at all. It's something that should be standard for a nanny to receive. But that doesn't make you dumb. Being appreciative of a special outing isn't dumb.

This is not a present, this is a regular field trip or outing ... I'm sorry for you, I would have been pissed. Sometimes it's better not to get anything ...

Anonymous wrote:Yeah that’s not a good present.
My NF paid for memberships to the science center and aquarium for me so I could take the kids as part of my day with them.

Yes a family does typically pay for the nanny’s way if she will accompany the child(ren) inside a venue.

So your boss needs to do better.
So much better.

Yeah that’s not a good present.
My NF paid for memberships to the science center and aquarium for me so I could take the kids as part of my day with them.

^^I couldn’t agree more.
If a family wants their Nanny to take their children out and it is somewhere that charges an admission to enter then of course the family covers the cost of the Nanny too.
I have taken my NC to the aquarium, the zoo and ice skating and the family always covers my entrance fee.
They also cover my food/drink cost if the kids and I go out to eat lunch.
If I watch the kids for the evening the parents may often buy a pizza for me and their children for dinner.

They never act like they are doing me a huge favor by doing so either because it is not a favor, no matter how you label it so!

Yeah that wasn’t a gift for you lol aka take the kids and watch them. Smh what a shame

So it was my birthday about two weeks ago and my employer (NF) had been talking about taking me to the local amusement park in our area for a week prior.
She had been telling the kids that we would be celebrating my special day at this park and told me how exciting it would be!
Well on my birthday the kids and I were driven to this park by the father. He paid my admission to enter and told me Happy Birthday and that this was his birthday present for me. I thanked him graciously.
Well he then stated that he actually was called into work that day and after dropping me and the kids off inside he left and promised to pick us all up three hours later at the exit gate which he did.
When I later told a few of my Nanny friends how nice it was that my DB paid for me to enter this amusement park for my birthday they laughed and told me that that was what employers always do when their nanny takes her charges somewhere.
One Nanny told me she had an annual zoo pass paid for by her employers since part of her job was taking her charge to the zoo weekly.
They told me a real present would have been if I could have spent the entire day there, more than three hours without having small kids in tow!

Did my employer think I am dumb?
Or am I just ungrateful?