I normally don't ask before giving meds but will let them know after. My employers trust my judgement and I'm anti medication to begin with so if I gave the baby some then she truly needed it. However, this should be brought up at the beginning of the job. If you want her to check in before hand then you should have put it in the contract and mentioned it again. If she isn't following your instruction then she deserves a warning.

Another thing regarding temp, you should be very careful with temps because very young children could have a febrile seizure if the temp spikes to quickly or isn't lowered. I've had two charges who have had them with their parents and with me.

Anonymous wrote:I have difficult charges so I use Benadyl sometimes to make them take a nap. The parents know and dont care/

Have you ever considered a new line of work? This is why they took a lot of medications for kids off the market as people like you abuse them. If the kids don't nap, suck it up till the parents get home.

With the family I currently work for I would text or call, but if I don't get an answer they want me to do what I think is best since I'm the one home with the situation

I used my judgement when I was nannying. MB told me early on that Mon-Fri I was the primary caregiver and therefore I was in a better position to assess their needs. I of course told the parents when they came home, and I did leave a note on the bottle and leave the bottle out so they'd know the exact time I gave the last dose if they need to give them another before bed.

I administer medicine to my charges daily, they both have medical issues that need attention given to them on a daily basis. but if I feel like the child is coming down with some kind of illness I always contact the parent to let them know what is going on, but for the most part they just tell me to use my best judgement and medicate if I think it's needed.

I have difficult charges so I use Benadyl sometimes to make them take a nap. The parents know and dont care/

I generally check in first, and would prefer it via email so there is a paper trail to it all

Anonymous wrote:Wait. Nanny mentioning a dose of Ritalin if needed... I'm a nanny who takes adderall, and I switched from Ritalin because at 20 (after 15 years of Ritalin) I had consistent bp reads of x/100 and higher. What dosage is your charge on, and in my opinion, administering an extra dose some days is crazy (not judging you, judging the p-doc) dosages are supposed to be consistent and the lowest possible mg. please caution these parents, I have had soooooo many problems due to extended negligent Ritalin usage, I don't want to see your charge have the same!!

And it shouldn't be given that late in the day either... This kind of worried me as well.

I always check. If I know a child is sick or teething, etc., I'll ask in the morning and MB/DB will typically tell me to medicate as necessary and keep the log updated. For things that come on suddenly I will call or text for permission before dosing. If I couldn't reach the parents and it was something serious, like a high fever, I would call the child's pediatrician and get the okay from her. If for some reason all the phones were down, yes I would use my best judgment; that's why they hired me!

OP, I think you and your nanny are just not on the same page and it doesn't have to be any kind of serious issue. Just thank her for keeping an eye on DC's temperature and using her judgment to medicate and bring the fever down and ask her to please get in touch with you or DH in the future before medicating. Then explain your contingency plan if you and DH are both unreachable - what you'd like her to do in that case - and ask if she's comfortable with all of it. Problem solved!

For routine stuff, no I don't check. ie painkiller for teething, or any medication that the parents have started giving. I don't check because the parents have said little X is teething, we use this on her gums and if she needs it there is "baby painkiller" in the bathroom. I do write down when and what dosage, so that the parents don't accidentally double dose, and I get them to sign it at the end of each day ( this is to cover my own butt and is good practice).

Wait. Nanny mentioning a dose of Ritalin if needed... I'm a nanny who takes adderall, and I switched from Ritalin because at 20 (after 15 years of Ritalin) I had consistent bp reads of x/100 and higher. What dosage is your charge on, and in my opinion, administering an extra dose some days is crazy (not judging you, judging the p-doc) dosages are supposed to be consistent and the lowest possible mg. please caution these parents, I have had soooooo many problems due to extended negligent Ritalin usage, I don't want to see your charge have the same!!

I always check with the parents.