As a nanny, I handle all disputes and problems the children have during the day without involving the parents. It's my job. When the children misbehave, I correct them and or punish them appropriately (in agreement with how the parents discipline their children, of course). If I were your nanny, I may have said, "We had a few problems with fighting today but after Bobby and Tommy spent a few minutes in time out everything was better." or I may not mention it at all. Nannies handle the situation and children should not be punished twice for the same offense.

However, if a child is physically hurt by any other child including their own sibling, I have to tell the parents. Once my three-year-old charge purposely knocked over her six-month-old brother's highchair with him in it! He was not injured but that was a very serious situation and of course I had to tell the parents.

It does sound like you hired a babysitter and not a nanny.

Anonymous wrote:I will mention behavior issues I'm having with the children, not because I want an apology, but because I want to make sure that we are on the same page about how to handle it. I want to make sure I'm being consistent with any consequences you may have in place, or to share my own strategy if you have none. She should be doing more than simply saying "they were bad", but I don't think communicating issues means necessarily that she's an unqualified sitter.

I agree with this. Dealing with behavior is part of our job.