Anonymous wrote:Nanny here - and ANY watching of television, talking on the phone, surfing the net, etc. while the baby is awake is WRONG. I don't even do those things while the baby is asleep!

And background conversation, from a radio or TV, isn't good for babies either as they cannot distinguish background conversation from primary conversations aimed at them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"language acquisition" issues aside, how incompetent do you think your nanny is that you assume having a tv show on in the background would detract from her ability to watch/keep your child safe? Nannies are amazingly capable at multi-tasking. I can listen to music, wash bottles, AND watch a baby AT. THE. SAME. TIME. Amazing!

but you are not paid to watch TV on the job.

Having the news or a cooking show on in the background is not watching t.v. Stay at home with a non-verbal child all day every day (paid or not) and tell me you wouldn't go just a little bit stir crazy without some background noise...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"language acquisition" issues aside, how incompetent do you think your nanny is that you assume having a tv show on in the background would detract from her ability to watch/keep your child safe? Nannies are amazingly capable at multi-tasking. I can listen to music, wash bottles, AND watch a baby AT. THE. SAME. TIME. Amazing!

but you are not paid to watch TV on the job.

Having the news or a cooking show on in the background is not watching t.v. Stay at home with a non-verbal child all day every day (paid or not) and tell me you wouldn't go just a little bit stir crazy without some background noise...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"language acquisition" issues aside, how incompetent do you think your nanny is that you assume having a tv show on in the background would detract from her ability to watch/keep your child safe? Nannies are amazingly capable at multi-tasking. I can listen to music, wash bottles, AND watch a baby AT. THE. SAME. TIME. Amazing!

but you are not paid to watch TV on the job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Studies can kiss my you know what I don't think it's dangerous and if it is I don't give a shit the baby can grow up brain dead

Okay. You're obviously a troll, but on the off chance that you aren't, your bosses sound terribly uninformed and lazy, as do you, and I'm sure your pay and work history reflect it.

Anonymous wrote:I told her that I don't like for my daughter to watch TV because it distracts her and isn't good for her. I didn't get into studies and speech development - don't want to seem like the super uptight FTM, because I'm really pretty laid back. I told her that the reason why TV is unacceptable for her while my daughter is awake is that I need her completely present, especially at an age where she is into everything. She puts everything into her mouth and is pulling up (and falling down) all the time now. She can't have her attention on something else, especially when my daughter is out of her line of sight - that's how accidents happen.

I told her no TV when I interviewed and hired her, but perhaps it didn't stick because I wasn't explicit about the reason? I think that I might have thought not watching TV while caring for a baby was obvious, but reading some of the responses here I guess that is not as universal as I thought, which actually makes me feel a bit better. Hopefully sharing my reasons with her will be enough for her to not do it again. I'm less worried about the TV and more worried about what it might say about her judgment and willingness to work with me as a team to raise my daughter. Thanks again for the insight.

Anonymous wrote:Studies can kiss my you know what I don't think it's dangerous and if it is I don't give a shit the baby can grow up brain dead

Anonymous wrote:"language acquisition" issues aside, how incompetent do you think your nanny is that you assume having a tv show on in the background would detract from her ability to watch/keep your child safe? Nannies are amazingly capable at multi-tasking. I can listen to music, wash bottles, AND watch a baby AT. THE. SAME. TIME. Amazing!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, sorry, PP - it sort of is "dangerous." Even if the kid is not watching it, there are studies that show that having that kind of background noise affects the baby's ability to learn speech patterns. Additionally, it means the nanny's attention is not on engaging the baby. I wouldn't stand for it, and don't want the TV on when my kids are with their nanny either.

OP, I'd watch closely from now on. Perhaps she doesn't understand why you made the request? Did you share that with her or just tell her not to have the TV on?

Well my bosses disagree and tell me to keep it on just like them.

I see two issues here:

First, you have hired a nanny without any formal nanny experience. That means you've hired a babysitter. If you want your sitter to raise her game you will need to be a very hands-on manager to help her become the nanny you want her to be. That means you need to up your game as well - read about child development, if you aren't already conversant in that area. Then specifically TELL nanny activities you want her to do with your child. Don't suggest, TELL - it can be done nicely, and after a while you can ask what sort of activities SHE thinks would be good, based on what she's been doing. You are going to need to manage and coach her along the way to help her actually become more than a sitter. It can be done, but it requires you to be active, rather than passive. You also need to be free with praise and thanks when you catch her going above and beyond. First time nannies can be awesome if you give them the attention they need.

Second, you are probably ascribing too much importance to the issue of her watching TV. A decision to watch TV is not a direct predictor of a decision to drive with baby on her lap instead of in her carseat. As a FTM, I get why you feel that way, but I think she may have just figured she watches TV when babysitting, why not do it at your home too. Of course, since you have the cameras, you can keep an eye on things and see if this was an anomaly or if she actually does seem to have poor judgement or an inability to respond to your directions.

Good luck!