Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 20:00     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why are you paying her for 32 hours when she is only working 40?



Op here. I already explained it’s to keep a good nanny. Most nannies will not work for 32 hours very long. My husbands co-worker has had 4 nannies in a span of 6 months because they only need a part-time nanny. We don’t want to have to go through several nannies so we pay for a 40 hour work week. It’s more money but worth the hassle to look every couple of months.

We didn’t put homemade baby food in our contract, but that’s because we didn’t know what we were going to do until he started solids. I will keep doing it, but I think we pay her well enough that it shouldn’t be an issue. We will never go beyond anything for the baby.

For the poster this asked - we live in Great Falls. We both have high paying jobs and can afford it. I even posted this question a couple of times and everyone agreed that paying for 40 hours while only working 32 was a good perk. That’s what we chose.


It's not about what you can afford, it's about the message it sends to your nanny. You were offering every perk in the book from day 1 so she has no incentive to go above and beyond (or even do work that falls under a nanny job but wasn't part of her duties to start). I agree with you that it can be harder to keep part-time nannies. We too needed 32 hours and we made the position appealing by offering a higher hourly wage. This is pretty common for part time nanny jobs. You are already doing that so paying 8 unused hours as well is overkill.

Are you going to talk to her? Stewing in silence will only create resentment and you will surely face this problem again.




This response is so insulting. Do you seriously think that a nanny works for perks like a trained dog? While I certainly think this nanny should include making baby food in her duties, I promise you that she is not not doing it because there were too many perks. This nanny accepted the position offered.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 19:20     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why are you paying her for 32 hours when she is only working 40?



Op here. I already explained it’s to keep a good nanny. Most nannies will not work for 32 hours very long. My husbands co-worker has had 4 nannies in a span of 6 months because they only need a part-time nanny. We don’t want to have to go through several nannies so we pay for a 40 hour work week. It’s more money but worth the hassle to look every couple of months.

We didn’t put homemade baby food in our contract, but that’s because we didn’t know what we were going to do until he started solids. I will keep doing it, but I think we pay her well enough that it shouldn’t be an issue. We will never go beyond anything for the baby.

For the poster this asked - we live in Great Falls. We both have high paying jobs and can afford it. I even posted this question a couple of times and everyone agreed that paying for 40 hours while only working 32 was a good perk. That’s what we chose.


It's not about what you can afford, it's about the message it sends to your nanny. You were offering every perk in the book from day 1 so she has no incentive to go above and beyond (or even do work that falls under a nanny job but wasn't part of her duties to start). I agree with you that it can be harder to keep part-time nannies. We too needed 32 hours and we made the position appealing by offering a higher hourly wage. This is pretty common for part time nanny jobs. You are already doing that so paying 8 unused hours as well is overkill.

Are you going to talk to her? Stewing in silence will only create resentment and you will surely face this problem again.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 19:20     Subject: Re:Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you have been overly generous from the get-go and your nanny sees no reason to extend herself in any way for you. Why should she? You are way overpaying (you should not be paying her for 8 extra hours not worked every week) and giving her significant perks. The birthday gift was too much given how long she'd been with you. We learned all this the hard way. I would have a sit down talk with her and explain that duties will change as time goes on, baby food clearly falls under her general duties, and you expect her to take this on. She should do this without batting an eye and the fact that she won't is concerning.


+1. Your compensation package is so good, that she doesn't see why she should have to work much for it. I second the poster who says to start over. Either offer the same package, and find an extraordinary nanny who will actually tell you what she can be doing for your child, or offer less to start and reward excellent nannying with raises and more perks.


This has nothing to do with OP and what she is offering. This nanny is lazy. Paying someone more does not make them work harder (or less hard). Most people who appreciate their work and their employers go above and beyond to ensure that they keep their jobs.


Bottom line OP is that this nanny is lazy — I would start looking for another one before your baby hits stranger/separation anxiety phase and won’t tolerate the change. I can’t imagine paying that much money to have a nanny refuse to do a basic infant care duty while sitting idly in your home for five hours of naps per day.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 17:12     Subject: Re:Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you have been overly generous from the get-go and your nanny sees no reason to extend herself in any way for you. Why should she? You are way overpaying (you should not be paying her for 8 extra hours not worked every week) and giving her significant perks. The birthday gift was too much given how long she'd been with you. We learned all this the hard way. I would have a sit down talk with her and explain that duties will change as time goes on, baby food clearly falls under her general duties, and you expect her to take this on. She should do this without batting an eye and the fact that she won't is concerning.


+1. Your compensation package is so good, that she doesn't see why she should have to work much for it. I second the poster who says to start over. Either offer the same package, and find an extraordinary nanny who will actually tell you what she can be doing for your child, or offer less to start and reward excellent nannying with raises and more perks.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 15:13     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:Is she an $18 or $28/hr nanny?
That might be the bottom line. If she's a well-compensated professional, she might be more inclined to help you make the baby food.


Op here. We pay her $23 gross.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 15:12     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:Why are you paying her for 32 hours when she is only working 40?



Op here. I already explained it’s to keep a good nanny. Most nannies will not work for 32 hours very long. My husbands co-worker has had 4 nannies in a span of 6 months because they only need a part-time nanny. We don’t want to have to go through several nannies so we pay for a 40 hour work week. It’s more money but worth the hassle to look every couple of months.

We didn’t put homemade baby food in our contract, but that’s because we didn’t know what we were going to do until he started solids. I will keep doing it, but I think we pay her well enough that it shouldn’t be an issue. We will never go beyond anything for the baby.

For the poster this asked - we live in Great Falls. We both have high paying jobs and can afford it. I even posted this question a couple of times and everyone agreed that paying for 40 hours while only working 32 was a good perk. That’s what we chose.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 14:52     Subject: Re:Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
OP, I think you have been overly generous from the get-go and your nanny sees no reason to extend herself in any way for you. Why should she? You are way overpaying (you should not be paying her for 8 extra hours not worked every week) and giving her significant perks. The birthday gift was too much given how long she'd been with you. We learned all this the hard way. I would have a sit down talk with her and explain that duties will change as time goes on, baby food clearly falls under her general duties, and you expect her to take this on. She should do this without batting an eye and the fact that she won't is concerning.


+1 Also, while you could probably make the duties more explicit and add in "other child care duties assigned," into the contract, you will never be able to anticipate every little thing and should not have to. Do get a nanny who isn't so lazy that she will only "work to the contract," when you have clearly been very generous with her. Next time, I would let her prove her value to you and your child before granting some of these perks.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 13:42     Subject: Re:Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
OP, I think you have been overly generous from the get-go and your nanny sees no reason to extend herself in any way for you. Why should she? You are way overpaying (you should not be paying her for 8 extra hours not worked every week) and giving her significant perks. The birthday gift was too much given how long she'd been with you. We learned all this the hard way. I would have a sit down talk with her and explain that duties will change as time goes on, baby food clearly falls under her general duties, and you expect her to take this on. She should do this without batting an eye and the fact that she won't is concerning.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 13:34     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:Why are you paying her for 32 hours when she is only working 40?


I mean the reverse, obviously.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 13:33     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Why are you paying her for 32 hours when she is only working 40?
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 13:23     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I really never heard about that if you work 32 hours and your employer pay you for 40 hours.



Op here. We wanted to make sure we don’t lose a good nanny over hours. It’s more money but well spent to know we have someone who won’t leave in anknrh for more hours and pay. We want to provide a liveable income for our nanny.

I call troll. So OP pays excellent rate and a free vacation day every week and nanny refuses to make baby food? Where is this sweet gig located? Im sure if you advertise with baby duties you will get a ton of well qualified candidates. Get rid of your mediocre nanny now before its too late.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 12:04     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
It is job creep, OP. Cut it out now if you will lose a very good nanny.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 09:32     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Is she an $18 or $28/hr nanny?
That might be the bottom line. If she's a well-compensated professional, she might be more inclined to help you make the baby food.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 08:59     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
I made homemade baby food, now the baby is a toddler and my nanny family expects me to make meals for the entire family plus grocery shop. It's called job creep.
Anonymous
Post 11/25/2017 08:12     Subject: Am I Expecting Too Much From My Nanny?
Have you done it with her OP so she can see how easy it is? Maybe she's never made baby food before (which is basically steaming and pureeing vegetables or fruits) and thinks it might be a big time consuming hassle. (I am a nanny who makes homemade baby food and it really is not that big of a deal). Also consider what other posters have suggested; that she is worried about job creep. Anyway good luck sounds like she has the most important qualities in terms of caring for your baby overall.