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I never ask the nanny to clean anything - I tell her she doesn't have to. But she does laundry anyway sometimes when the kids are sleeping, which is really sweet. I come home and it's all done, like a surprise. She tells me she enjoys doing laundry and feels bad I'm so busy (I work a lot). But I would never ask a nanny to do that unless she was paid a LOT of money.

Anonymous wrote:

loudounnanny wrote:Yes, this was actually in my job description. BUT. The laundry is sometimes more than I can handle. due to the fact that they( MB & DB) are BOTH slobs! Clothes on the floor EVERYDAY instead of placed in the hamper. Towels, underwear, panties etc. EVERYDAY! Not to mention that she is just plain old DISGUSTING! Eeewww!

Can't they afford a housekeeper?

For many families, the issue is not whether they can afford a housekeeper; the issue is fairness and spending our hard-earned money wisely. Very few parents are comfortable giving the nanny a three hour paid break each day to read magazines and watch tv while the kids nap, just so that we as parents can come home and, instead of spending time with our kids, scurry around doing the kind of tasks that a stay at home parent would do throughout the day. I expect my nanny to take an hour break each day just for herself, but I expect her to spend the other two hours of kids' nap time on things a SAHM would do: child-related food prep and housekeeping tasks (first priority) and non-child-related light housekeeping tasks (second priority, but required because I just don't have ten hours a week of child-related tasks each week). The latter category includes laundry, plant care, ironing, etc., but never heavy cleaning (b/c the cleaning service does that). We negotiate the specific tasks in advance, but some flexibility is required and I would not hire a nanny who had an attitude about this, unless she could suggest other things she would do during naptime that I felt would benefit my household. Resting so that she'll be a better nanny when the kids wake up doesn't cut it. Any health adult should be able to get through an 8-10 hour day without a 3 hour break.

Yes, I could afford to hire a housekeeper (on top of the cleaning service) to come in for ten hours a week to do this kind of light housekeeping, but I would be financially irresponsible to do that for the sole purpose of making my nanny feel like a respected professional because she gets to sit on her rear end for three hours a day while my kids sleep.

loudounnanny wrote:Yes, this was actually in my job description. BUT. The laundry is sometimes more than I can handle. due to the fact that they( MB & DB) are BOTH slobs! Clothes on the floor EVERYDAY instead of placed in the hamper. Towels, underwear, panties etc. EVERYDAY! Not to mention that she is just plain old DISGUSTING! Eeewww!

Can't they afford a housekeeper?

Anonymous wrote:A nanny's job does NOT consist of doing the family's personal laundry. If the nanny + family both AGREE to it, then that is their choice but by no means is it standard.

+1

Yes, this was actually in my job description. BUT. The laundry is sometimes more than I can handle. due to the fact that they( MB & DB) are BOTH slobs! Clothes on the floor EVERYDAY instead of placed in the hamper. Towels, underwear, panties etc. EVERYDAY! Not to mention that she is just plain old DISGUSTING! Eeewww!

A nanny's job does NOT consist of doing the family's personal laundry. If the nanny + family both AGREE to it, then that is their choice but by no means is it standard.

I have done laundry (panties included) for a single mom with one child. Mom was a very clean person and most of her laundry went to the dry cleaner, so it wasn't a tremendous amount of work. She appreciated the extra help and compensated me well for it. The family I work for right now isn't terribly clean, so I only do the child's laundry. The mother has tried to get me to do her laundry, but changed her mind when I told her what I charged for adult laundry.

i've done it all, including bloody handkerchiefs (daily) at one nightmarish job.

Anonymous wrote:Nannies: I hear a lot of talk on this board about how your job as a nanny is limited to childcare. Wrong. Your PROFESSION is child care. Your job is whatever the parents define it as, by contract (if you have one) or otherwise.

Actually my job is whatever we, the parents and myself, negotiate. They can define whatever the flip they want but those who desire to hire this nanny recognize that I don't do parent laundry. So actually its not my job so long as I don't sign a contract including it, and I won't. I don't think I've ever so much as interviewed with a family that wanted this, and trust me I've dealt with some real pieces of work.

Anonymous wrote:Nannies: I hear a lot of talk on this board about how your job as a nanny is limited to childcare. Wrong. Your PROFESSION is child care. Your job is whatever the parents define it as, by contract (if you have one) or otherwise.

Personally, I 'd never consider a housekeeper's contract unless they doubled my salary, and then I'd say no thanks. Two jobs for the price of one is BS as far as I'm concerned. -Happy Professional Nanny who loves the Full Time Housekeeper

Nannies: I hear a lot of talk on this board about how your job as a nanny is limited to childcare. Wrong. Your PROFESSION is child care. Your job is whatever the parents define it as, by contract (if you have one) or otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:I nannied for a woman and now babysit her kids on weekends. She has me wash/fold her underwear all the time. I mean I understand she's got a lot on her plate (her husband passed away) but come on. Do you really think I want to touch your disgusting underwear?! I usually don't fold her underwear. I leave it all in a pile on her bed. It pisses her off, but I honestly don't care.

Any reasonable mother would conclude that you don't mind washing her underwear from the fact that you took and stay in a job that requires that. We all do things at work that we don't love.

I agree with 9:37. Jack (or Jane) of all trades, is the master of none. It's true, ladies. The more things you do around the house, the less you are considered a child care professional.

Anonymous wrote:

Do you cook all meals if they ask? Just how far will you go outside of childcare before you draw the line? I'm genuinely curious, because I draw the line at parental laundry. I do not want my job to morph into some kind of housekeeper/sometimes nanny hybrid. Yes this means I don't stay very long beyond preschool age, and I'm absolutely fine with that. This is not my career, I like taking care of children, and no I a, not willing to do parental laundry. I see how my bosses regard their housekeeper(polite but not friendly) and if she were to come to them with a suggestion about something or a piece of advice, it would not be taken seriously.

Your attitude is really off IMO. Being more valuable to the family by doing cooking and laundry, makes them MORE likely to take you seriously and pay attention to your advice. You sound like one of the people who is insecure about being a nanny. Taking care of reasonable tasks like laundry or even cooking is part of making the home environment run smoothly.

Except my job as a nanny is to care for the children NOT take care of your house and make everything run smoothly. Someone may appreciate you doing their laundry, or wiping their ass for that matter, but it DOES NOT make them respect you MORE. Not to say that these people don't deserve respect, but just how much reverence do you show a janitor or garbage man? They perform tasks that no one else wants to, and we appreciate it perhaps, but for the most part they are invisible so long as the job gets done. We only notice them when the job doesn't get done. I'm not insecure abut my job, seeing as how I define it as it works for me. I take care of kids and all of their needs. I'll do most things in the kitchen, and tidy as I see necessary, but I'm not going to do every little thing my boss needs done because I'm scared of losing my job. Funny thing is, in all jobs, past and present no one has asked me to do parent laundry. And they all respect and adore me! Not cleaning their panties hasn't changed that.