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Just wondered what the norm is? We have a Nanny who does 8.30 to 6. She doesn't bring lunch and so we feed her. No big deal - she is not like some of these APs I hear of who would eat you out of house and home. She came from a Nursery setting where she would have had to buy her own lunch, so I guess it is a benefit to her (but obviously not a huge one).
We fed our nanny in theory although I could never work out what she'd eaten. She occasionally bought herself things from the kitty that we left her for general expenses which I thought was fine. If I employed a nanny again I would like one who would eat the same food as the children and with the children which I think is better for them.
We fed our nanny in theory although I could never work out what she'd eaten. She occasionally bought herself things from the kitty that we left her for general expenses which I thought was fine. If I employed a nanny again I would like one who would eat the same food as the children and with the children which I think is better for them.
I eat whenever my charges eat. So on a typical day, I eat Breakfast at home, Lunch at work, Supper at home. However I expect that may change to having a Teatime, once eldest starts school.
I would say it is standard for employers to provide food/drink whilst nanny is on duty.
Eating with the children is important I feel. Also eating the SAME as the children is important, to encourage the children to eat the things they would rather no - veg for instance.
All employers I know expect to provide working hours food, certainly for lunch, sometimes also for dinner on babysitting nights.
Stuff to provide need only be very simple though - sandwich makings/salad/pasta. If charges are old enough to have "proper" meals, I'd expect the nanny to make enough to have the same as the child(ren) & eat with them.
My nanny works til 2.30 so she is only here for lunch. Deal is she cooks DS proper meals, and eats what he eats. If she doesn't want what she is cooking for him, she brings her own.
Yup always have lunch at work, am offered breakfast sometimes too but I always decline as I have it before I leave. Am allowed to help myself to snacks as well, and am often asked if I want anything from shops - same as all the jobs I have been in.
i am allowed to eat anything from firdge/freezer and we have friends round, the children and nanny gets fed, just as if we go out for lunch, we get fed their food
mb asks what i want or i write on board in kitchen or buy from kitty
That's a good point Phraed. I don't mind feeding her at all - was just wondering what the norm was. And it certainly seems to be for them to eat with the children and the same as them (which is good).
I have always eaten the families food when i have nannied (only do ad-hoc work night nannying and proxy parent).
i do tend to just eat what the children are having as so much easier.
one family i proxy parent for always say to me make sure you eat to as you didnt last time i said i just ate what the children had and they said oh no dont eat that eat the nice adult food in the freezer.
My nanny used to feel guilty about eating our food, even though I tried to encourage her. Eventually we got her eating breakfast with us and occasionally supper, as she had cooked it anyway. She wasn't around at lunchtime because the kids were at school then - she went off to ride her horse.
What mine eat has evolved as our nanny duties have evolved but in principle I expect to provide pretty much all food. Mind you, I have long hours - 7.45am-7.15pm
EG when DCs were small, our old nanny would arrive and have breakfast with them: we would just be going out the door and she would make some porridge or toast and have it with them. She had a 30 minute walk to work (her choice) so that worked out well for all of them.
DCs are both at school now and have packed lunches. Our current nanny makes a "proper" tea for them for about 5.45pm and usually sits down and eats with them - works well for all of us: she is not then desparate to leave when we get home and she does not have to get home late to an empty flat and think about supper from scratch.
We are slightly unusual in that our nanny has cooked professionally before and as the DCs have got older (both at school all day) she has evolved into a "family chef". We always have homemade cakes/biscuits available, a freezer full of portions of home cooked meals; she's just made my Christmas cake; and on Monday she made 5 large jars of homemade granola and 2 jars of spiced nuts. She also makes jam for us and cooks supper for DH and I about twice a week. She also does the DC's birthday cakes, which are legendary! The DCs have fantastic table manners, a genuine interest in food and cooking and will eat a huge variety of foods. So its worth my while to pay for any ingredients she reasonably requires!
I know we are very lucky - it means that the "what to do when your DCs go to full time school" conundrum has not been a dilemna for us (DD went into Reception in September). She is also one of the nicest people you could ever meet and a fantastic nanny!
It's lovely to hear this, Anchovy. We lurch from childcare crisis to childcare crisis in this house, despite my best efforts. I would love my kids to experience someone like your nanny.
Wow - thanks for the positive responses - just come back to this and thought that people might be posting "oh you jammy git" .
We have been very lucky with nannies. Our first was with us for 4 years and our current one for nearly three and I hope will be with us for a lot longer (DCs are 7 and 5 - she was with her last family 9 years). There is actually a very nice story about our first, that she is engaged to our plumber who she met when he fixed our bathroom. DD is going to be their bridesmaid. As DH says, its not a question of losing a nanny but of gaining a plumber!
It would be disingenuous not to point out that we pay well. But we do not pay silly money, and the good pay largely reflects a long day and the need to step up to the plate if things go a bit pear shaped with our schedules (doesn't happen often, but if it does, it does and it is best not to pretend it won't).
I think the only other thing is that I am clear that my nanny is an employee and should be treated as one (in the nicest way). We have a very transparent regime - annual performance review, annual payrise, bonus, overtime if significant overtime is worked (I expect the odd 20 mins early or late for "free", but anything over half an hour attracts overtime rates) and time and a half (or similar) for the weekends (rare). So everyone knows exactly where they stand.
Erm, only other thing is that I don't downplay the role, I think is the best way of expressing it. For example, she got the spare ticket for the nativity play over a grandparent because she had helped DS learn his lines and made the costume. So I felt it would have been highly unfair not to let her see how he did. She has a very important role in the DCs life and we always acknowledge that.
But none of this is rocket science (and I'm not saying that other people don't do this - nanny problems arise for a whole number of reasons, I think).
That's good advice Anchovy for someone who has just embarked on Nanny employment. So lovely about your previous Nanny meeting her DH at your house!
An unrelated but amusing nanny related story (although a sad indictment of the times we live in)...
My new nanny said to me yesterday - what's that - and pointed to a small silver mouse type gadget that is situated on top of the tv in out kitchen/dining room. The room where she spends most time with the DC. She then asked outright - "is it a camera"?
I burst out lasting and reassured her that it is a "magic eye" that allows us to watch TV from a remote Sky box. And I told she could be sure of it - as the only other one of these magic eyes in situated on the tv in our bedroom - facing DH and I's bed. So unless she thought we were also into other Paris Hilton-style filming - we had a good laugh about that.
I did reassure her that I trust her completely and that I would never film someone without their consent. (In any case my DC are 3 and 5 and would rat anyone out who so much as raised a hand to them ). Sad that she thought that.
The plumber story was very sweet. Our old nanny's father owned a building/contracting business and our nanny was extremely good at dealing with our myriad builders/plumbers/electricians - she was only in her early 20's but had worked off and on in her father's "yard" since she was a teenager.
She said a few times "Oh, X dropped round to test the plumbing was working" and stopped and had a coffee. After he realised he couldn't get away with running the tap for 10 minutes and saying "yes, that seems to be holding" he finally asked her out. They are now living together and very happy. Her father also has a clear line of succession for the family building business! I suspect she was an excellent catch - loves children and with a father with his own builders!
Every single time anyone is scheduled in to, eg, mend the washing machine, fix the Sky box DH always says to our current nanny "Consider it a perk of the job that we invite all these men into the house for you".
Fortunately ours have really substantial lunches (we are very fortunate with the school in this respect - menus posted on the web, every child sitting with their teacher, four courses - the fourth one being fruit of their choice), so we normally do snacks - Pasta with tuna/tomato, poached eggs and ham, omelettes, that kind of stuff. We always try to make it very protein-rich, which is a fad of mine more than anything thought there is a twist of logic I think (they get tons of carbs at breakfast/dinner when they need to be running around, so I try to avoid at teatime).
Stir-fry is something I haven't tried yet for the kids......<wanders off, pondering...>
anchovy, thanks for good tips there. Can I be very unBritish and ask what you pay and whether you are within the M25 area? DH reckons the reason we have so many childcare hassles is the payment issue (but we're not particularly well off so for the time being that can't change). But I am curious as to how much is 'enough' - once I paid a nanny my entire take home pay bar £300 a month and she only stayed 4 months, even though I did all the retention stuff I should have done and more.
