Do nannies dislike jobs where mum works from home? Or does it just depend...?

honestly yes most nannies hate their employers working from home - not coz we do anything that mb/db wouldnt like but more that they do things us nannies dont like

leeds explain it well, also

the popping in to say hello disrupts what we are doing,plus when they leave some children cry and we get left to sort them out

if child is crying then parent comes in, they soon learn from an early age to cry/say mummy and the nanny loses authority knowing their parent will come in

parents allowing child in to their office, yet other times doesnt ie if on phone - totally confuses child and sends mixed signals

playing each other off against, ie you say no, they go and see mummy and she says yes

meal times are horrendous as they get older

im happy to sing/dance around room, crawl on hands and knees playing chase etc but you do feel silly doing it if parents about

it can work, but you need to have rules and stick to them - when my ex mb worked the odd day at home and when was on ml but going back to work

if the children went to see mb, she kept door locked from inside and odd time she did reply to them talking through the door,she said ask blondes, im working, she always said that, so eventually kids stopped seeing/asking her stuff

the odd meal she came down and middle one was a pain, so i said either i do tea and mb works, or she does tea and i go home early

db's are easier to have working from home then mb's - they leave you to it more i find

Hi! just wanted to say that I also work from home and have a 6 months old baby. We hired an au pair a month ago and are really happy with the arrangement. It was the last option but after we couldnt find part time nannies we decided to try and it has worked really well. The ap is mid twenties, very friendly and sensible and extremely loving with the baby. She is not very experienced but eager to follow instructions and does not mind at all me popping in and out several times a day to check on the baby.

She works 35 hours per week, but most days I let her go half an hour or more early and we pay her £100 per week, plus some extra if she has stayed late one day. So far so good!

You have been given a lot of good advice here. From a nanny's point of view I agree that it is a lot more difficult working knowing the children's parents are in the same house. I feel as though I can't completely relax/be silly and am constantly asking the children to keep the noise down because mummy or daddy is working! I guess my situation was more difficult because both worked from home in separate parts of the house so almost everywhere we went we would have to keep the noise down. Another bad point I would add....the children I looked after were almost 2 and 5 when I started and although the youngest was not bothered by her parents being in the house the eldest was and would ALWAYS go into the mums room while she was trying to work and I mean ALL the time! It got to the point where I really wanted to just put a lock on her door myself haha! Also hard to discipline (naughty step) because the kids will scream again being too noisy for parents to work.

However, as much as I am making it sound like complete chaos, it worked out well in other ways because if one of the parents had finished a big chunk of work they could take one or both of the kids out unexpectedly which would allow me to get out the house too. It also has advantages to the nanny sometimes because they may say 'oh i'll make dinner tonight and dh will take over with the kids so you can leave early tonight' which is always a nice surprise for the nanny and keeps a positive relationship.

I say give it a go but agree with those who say try to leave the nanny alone with the baby until she settles and then perhaps join for lunch once they have bonded.

emerald: what about a girl who's worked in a nursery for a year or two and hoping to become a nanny? You're home, she can get that step up and gradual working to being fully sole charge and you have a slightly cheaper option to a fully qualified nanny?

It would be cheaper to use a CM and better IMO. I don't like working from home when our nanny is home as we just get in her way. Dc both want to see me and come to me for stuff so I'm careful to stress that our nanny is in charge not me.

Why not just do a nursery 2 or 3 mornings a week or drop her a nearby childminder if you can do 3 hour blocks without breastfeeding?

Sunny: you could see why though, it makes it very difficult to start a relationship with a new charge if Mum is close by because what child wants a nanny to soothe them when Mummy is nearby? I adore my charge, she's coming up to 3 now and I've been with her nearly two years, but it is hard when she's upset and even Mum Boss feels that if they were to have another she would have a nanny start earlier and she'd be stricter on herself with coming to the aide when the child is upset. Must be very very difficult to avoid it though.

Another thought, if you bf OP, when recruiting talk to your nanny about it and make it clear you intend to continue if you do. I was amazed to discover a maternity nanny who made it clear that she thought my boss was insane and 'encouraged' her clients to stop breastfeeding by 6 months or earlier if possible. I have met a few others who feel a similar way which has shocked me.

I'm going to try avoid it this time I think, it's been a nightmare for me, child and Mum.

My charge won't let me settle her because when I first started with her MBoss bfed when she was overly tired or overly upset and would come out to do so when this happened in my care. I was perfectly happy to support breastfeeding (and still do support the extended bfing) but it has made things a hell of a lot harder and I'd have to seriously consider working for another parent working from home. It sounds like you would have a good set up with the home office though.

Parents popping in is a nightmare, because when you do, the child wants a cuddle, then time with you and then they don't want you to leave so it's a cycle of that all morning which is frustrating for the nanny and emotionally draining for Mum and child.

"Another disadvantage I find to having Mum or Dad at home is that we often get caught up chatting."

I find that too. The chats last a lot longer and happen more frequently when the parent isn't rushing out of the door!

I thought au pairs couldn't look after babies?

I'm a SAHM and DH works from home one day a week and it can be a bit of a nightmare.

The older DS has got the more aware he is that DH is in the study and goes to the door and tries to get in and has a tantrum when he can't. Then he sees DH when he pops out for a coffee or lunch and is confused why he won't play with him etc. and tries to follow him back into the study and the tantrums start again.

It's also very stressful trying to keep noise levels down if DH is on an important call or something. So I basically make sure we're out most the day when he's working from home!

Maternity leave is different to a parent working from home and in most cases happens after the nanny has already been there for a while. Very few people take on a nanny the day they start maternity leave!

You need to find the right nanny. It won't suit all but some of us work with an employer at home some of the time, mum on maternity leave.

"One advantage of a parent working from home is they are never late and if you see them at lunch/ coffee time only a quick handover is needed at the end of the day."

Not in my experience The amount of times mb is caught up in a phone call at my finish time! You can't really interrupt a call to say "excuse me, do you realise what the time is?"

Another disadvantage I find to having Mum or Dad at home is that we often get caught up chatting. I've often over-cooked the pasta or lost track of scoops of formula when we are having a gossip. And the children aren't getting my full attention - a little one hanging on my leg saying "nbee, I'm waiting for you to read my book" Or putting the baby down for a nap, getting my little jobs done and then wanting 10 mins peace with my feet up and boss will choose that time to come and natter.

I have worked in a few jobs where a parent has been working from home. It has worked best where there has been clear rules. One of the advantages of working from home is you are there a child can bring you a cake they have just made show you a drawing ect. The one it worked the best was when the parent said goodbye, went upstairs and left me to it. If the children wanted to show something if the door was shut they could knock and go in. If I put the kettle on if the door was open I would pop up and offer them one. If she came down to put the kettle on he always offered me one. I went out with the children. The parent only worked from home one day out of the two I worked.. I am sure if one of the children had really hurt themselves or where clearly really upset I think she would of come down and popped her head round the door.

One advantage of a parent working from home is they are never late and if you see them at lunch/ coffee time only a quick handover is needed at the end of the day.

Its hard to say..Some children are incredibly placid and wouldn't be phased but I do think this is rare. My other pt job mum is out of the house, but in the beginning (and even now a year on struggles) was so distressed when mum left..She would be near inconsolable for a good thirty minutes or so, it broke my heart! We have a wonderful relationship now but every Wednesday (I do wed-fri with them) She struggles to say bye to mum and dad. Rarely mum works from home and its a mission to stay out of the house all day. She will literally go mad of she knows mum is in the house somewhere and is difficult for everyone. . Normal days where we are together all day nipping in and out to groups etc She is a little gem..laughing and so easy. Its a stark contrast. When my contract ends with other PT job with mum at home I will chalk it up to experience and probably actively avoid jobs where parents are at home.

Originally I was sceptical of nannies who didn't like the parents being at home..in fact when ptjob#2 asked howI felt aabout her being at home during my interview my response was very much. . 'I know im a good nanny and ive nothing to hide, its not a problem for me! ' - now I realise why its a problem! lol

A nanny share is where a nanny looks after the children from two families at the same time, so this isn't a nanny share. A nanny share could work for you though as you could have a nanny, but at somebody else's house!

Have you looked into childminders?

If it's only a few hours a day even a nursery could be ok?