dilemma - cleaner has been slating nanny to MIL - what to do?

I'm with PPH (Hello PPH!). There is nothing wrong with reading a book per se, but it's something I'd expect her to do as part of taking a break rather than 'multi-tasking' whilst looking after your child. I occasionally used to come downstairs from my home office and find a former nanny sitting by the french windows in a large old chair reading a novel and doing a passable imitation of a character out of a Joanna Trollope novel. But the kitchen would be immaculate, the children would be quietly napping and there would be freshly baked muffins on the table. Our current nanny sometimes reads whilst cuddling up to the children and cat and watching Cbeebies for the last half hour of the day. Fair enough - there is only so much 'In the Night Garden' a sane adult can take.

lol!! sorry - been watching too much 'britains worst...' !

think reading a book is odd, unless it is for 15 mins while she is sitting down with a cup of coffee when ds in bed

it just isn't the sort of thing you do at work. If ds is up and about, her job is to be with him not reading a book. If he is in bed, then there is usually stuff to be done, but fair enough to read a book while you have a sandwich and a break or something.

I would talk to her about it, and ask the cleaner for her version personally.

Have a feeling that you are not allowed by law to film people without their consent so might cause huge ructions if it came out.

Why not just have a general "chat" after a week or so? Ask her how she thinks it is going, how she is spending her days, does she find she has enough to keep her busy, how does she occupy herself when ds is asleep. I have to say that if you are paying someone cold hard cash to do a job, I don't think reading when there is stuff to be done is on, but if she finds that she has spare time, then you can either ask her to do more or she should be able to fill it in as she wishes.

hmmm... if you dont want to ask the nanny outright could you possibly set up a little camera somewhere to see what she does when she is looking after DS - at least this way you will know for yourself what she is doing rather that hearing it from nosey cleaner.

Ah yes - sorry - must get myslef a coffee!

Do you know she wasn't reading the book while your son had his nap? Did the cleaner say where your DS was at the time? Surely if he was asleep or happily playing by himself then it wouldn't be an issue. If he was in another room chewing on electrical cords then more of an issue!

I have 2 boisterous toddlers and if my nanny was reading a book I would be amazed!

I was going to say "of course I wouldn't mind" but actually I think it might nark me a bit if she was doing it from the day she started - especially if my ds was left to his own devices. I know they get to an age when they play with their toys on their own and don't need one on one interaction but it would niggle me a bit.

I suspect that you are more concerned about the potential discord in your home if nanny and cleaner aren't going to get on. I can completely understand why. The last thing you want is sniping from the cleaner and for the nanny to feel like she's being watched like a hawk by some busy body who thinks they could do the job better. Domestic harmony is so important, especially when you are employing people in your home.

As a former (brilliant!!) nanny, reading a book is not the end of the world!

Childcare is full on and it is impossible to play with a young child all the time.

Has she got jobs and bits and pieces to do round the house?

Could the cleaner work other days when the nanny is not around?

You mumsnet when looking after ds so why should the nanny not have a few minutes to read?

If it bothers you so much, you should def have a word.

Try not to worry about it (easy for a stranger to say ). I am quite sure she wouldn't put your ds in danger (her references were good etc and you were happy until the cleaner stuck her beak in) and besides she really will have no time to herself when the baby arrives.

Trust your gut feel:

Nanny - "she's a lovely girl. strengths - she's bubbly, outgoing and flexible"

Cleaner - "a bit of a busybody - has been working for us for a few months. tendency to whinge and talk about other people in negative way"

I also think the fact that the nanny would not slag off the cleaner shows a huge amount of maturity that your cleaner hasn't shown.

We have a daily housekeeper and a part time nanny. I am on the same wavelength as my housekeeper and would trust everything she says. She had concerns about my old nanny which were spot on and I value her judgment. However, I think in this case your cleaner's nose is clearly out of joint. Don't let her drive a wedge between you and your nanny.

Well, I read when I 'look after' my dc. Am MNetting now...

As you said, you need to decide whether this is OK and tell her.

Ugh. Your cleaner has now put you in the position of wondering what your nanny is up to every time you leave the house. You have to clear this up. If your cleaner's nose has been put out of joint then she might be up to no good, especially if she thinks the nanny is too young or does things differently etc etc.

You could always make a joke of it and say to the nanny that once ds2 arrives she won't have a minute to herself (IME 2 babies are 10 times harder than 1!); ask how she's getting on with the cleaner etc etc. TBH if the cleaner is going to make the nannies life miserable the nanny won't hang around so you do need to sort this.

cleaner maybe jealous that you haven't asked HER to be nanny (hilarious to you maybe, but to her?)
assume same hourly rate, much more hours, far less strenuous, far more FUN!!

what does mil think?

what does mil think?

TBH so what if your nanny was reading a book. Nannying is full on and not like an office job so if she has taken the chance to have 5 mins down time she should be entitled. Its not like she will get the statutory tea breaks and lunch breaks. I have often found that cleaners take a bit of a busy body approach in the houses they work in and it is pbest not to get involved in the petty politics.