What does nanny do during baby naps?

I am a professional nanny and I certainly would never work for someone like this. I work 11 hours a day with a two year old and a 5 month old. My only breather is when they nap. Nannies are not robots ! Are human and have feelings! All our energy is giving our charges the best possible childhood and memories ! I / and other professional nannies do cook and prep meals and make sure all their needs are met. But I defo take a break once through the day while they nap! I eat and have a coffee while cooking. It’s sad to read this and I think you should respect your nannies needs !!!!

I work as a nanny to two older children (5 and 7) from 3.30-6.30pm. I do cooking, cleaning, ironing, prepping kids clothes and pack lunches for the next day, all whilst the kids do their homework and independent play/tv. I’d expect the nanny to be able to take a break whilst the child is sleeping but then I don’t think asking them to prep food for kids, clean/tidy up after food prep, look after kids laundry and tidying toys etc is unreasonable. But you have to trust your nanny, if not everything gets done that’s because they’ve put the needs of the child first (fed, watered, cleaned, safe), and as we know every day with a child can be different depending on their mood, health etc

When I was a nanny I would make sure all household chores relating to baby were doing during nap time. This could also include seasonal wardrobe rotation, sorting out clothes which were too small, toy cleaning and rotation, setting up activities for the next portion of the day, batch cooking.

But you're right, it doesn't usually take up all that time. Sometimes I would sit and watch a show while I ate my lunch, or catch up on personal admin (working 12 hour days doesn't leave much time for that!) etc. but ultimately your not paying the nanny to 'just sit around'. You're paying them to be on call and available should baby wake up early/not nap because they're ill etc. If you don't want to pay her while the baby naps, you shouldn't expect her to have to remain in the house and be available to you.

What if the baby/child-related duties aren’t done? And these are being left at the end of the day/week? Does this type of thing on an ongoing basis justify a chat with the nanny about use of nap time?

My charge naps for 2.5 hours a day. During this time I have my lunch, do any correspondence I may need to do. I prep his dinner, and I take a break. I work 11 hour days and don’t get home till 7:30 most nights. My employer expects me to take a break. I assume you take a break? Or do you not take any time at all to sit down?

I really get frustrated with parents who have this attitude. Nannies work very long hours, babies are full on and demanding.

Does she earn the same as a nanny or do you have to pay her more? This sounds more like what the OP is looking for.

I would say you’re looking for a ‘mother’s helper’. I have one and I’m very fortunate that she’s also a fully qualified nanny. She’s not scrubbing bathrooms in nap time but she does help with laundry for the whole household, dishwasher etc. she’s a godsend actually.

You are indeed trying to micro manage her!! Cut her some slack and show some respect, she’s there to mind your child asleep or not!!

They'll probably need to wash, iron and tidy the baby's clothes, prepare food, tidy up, THINK, plan. If they're hardworking and conscientious then they'll work it out. But I recommend you don't try to micro-manage every minute of your nanny's day. Some days they'll want to work harder during the breaks than others and it will depend on how full on your baby is to look after!!

But almost no one is saying she should get a 3 hour break. What most people are saying is that after she has done baby related activities, her normal lunch break plus a couple of tea breaks will take up the rest of the time and the OP can’t expect non-stop work for what may be a 12 hour day if the OP is working full time and her partner is doing the same.

@Jemandthehologramsunite , multiple people who either have nannies or are nannies (or have been in the past) have posted. While I agree duties vary as discussed, the assumption by the OP that if the nanny isn’t working non-stop, she is being ripped off (or ‘burned’ as she put it) is what people are objecting to.

Totally agree, most 10 months babies sleep for 3 hours, all the ones I've known anyway. And most people have a work ethic, who would be comfortable sitting around for 10-15 hours, I'd have more of an issue around that person's values tbh. The thread is pointless anyway, I suspect most of the posters have never had a nanny and the nannies duties can vary anyway, depending on what you agree

If the baby naps for 3 hours it is not unreasonable to expect the nanny to do some work once she has taken her break within this 3 hour period, some of these posts are so indignant-3 hours is a long time to just be relaxing I think when you are being paid. I would feel uncomfortable being paid to just do that.

I think the nanny should take a break - well-deserved if she's giving your baby full attention the rest of the time. Maybe she could prep some baby meals or activities, but I agree with others who have said she IS doing something. She is keeping your baby safe and supervised while you are not around to do so. If you have the same nanny when your baby stops napping so much, I hope you're going to work out how she takes a break.

Your paying for the security of a fully trained experienced professional who can deal with emergencies and knows first aid and will be prepping for when baby is awake not a teenager chatting to their mates even when baby is awake.

It's not a 3 plus hour break in a company she would get around 90 minutes....then there is cleaning up from baby, baby's food, baby's clothes....and few sleep 3 hours solid in the day.

I'm just blown away by the baby that sleeps 5-6 hours, I've had 3 and I'm a childminder! I suppose there was the odd day when they had an hour in the morning and then a 3 hour afternoon nap but gosh it was rare and didn't last long!

W employed a nanny when the kids were little and both still napping 2 hours plus in the early afternoon. I expected her to take a proper break. Our ask every day was that the kids dinner was prepared , toys tidied and kids laundry kept up to date (including stripping the kids beds once a week and remaking them). I was happy for her to involve the kids in some of this and to structure the day as she saw fit.

I think it's important nanny has a break but also is keeping an eye on baby during naps.

@i123i
She could read or watch tv. She was expected to fold any laundry placed in the baby's room and to keep the room tidy.
We considered her only significant task to care for the baby and essentially she had no free time as we were paying for her time and availability to be present in our home and with our child.

If she read or watched tv when the baby napped as we viewed her presence with and for our child as to be the service for which she was being paid. We would have paid more and advertised it differently had we wanted a nanny/cleaner of any sort.

We did not consider her reading or watching tv as doing nothing because she was required to be in our home doing these things and at that point we were commanding her time and presence.

She also gave an example of the nanny ‘prepping meals’ for her, and suggested the nanny would otherwise be ‘doing nothing.’

In my experience most nannies don’t do your housework. They obviously leave the house as they round it and do nursery related tasks.

And once again, as has been said multiple times, nobody is suggesting the nanny ‘take a break’ for over three hours. They’ve said that once she takes her entitlement of an hour lunch break to eat and relax (which I’m sure op takes at her job) then takes care of nursery related tasks like baby laundry, sorting clothes, clearing up any mess made with the baby, cleaning and organising toys, and planning activities, she is unlikely to have much time left over.

OP has a cleaner, she gave an example of emptying a dishwasher which generally a nanny would do, ime anyway 🤷‍♀️ I find it odd that so many people would be ok for their nanny to have a 3+ hour break, but each to their own of course. I'd never expect a nanny to clean the toilet, but normally they do some housework

And I’d say someone who’s trained hard to the point of getting post graduate degrees probably doesn’t want to wash op’s pants and clean her toilets. She could do that for someone without a masters degree.

@StrangerYears

That's very insulting to nannies. One of our nannies has 30 years experience and a range of qualifications, skills and knowledge. Our other nanny has a masters degree.

There is a very big difference between them and a teenager babysitting.

This.

The irony of your post is not lost, and even though I don't think you realise what you're saying I can't believe you'd compare a nanny to a babysitter that's is so insulting 😬 I wonder if you're getting confused with an Au Pair? Who basically is a glorified babysitter looking after your kid in exchange for board for very cheap!