What does nanny do during baby naps?

Im a nanny. You are paying for her TIME. You need someone there to care for your child and supervise them during nap times, yes? Her time is worth that pay. You don’t need to dish out additional duties, she will know what needs to be done but her duties go as far as childcare that’s it. Not your housework.

She should scrub your floors on her hands and knees with a tooth brush. And then you will wonder why you can't get "decent help".

I would rather the nanny be close by while the baby is napping just in case she’s needed, instead of in the kitchen prepping the adults’ meals or unloading the dishwasher, that’s not her job at all. Her job is to care for the well being of the baby. So baby related things, yes, but far away in the kitchen for too long doing someone else’s job, no. Nipping to the kitchen to prepare bottles or laundry room to grab basket of baby clothes to fold is different than prepping your dinner and doing your dishes. She’s not your housekeeper and she’s not your cook. When I was at home with my baby, I kept him near me when he was that little if I was in the kitchen or doing housework or showering, in a bouncer or something secure. Actually he wouldn’t sleep in his crib or take naps, to this day he doesn’t sleep much 😀. I’m assuming you want the nanny to put the baby down in the crib in the nursery for naps though. In that case I wouldn’t want the nanny spending three hours doing housework and cooking and loading and unloading the dishwasher away from the baby. Makes no sense. You’re trying to wring every penny’s worth out of an employee but your baby’s wellbeing is more important than that. Give her a list of baby related things to do that won’t necessitate her being in the other end of the house for extended periods.

Was just going to say this 😂 nannies back then were just nannies!

She is responsible for your child she isn't your skivvy my god how dare she not scrub the steps and boil the nappies whilst your baby naps. Have a word with yourself !

That’s like saying a babysitter does ‘nothing’ whilst kids sleep. Would you expect them to be doing your housework too?

Actually, it was probably better in the 19th century. Nannies had very strict roles and there were other servants to do the non-childcare jobs.

you weren’t “burnt by a previous nanny” fucking hell. I have 18y experience as a nanny and now refuse to work for families like you

The nanny can do nursery duties then she can sit down. Shock horror but she is allowed to sit down. Or she can pop out and get her grocery shopping done whilst the baby sleeps as she has nothing else to do right?

Shes not your cleaner and she’s not your cook. Wind your damn neck in

Even if she sits in a chair while baby naps she's doing something very important 1 being there.

If she's doing nothing then you'd presumably be happy for her to take an unpaid break while baby sleeps - and pop out to get her shopping or meet a friend?

No? Then she's doing something very important.

Incredible how difficult it can be for us to see the value of caring professions. This is why they're paid so badly even though they do such important work.

They do child related stuff such as prep the baby’s meals, wash and sort their clothes out and tidy the toys. They also need a break. You are paying someone to generally do a good job. Bear in mind, good nannies will move on to good employers, if they are not enjoying their job. They meet potential employers at baby groups and play dates and get poached.

This by a million.

This. You may be paying her for simply being present for maybe an hour of the 3 hour sleep (lunch, tea break, time taken tidying up baby toys, doing baby laundry takes up the rest) but in due course, she’s be lucky to get the lunch she is entitled to.

You can try and find a nanny / housekeeper but you’ll have to look at the unqualified, inexperienced end of the market. No one with proper qualifications would touch that job with a barge pole.

You sound like some of the ghastly husbands SAHM post about on here who ‘don’t understand what their wives do all day’.

I do hope most Nannies have, or belong to, a Union. I see that attitudes from the 19th century still stubbornly persist.

Urgh, I'm a nanny who is highly experienced (17 years) with qualifications. I had a family like this gave me a bad review saying that I was 'happy to perch myself on a chair whilst the baby slept'. I was baffled, I had done all nursery duties, laundry was on the go. I'd emptied and refilled the dishwasher plus swept the floor from their mess the night before. What else was I supposed to do?
Nannies generally work 10+ hour days so we are entitled to breaks! I couldn't stand this family and didn't stay long.
Families I've stayed with long term, one being 5 years were the ones who said I could do whatever I wanted during nap time.

Child related tasks only. I prepped meals, did laundry, cleaned toys for the children but didn't do anything for the rest of the family. A nanny is only there to look after your child don't ask or expect them to look after you as well.

Errrm do the baby’s laundry / tidy up toys, then you know, have a break? As you have probably discovered, looking after a baby is hard work. I imagine you enjoy a sit down in the day during nap time too. Good nannies are worth their weight in gold - once you find one, don’t be ridiculous about expecting every single second of time to be filled. The baby will eventually stop napping anyway.

Light tidying up from what she’s been doing earlier, having a break so she’s ready to look after your child when they wake, preparing for the afternoon, light meal Prep for the child only. And even if she’s resting she’s not just sitting on her arse she is responsible for your child’s safety eg in case of fire checking on welfare whilst asleep so you are paying for that too remember
your child will change very quickly and so will the nap schedule so it’s give and take

If you want more you would need to hire them as a nanny/housekeeper which isn't impossible but generally they will be working for families whose children are in nursery p/t or even school, so duties during those hours

I would suggest that an hour of it is her break, and an hour is to do laundry, tidy up, prep baby's food etc. naps will be reducing pretty soon too.

She was doing something though, she was reponsible for your child home you were out at work, and ready to react if there was any kind of emergency. You’re paying her for the huge responsibility of taking care of your child.

If you really didn’t think nannies did anything when babies were sleeping, you would leave your baby napping and go out which obviously you would never do.

I had one family who said it was fine to go and collect the bigger girl from preschool while the baby napped. Oh good, no stress over when the baby naps, I thought, and asked if I should just put the baby to sleep in the buggy so I could be sure we were ready to go. Nonplussed mum said no, put the baby to sleep in the cot. Preschool is only 10 minutes walk away and the baby sleeps for at least 1.5 hours. We went round in circles with me not quite believing it until I eventually said at no time while I am in sole charge of the children will I leave either of them alone in the house. Madness. Ended up reporting them to my agency for a host of reasons, not sure what happened though! Nice enough people but absolutely batshit.

She's still minding the baby whilst they're sleeping? She's having to sit in somebody else's house it's not exactly free time ? I'd expect her to be having a cup of tea and relax before the baby wakes up. Maybe preparing babys lunch and an activity.

@JeandeServiette

oh & honestly that's nowhere near the worst of it!

-parents that want you to feed 2 month old babies purée to 'fatten them up' FIRM NO

• parents that want you to stop babies sleeping in the day FIRM NO

parents that say you'll have to wear a Drs style 'gown' and white gloves FIRM NO (while trying to keep a straight face)

parents that over use/or forbid calpol

a Dad that insured it was fine to stand tge 13 month old on a 6 ft platform & leave him there, that he'll just go down the slide when he was ready (3 sides completely open) but then insist he needed his hand held to go up the step into the patio doors. Hated hated hated him 'wfh'

many many other things. These were all on temp jobs or at interviews. Thankfully I picked my long term families well.

Some ridiculous answers here- OP speak with a nanny agency for some actual answers.

Of course your nanny is entitled to a break- but your baby is sleeping for over three hours a day- she doesn't need 3+ hours of downtime each shift.

It's usual for a professional nanny to do child related tasks such as prepping meals, folding the child's laundry, tidying the child's toys, washing bottles etc, clean up where the child eats etc. some Nannies are also willing to do some light housework. That would involve emptying the dishwasher, folding a basket of laundry and maybe sweeping the areas where the baby plays.

Nothing excessive and it should be with the understanding that she may not get to those tasks each day if the baby wakes up early. You have to be ready to adjust this as the baby sleeps less during the day. Communication is key.

We've had two nannies for years. One is a career nanny and she likes to be busy and keep things just so. it is soooo good to come home to an empty dishwasher, the laundry folded and the dinner prepped. Our other nanny is a uni student and does no chores (not even tidying up after herself) as she uses nap time to study- that's fine too. Our children love both and we are happy with both. We pay our career nanny significantly higher than market rates however.

When you are recruiting just be clear about your expectations and be willing to pay accordingly. The individual will decide if she wants that job or not.

Posts about nannies always seem to bring out angry mobs who have no idea what they are talking about. Speak to an agency or friends who employ Nannies- it's completely reasonable to ask them to use some of the nap time productively.

I suspect I can see why your first nanny isnt with you anymore. We all like to feel we get our moneys worth but you are 100% massively coming across as a bit of a knob.