live out nanny duties

my 4 day a week nanny cooks and freezes baby's meals, does bits of shopping for him (food, babywipes, formula etc), cleans up the kitchen after him (wiping down highchair and surfaces putting his plates in the dishwasher etc).
i do most of his laundry but she does some of it, also washes reusable nappies, tidies toys, replaces dud batteries in them etc. changing beds and keeping bedroom tidy. she would happily do doctor/dentist appts but for now i do them.
this is what's in the basic contract.
but she would happily do more - eg she will sort the whole family's laundry. she also keeps an eye on the dog - lets him out into the garden, tops up his water etc, although she doesnt walk him. she would also happily do general errands if asked (tho not if asked too often i suspect).
i'd be inclined to make the duties list pretty basic, and then she will probably be willing to go the extra mile and do other things so long as you dont always expect them. in return i do the odd unexpected favour for her, eg drive her home if dh gets back early or let her off early if i get back in time. a bit of give and take goes a long way, and a good relationship is worth more than a massively detailed contract (tho you need one, just in case)

mice i can cope with - though prefer them alive

now spiders runs away to join paros on box

we have HUGE ones at work, and I put pint glasses over them or sieves over them and then MB gets rid of them

I also love my MB - she is also fab

this little creature was alive . It was so funny the dopey cat that bought it in was just sitting 2 inches away from it and they were both ( the cat and the mouse) butting their noses together . I was watching from the hallway with the glass doors closed (coward ) It seemed to me the cat didnt have a bloody clue what he was going to do with it and as the tv is in the lounge I had to catch the mouse and then put it in the garden , It was funny though grown woman crouching on chair with a smalle box trying to get miniscule mouse into it .

i have also removed a mouse, after the family cat brought it in - was dead and put to rest in the bin garden

Ok it was me that cleaned out the drains (LOL) and another bloomin mouse this morning . But hey I love my boss she is fab

I also tend to think that as I'm trusting her with my children, I am happy to go with the flow on the other stuff (but we are a ludicrously disorganised and happy go lucky sort of family so the nanny appears amazingly efficient and super organised to us!). Also, as someone else pointed out, it's a bit easier as mine are older now.

I've never done a list of duties

I suppose our nanny makes sure the kids are fed and watered and looked after and that any mess they make (or she makes, by say, cooking) has been tidied up.

Other than that, I wouldn't expect her to do any other cleaning or washing. Not her job imo. But mine are 6 and 7 so most of her job involves taking them out or arranging play dates.

Also, we give her a kitty at the beginning of each week so that she can get any other food (in case neither dh nor I have noticed we are running out of something) and take them out and about.

I'd add in preparation for holidays - my stepsons' nanny does a lot of packing of suitcases, which includes trying on sessions of summer clothes and letting us know how many pairs of shorts, t-shirts etc they can still fit into. I think it's quite a big burden in families who travel a lot.

Doesn't it also depend on the age and stage of the children? My lovely nanny does all sorts of bits and pieces at home. Puts all the washing on, has a little tidy up generally, hoovers now and again. She can because she only has one 18mo to look after and frankly she's asleep for quite a bit of the day. If your nanny is looking after three toddlers then that's not a possibility.

If I was at home looking after my own 18mo, I'd flick the hoover round now and again too.

The idea of a prescribed list of what a nanny will and won't do would put me off the person in question. Although I would never ask a nanny to do any more than light household bits and bobs. certainly no drain cleaning.

It will always depend on the families needs and the what the nanny will do. However, I feel that my everyone giving their view as to what is and isn't nursery duties - we may be able to come up with a list of typical things, as I expect there will be similarities - such as children's laundry.

rarah has a very good list

yes happy to be in for the shopping and even put it away and as the children will be eating the meat from butcher, i wouldnt tech class that as a nursery duty,but it does involve the children dietry needs so happy to go and buy it

the list could be endless, and can def be very complicated in regards what a nanny will and wont do so it is very hard to define a list

guess it all depends on the nanny

Rachel's list is great!

Not at all nursery duties, but would you ask your nanny to receive the weekly grocery shop if you order it on line? I find this really handy - I have a shopping list on the go and my nanny adds to it, then she accepts delivery of the shopping and the DCs help her to put it away. She buys meat from the butchers for the children to eat, anything special/extra they want for lunch, and the little things we run out of.

In terms of household maintenance, I would expect her to let me know if things need doing.

rahrah, i wouldnt wash the pans, just leave in pile by sink

nick - see your point regards filter, i have defluffed filters and changed water container in tumble dryer when full,with out a 2nd thought - are there really nannies who are THAT petty not to do it as it wouldnt comeunder nursery duties [hmmm]

And of course cleaning/tidying up after themseleves and children in the course of the day.

I must say though that nothing irritates me more than having to wash up pots/pans used by parents the night before, before being able to start on children's lunch

I would say nursery duties have to relate directly to the children. My list would be:

Care of children's clothing, including washing, ironing and putting away. Polishing shoes. Organising wardrobes. Buying new clothes/school uniforms. Basic repairs and sewing in labels.

Care of children's rooms, including hoovering/sweeping playroom and bedroom floors. Organising and cleaning toys and books, and basic repairs (sewing up holes in teddy bears, sellotaping torn book pages). Keeping rooms tidy. Changing and washing children's bed linen.

Cooking healthy meals from scratch. Could include cooking extra and freezing. Making up bottles of milk, and sterilising bottles. Cleaning and tidying kitchen after cooking/meals.

I also think buying presents for birthday parties, or odd items like dummies, milk and bread for the day, is reasonable. It's reasonable to expect the nanny to be in charge of administration for the child too (doctor/dentist appointments, writing thank you letters, ensuring permission slips for school trips are signed).

Things like parents laundry, changing parents beds, cleaning/tidy rooms not used by children, full family shopping, organising/managing tradesmen or other staff, cleaning windows, gardening, pet care or dog walking, cooking for parents, running errands for parents, heavy cleaning are not "nursery duties" but some nannies may be happy to do some tasks, or could be employed as nanny/housekeepers.

I class nursery duties to be things like:

Care of childrens clothing and toys (including any cleaning or repairs)

Keeping rooms clean and tidy - including changing beds

Childrens laundry and ironing

Shopping for food and preparing meals

Clearing up home after messy activities and general mess created through play

General care and cleaning of child related equiptment, eg highchairs, car seats etc

It's quite difficult to define a list i think, as every family is so different.

I think the problem is that there can be fine line between what is something to do with the children and something to do with the running of the home.
For example, cleaning a filter on the tumble dryer is a maintenance task, to do with smooth running of the home. If the filter is not cleaned, then it affects the children's laundry, so there is a direct connection to the children. So does that connection, make it part of nursery duties, or not?

There must be others on here (be they nannies, employers of nannies) who have views on what is, and isn't nursery duties. Please, please do post your views.

would be happy to collect eggs, but not clean them

tbh dont think you can class that as a nursery duty, as its nothing to do with the children (and thats what i call nursery duties)

sorry not being much help,have never had a LIST but just general nursery duties - which i would say for whatever the child needs, should be done

would not clean out drains

though I have taken car to garage to get new tyre as I had the time

and after reading that list you put nick, cant beleive one MB felt bad about asking nanny to pick up a parcel

things like that are once in a blue moon, and if I can help,then Im happy to

Tending to livestock - keeping chickens for example is becoming increasingly popular.

In a previous thread, we tried listing some things that some nannies did, which were beyond the call of duty. That list included: pest extermination and sewer clearing.
I think most people will agree that those are not standard nursery duties... but if nursery duties was 'Anything' then those could be included, as they are to do with hygiene, health & safety.

Does anyone have a list of 'nursery duties' which they have given to their nanny?

If nanny is working such hours that they are involved in bedtime, then Nursery Duties could include Bathing Children.

I feel we need a list of what people feel Nursery Duties actually means in practice.

to me nursery duties are ANYTHING that invloves to do with looking after the children and their needs

so basically what ever needs to be done to care for the childrento make sure they are happy,fed,contented and well looked after

the main ones are keeping playroom/bedroom tidy,do their washing/ironing, cooking for them, and playing with them

yes happy to do FULL shopping if need be, and was using the parcel thing as an example that I am happy to help out with odd things as and when, though many nannies dont

imananny - but what are Nursery Duties?
Difficult to put 'Nursery Duties' in a contract, if no one knows for sure what those actually are. Can you list what you feel ARE nursery duties.
So far I think your list is:
tidying playroom/bedroom
washing children's clothes
cooking meals
tidy up the mess made during the day
run small errands like picking up dry cleaning, small additional shopping items (not the full weekly shop), picking parcels (can you actually do that these days, as I find they want ID of the person to whom the parcel is addressed, in addition to the You Have A Parcel card).