Do you have a nanny?

@anon567890 It’s a bit painful financially but in our experience 100% worth the switch. We had to let our first one go for a sudden gross misconduct issue but she’d been driving us nuts with various minor things even though was vg with our DC. Replacement nanny is 1000% better and we are all calmer and happier. Good luck!

Sorry to jump on this old thread.

when you say finding the right nanny took three goes, can I ask what was the problems you came across with previous two? And how long you have the previous two before found the right candidate / third one?

issue I’m coming across on first nanny (and first time into this, now experiencing first time using a nanny (live in part time) and found she’s pretty lazy and taking the mick a fair bit. But LO is attached to her and ofcourse paid hefty agency fee originally to source her. So now I’m more aware of what I should have asked when originally interviewing potential candidate through agency and experienced it as a first time employer after however many months. How I go about potentially taking the leap to find another. And if I should just stick with what we have in our nanny, as god forbid I get someone who seems great but turns out worse. Or take the leap and find someone far better. But then little one looses this current lady in her life. (Being a solo parent with no extended family I know how my LO has become attached to this person in her daily life) but I know deep down if only I could try and test run another nanny or two I could for sure find someone more proactive and professional at what they do where our current lady is really badly lacking and taking the mick for what she does all round at my expense 🤦‍♀️

If you approach her and she says no , and the role is changing - then you will be making her redundant

youngest is 3. To me that’s young to get rid of nanny

they will stop naps prob in next 6/9mths likely

you have to decide does paying nanny to maybe do not a lot all day at the moment v to what you do instead as in hk role which many don’t want to do when in a nanny job

but readvertise for nanny /hk and sure you will get people but will they be the same as current nanny

or keep nanny and the security of nanny for before /after pre school and holidays and sickness etx

I mean, you did come on this thread to get in a huff about other nannies doing housework because you don't. Maybe you should calm down about things that don't actually affect you.

Your so angry at me for some reason 😆 calm down.

Nanny walks in and takes over from however far we got in the morning with breakfast and getting dressed etc. Absolutely no pressure on anyone to be ready. Much more relaxed atmosphere. Individual attention and care. Modelling of good behaviour and can agree with the parents how to manage development leaps and any challenges. Keeping on top of their laundry and toy rotation. Longer naps until about a year after my friends with nursery children. Avoids exposure to poor behaviour or language at nursery especially important from age 3/4 when they really do listen and learn.

Finding the nanny to fit with our family took three goes. Never looked back.

@SherbetSweeties

I look after babies under 2 so I'm busy all day with the baby. Obviously I keep the areas I'm using clean and tidy.
Fantastic.
Not all nannies work with exclusively under 2s.
Once again it's. It all about you.

We had a nanny when dd1 was 4 and dd2 was 1 because the nanny did school pickups for dd1 and nursery didn't. Both girls went to nursery full time before that.

My DC are a bit older now, but used a nanny when we had childcare.
I just felt the home environment with one adult was much better for them. They went out every day to groups and/or the park, so got lots of socialisation, but also had 1:1 time.
I felt being in a nursery all day would be too much of a sensory overload for mine.

Believe me i don't 😆 I know a lot of Nannies. Anyway if she's happy that's fine isn't it.

I look after babies under 2 so I'm busy all day with the baby. Obviously I keep the areas I'm using clean and tidy.

@SherbetSweeties
You have a very limited understanding of what other nannies want to do.

Often they choose to stay with a family way past the stage the dc are needing intense care. They choose to adapt to a role of nanny/housekeeper and then housekeeper/PA.

If the nanny prefers to evolve and stay with the family then what possible right do you have to dictate to them what they should or shouldn't do. Your situation is of precisely zero interest to them.

In other words: it's not all about you

@SherbetSweeties

More fool her. Its's nanny's like that who make life difficult for the ones of us who want to focus on childcare and not cleaning.
What do you do between 8:30 and 3:30 when they are at school?
I've known many people who keep their nanny on when the kids are at school. They do a few hours around the house.

They get paid VERY well and are more than happy with the arrangement

@SherbetSweeties

A professional nanny shouldn't be doing housework. Nursery duties only kids cooking and laundry. And also your nanny should be allowed to choose her own holiday. 10 days you choose 10 she chooses.
Ffs the OP says holidays mostly match so obviously they aren't dictating
And some nannies do some housework. Tidying the kids rooms, tidying the playroom, doing their laundry etc is all housework and standard for a nanny. Sometimes god forbid they'll wipe down the kitchen too.

Ok well we'll agree to disagree.

More personalised care, better sleep ime. And yes, our nannies did / do some amount of housework - the previous one was a hugely energetic woman who couldn't sit still and would find jobs for herself around the house unless we stopped her; the current one is much more sedate but manages all the laundry while the kids are napping.

The main downsides are cost (but I have twins, so actually the cost difference is marginal), and the fact that it's care based in your home so if you WFH you'll need to either leave or make yourself very scarce. Few nannies would be happy working with a parent somewhere in the house I think.

@SherbetSweeties not every nanny wants to do exactly what you do. You don't want to do cleaning. Plenty are more than willing to help out around the house, particularly when the kids are at school (as the OP's appear to be).

Insisting that everyone in your line of work should do only what you're prepared to do or they're "ruining it for the rest of us" is a stupidly reductive point of view.

I am a nanny so I definitely don't resent you having one. I just find it frustrating when families expect housework and to choose all the holdiays etc.

Because I've worked as a professional. Nanny for many years and I've seen a lot of nannies taken advantage of over my time. Anyway I'll leave it there.

More fool her. Its's nanny's like that who make life difficult for the ones of us who want to focus on childcare and not cleaning.

@SherbetSweeties who are you to dictate to a stranger what their employee should and shouldn't do? Rather odd! Perhaps people are capable of determining a working relationship that suits them both.

I always find it so strange on mumsnet how people firstly like to put posters who want a nanny in their place. But if that fails, then become militant about what a nanny should do in their role. 100% fine for the nanny to draw a hard line in their contract but why does nanny housekeeper as a job get such resentment and belittling about it not being ‘pure nanny’.

It’s a professional SAH’M’. I don’t think there could possibly be a more important and useful role in the world.

Well aware of what nanny duties are previous poster😂 I hired an unqualified nanny 12 yrs ago, because she was great with the kids, super organised and experienced with fantastic references. Shes now a family member. She has freedom to pick her holidays anytime and does do different timings to ski and go on impromptu long weekends with her partner and a week in the sun when she feels the need but actually we often overlap just naturally. And when we don’t, it’s zero issue. She’s always gotten lots of extra full days for no reason (I give her random days off etc or we head to my family in London so she gets a day or two more and I gift her extra days around Christmas etc). From day one I tried to respect ‘nanny duties only’ but she said ‘that’s ridiculous, I’m here anyway’ so yeah, she’s now not a nanny but a nanny housekeeper. It’s been absolutely brilliant. She’s way more than a nanny, she’s me if I was a SAHM’.

So thank for pointing out what I ‘should’ have expected from her. Luckily she insisted on a much better role in our family.

A professional nanny shouldn't be doing housework. Nursery duties only kids cooking and laundry. And also your nanny should be allowed to choose her own holiday. 10 days you choose 10 she chooses.