Is this normal nanny behaviour?

obviously the nanny needs to eat whilst there, maybe have a shelf of food that she can eat so she knows.

also if she is taking your son out for lunch then she should be paying for her lunch with your money also - this is good for children to eat out occasionally as it develops social skills and improves table manner (as long as its not MC donalds!!)

Taking a nap when your son does it taking the mikey a little, even when i proxy parent and may have been up all night with a baby i dont take a nap during the day. very very cheeky

1. absolutely fine and completely normal. you can expcet to pay for anything your nanny does with your child during ehr duties, including meals / entry fees / ice lollies / drinks at cafe etc
   (and my bosses pay for me to go out to pizza express for lunch with my nanny friends and there charges etc)

2. what do you mena by eats loads? although im a daily nanny i eat all 3 of my meals at the house and have snacks etc whenever i feel like. I ONLY ever eat whatthe chidlren eat though, so its always just 1 extra portion od what is being eaten anyway.... the only exception is that i eat normal yogurtsand the chidlren have kids ones. Also my bosses by my ear grey tea especaly for me, and very often come back with food they know I like (cinnamon and raisen bagels yum yum )

3. a bit more debatable.... does she actually sleep (i would be quite surprised if she did that every day actually) and no i dont think its generally acceptable.... BUT if all the nursary duties are done and the childs asleep then no problem with her having a cup if tea on the sofa (as do daily) and on rare occasions (for eg when i have had a heavy cold) then i have had a mini nap on the sofa too, but its by no means normal for me to sleep during the day!

I think you should let your nanny do the kind of things you do. So if you don't go out for lunch with the kids because it's too expensive for you, then it's OK to say that she shouldn't. It's just as sociable to meet up with other kids and nannies in the playground as at Pizza Express. Or tell her that once a week is OK or something, so you know what's planned.

I got cross with our live-in ap for eating everything in the fridge. It's not that something's off limits, just that I think it's completely inconsiderate of her to think that if I buy 30 yoghurts on Sunday, it's OK for her to eat 10 of them on Monday and 10 on Tuesday. I told her to take into account that there are a lot of people in the house. I also don't think you should have to buy her fillet steak for lunch just because you and dh are going to have it for dinner.

Having a nap on a 12 hour shift seems reasonable, as long as she can hear if something happens.

LOL at "nanny who lunched" .

I'm not very enthusiastic about the quality of childcare here in Paris, but at least the nannies don't expect to have an entertainment budget .

Reading all this, I'm clear that what I value in a nanny is someone who fits in with the family lifestyle. And with whom I can address these niggles without anyone feeling bad/sore afterwards. With our first nanny I was afraid to query anything in case I was perceived as a bad employer. But I've learned....

Eating out-best to agree what's acceptable. Sounds like she's an experienced nanny with a routine of her own. (I had a 'nanny who lunched' once, and she had expectations and expediture that were shall we say 'non-aligned').I prefer the nice meals out to be en famille at the weekends. 2 year old-would expect nanny to share food , just like we do, with an extra plate , and bring milk (like AtheneNoctua I'm not mad about the quality of bought food)but she may just have not known what to do.

Food in fridge: we ask our nanny what she wants to eat and buy accordingly. She eats lunch with baby, so is encouraged to cook things that she can eat with her.

Naps: she's entitled to a break, if she wants to spend it napping that's up to her. Would rather she had a break and was rested.If we have to have a long stay, I almost without exception arrange a late start for her the next day, but I do work flexibly.

Hayley, think you posted in the wrong section. This is a discussion about what is typical for a Nanny to be doing during working hours.

Try starting a new message thread, also look through the Advertising Tips thread for suggestions on where Childminders can advertise. Looks like you may be new to the board, so do introduce yourself - I'd suggest in the next CM Staff Room, this was todays Staff Room.
Hope that helps, welcome to Mumsnet

Hi does anyone need a child minder in Ickenham, Middlesex?
Ex Nanny, Betec National Diploma in Child Care Studies, 12 years child care experience.
I live with my husband and 16 month old son.Pet and smoke free house.
Please call Hayley on 07956309287.
Thanks

def would appeal to me my little owl!!

i used to go to gym in my ex job when kids were at school&nursery. Had phone with me all the time and would do classes,go to my house, shower and then pick up

it is nice when youngest isnt at nursery every day as then can not clock watch all the time - freedom 9 - 3!!

hmm... so maybe the job is getting worse and not better. the nanny will take DD in the morning, DS at noon, and picck them both up at 3:15. I had thought this 2 1/2 hour break with no kids would appeal to someone who likes to work out.

anna - tell me about it, i LIVE at school

some days I am there 9,12 and 3 - BUT that is why my mb has a nanny for the flexibilty and she does pay me well

But how many school drop-offs will she have to do? Personally I think going to school in the morning and then again 2 h 45 mins later is a PITA and very, very tiring...

Roll on next year when all three children will be in all day school

Here in London I have to be at work at 7:30 so that is obviously not feasible. But, the nanny job I offer starts to get more attractive in September when DS starts school and nanny therefore gets 2 1/2 hours of no kids everyday.

Fair enough.

Actually though, I am quite surprised at just how long the working day is for many nannies I read about on MN - lots of nannies doing breakfast and school drop-off and then working right through to the end of the day and sometimes later. I don't know any nannies here in Paris that have early starts because parents normally drop their children at school (for 8.30 am or even 9 am) on their way to work. I appreciate that the logistics and working hours are very different in London.

Anyway, as someone who knows what it is like to be a mother at home all day with childcare/errands to do, I think that anyone who starts early and has that kind of on-the-go job really deserves a good sit down (if not a nap) middle day

funny

But, current nanny is not inclined to snooze on the job. She likes to go to the gym a lot. So was trying to think of something that would enhance her gym experience.

Athene - maybe, if you think your nanny is overworked, you could invite her to let herself have a little snooze on the sofa after lunch? (if the children are at school or asleep themselves, of course)

whoops - you are right

sorry henry7thwife

I guess I could just ask her.

Actually, we are hijacking here. Should probably get back to the topic at hand.

is there any way of checking she used the voucher, ie ring the spa place - did it have a ref/code on it?

maybe do a voucher for a nice/posh resturant - my ex boss did that, hubby and i went - it was lovely and when we read the drinks list and bottle of most exp champers was £600 we didnt have a bottle of that

yes my charges is asleep at mo, hence the typing /reading on here but i am def not asleep

Imananny, I agree that an office job is easier than looking after young children -- unless of course they are sleeping. And you are sleeping too then looking after the young children is definitely easier.

However, I did say earlier that I wouldn't make a big issue of the day time nap, especially since she obviously works hord and get all of required duties done. So what's the harm?

Lunch hour? You are joking, right?

Now that Sainsbury's sandwich I'd have a fit about.

I'm starting to feel me overworked nanny should get another spa voucher... I don't know if she actually used the last one though. Maybe I should get her something else. Like a voucher to the shop at the club. She might like that better in fact....

1. Yes, my nanny sometimes takes the children out to lunch - I expect to get the bill;
2. Eating what you have in the fridge is fine as well. I will often tell our nanny what I am going to use for dinner, so that it won't be used for the meals throughout the day;
3. No, never had a nanny that napped.. would find it rather odd. I would expect them to sit down relax for a bit and then get on with anything that they could see needed doing - tidy playroom, empty dishwasher etc.

I think if this poor woman is working until 9pm half the time, is doing overnights etc she doesn't really have a life of her own. I think a bit of slack over wanting to sit in a cafe sometimes with the rest of humanity seems the least you can offer. I'm always desperate to get out of the house with my kids, and beg them to come to cafes with me!

Isn't a child's meal at Pizza Express about a fiver? Was she meeting up with other people there? I know a fantastic nanny who takes her charges to Pizza Express for tea sometimes.
If she is up before six am and works 12 hour shifts, I bet she falls asleep sometimes! I wouldn't call that a 'nap'. I'd call that exhaustion. And surely better a rested nanny who is able to be enthusiastic in the afternoon than a drained one? I don't suppose you mean she climbs into your bed for a three hours snooze, do you?

squiffy - who me?

a lot of my friends work in an office and get an hour for lunch - though agree not all do

Pray tell us, what is this 'lunch hour' of which you speak?

if i do an over nighter - i charge bs rate £10ph 7 - 12 ( 50) and then a sleep over rate of £30 so £80 in all

I do think that every now and again, it is good for children to eat out at a resturant/pizza express and learn how to eat/socialize in public.

Im kanackered today, so could be tempted to have a little snooze now while charge asleep but i wont,reading&replying here and internet surfing will keep me awake

athene - yes you may work same hours as your nanny, but i personally feel that looking after young children is harder than an office job - and generally in an office you get a lunch hour ( though not always) so thinking about it, if the nanny wants to have a snooze in her so called lunch hour ( when child alseep) then not the end of the world

waits to be yelled at *