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Original poster

Nanny and her mobile phone... wwyd?

107 replies

mummywoowoo · 01/03/2010 09:37

I have noticed when working at home that my nanny ALWAYS has her mobile with her, no matter what they are doing; and I've heard the text noise go - so its sometimes switched on - or was on that occasion.

Now when I'm at work, my phone is on silent - although I have it close by just in case DS is ill and she needs to ring me. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for her to have her mobile at work so she can get hold of me. But often I am in the same house, working ...and I am concerned that she may be texting when she's supposed to be entertaining the DS! She is supposed to be working after all.

She has no children, her family live abroad so not sure if she has any elderly relatives who are at death's door etc...and that would require her to have her phone with her at all times.

Apart from being 10 mins late EVERY morning (which I am dealing with separately) we are happy with her and DS seems happy.

What would you do? I am not great at confrontation and personality wise I feel she would get angry and defensive if I asked her about it... I don't want to spy on her to see if she is using the phone or not!

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Bleenherbe · 01/03/2010 10:06

I don't have a problem with nannies texting / using mobile as long as they don't do what one nanny did and sit on a bench in the park constantly looking at phone rather than toddlers. it comes down to whether the person is sensible and trustworthy generally!

nannynick · 01/03/2010 10:02

If she puts the phone on silent, then you would not know if she was sending or receiving texts.

Nannying isn't like other jobs... it is very lonely. Is your DS's care suffering? Is he happy? Is he getting out and about meeting children of similar age? Is he seeing the world around him?

Look at the bigger picture... is the texting really affecting the care of your DS?

nannynick · 01/03/2010 09:58

Mobile phones are todays method of communication. I use it alot to communicate with my boss (either by text, Twitter, or e-mail) and with other childcarers whom I meet up with. In the morning my phone will often beep quite a bit, as other childcarers are letting me know what they are doing and asking if we are meeting up - the children love getting together with other children they know.

I avoid taking voice calls during my working day, as those could take up some time and my attention. Whereas looking at and responding to a text does not take much time at all and can be done when I have spare moment. Most texts I get and send are work related.

As employer you can set the rules but I would consider this to not be something to get overly concerned about... the lateness issue is far more important.

Original poster
mummywoowoo · 01/03/2010 09:57

hmm.. but when I am in the same house she doesn't need to text or call me! There are no playdates... they do other things.

I know that texts take seconds but even so that's not the point - I think personal calls / texts are really inappropriate at work, unless emergencies obviously.

I don't hang around and watch what she's doing tbh, so I don't actually know if she spends ages texting and on facebook etc... but I'm not the spying sort!

I guess I sort of want to say to her I'm ok with having your phone on, and as long as you're not on it all the time! (But I am a wimp so that's the problem I guess!) Plus I also don't want to upset the relationship... and also I know how lonely it can be and a few texts here and there cheers you up!

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nbee84 · 01/03/2010 09:49

Wouldn't even have occurred to me to turn my phone off or have it on silent while I'm working and I agree with simplyme if my boss came to me with that request it would look very petty and I'd be more than a bit peeved!

nbee84 · 01/03/2010 09:47

Ummm.... as a nanny I always have my phone in my pocket - switched on and not on silent. I get texts from nannies about playdates. A parent might call me. I send texts occasionally (takes seconds!) If a friend were to phone I would answer and tell her I was working and that I'd call back.

As a Mum do you never take calls or send/receive texts while your children are with you? I really can't see the problem with your nanny having her phone on - unless she is spending lots of time sending texts or chatting.

Simplyme · 01/03/2010 09:43

TBH the person who call's or texts me the most in the day is my MB. Also I often arrange playdates or check things like school matches etc by text with other parent/nannies etc. I do also have quick texts re things like what time are we meeting tonight etc?

I work really hard all day and I don't thing taking a few second out now and then is really that big a deal.

If you were my MB and brought this up I would prob be a bit pissed off and think you were being very petty. If she is working hard and children are happy then why worry about her getting a few texts in the day?

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