How much TV time should nanny give kids

[yadayadaa]

When watching a three year old and one year old ?

@NotAnotherBathBomb yup I can recognise that. However I'm responsible for my kids on my own 24 hours a day.

The nanny is there for 8 hours a day. Two of those hours, the baby naps. I pay her money to look after my kids, so she can try a bit harder not to just let them watch TV all day while I prepare lunch for everyone and clean up after it too ( on my own)..

I completely appreciate how hard it is to look after my kids. But she clocks off at 5. I never do. So it's very very different.

She's not lifted a finger since she's started. I've done all the cooking and cleaning and I don't mind. But I don't see why the TV is on so much when I'm doing it all right now and she's literally baby sitting at the
Moment. She's not really doing the job of a nanny at this time.

Of course I don't mind my three year old watching TV while the baby naps and the nanny is clearing the table after food or while she's prepping food. But she's not done this yet, as I'm here doing it.

Watching TV 'all day' is very different. Ti be fair you didn't give an amount of time.

If you're paying a lot of money, just get a more qualified/experienced person. Is she charging the going rate for the area? Babysitting rates tend to be cheaper than nannying rates, she can't provide the same type of service on a nanny rate.

Did you have a rule that the nanny must be on their feet at all times throughout the day? How did you know they stuck to this?

I'd be fine with a bit for the 3yo while the 1yo naps after lunch, mine have definitely benefited from a bit of quiet time at that time of day at that age. Wouldn't begrudge the nanny a break either.

None, I would say, especially not for the 1 yo.

Maybe a little bit for 3 yo occasionally, with a specific programme chosen and put on just for that.

This is someone you’re paying, and who gets to go home at the end of the day. They need to do their job, and there are quiet activities you can do with a three year old.

Also if you want her to do food prep, clearing up etc you need to ask her to do it/ put it in her contract.

Willing to bet that she hasn't got a contract...

Yes she knows it's part of her responsibilities to cook for the kids / do their laundry / clean up after etc.

But as I'm here for a few days, I'm doing it and she's not offered to help at all and is just minding the children.

Once I disappear I'm sure she'll do it. She's more baby sitting right now.

My god some of these comments are peak MN.

No TV unless you’re there narrating it?! How bloody annoying would that be!

Op, I think you need to leave her to it. I know you're planning to but it must be hard for her finding her way with the children and the house while you're there. Boundaries about who does what are blurred and she probably doesn't want to step on your toes. I think you need to leave her to it for a few weeks then see how things change.

Absolutely. That's the plan anyway. But I still think slightly less TV right now is appropriate.

I've told her before while she was baby sitting not to let them watch too much TV. So she knows.

Could you help her formulate a vague timetable for the day? Putting in tv time, meals, chores, groups, outdoor activities, nap times etc to help her see what you expect her to do? I've never had a nanny so unsure how it works but I know that would help me.

@Sherrystrull I've had nannies before where at the beginning there was a period of me being around to get them used to stuff and they were just a little more helpful and also just interested in the running of things and how we do things in the house. So asking about routines and where things go, where things can be found. Volunteering to do certain tasks, like changing the child etc. wiping a face covered in chocolate. There's just not much of this kind of stuff happening. But I'll give it all the benefit of the doubt.

@IceMagic

No I don't. When the children are napping I ask her to take the first 45 minutes for herself as a break (helping herself to any food in the house including the items I know she likes and so I buy just for her) and then after her break I have a list of suggested light chores for the rest of the nap (folding childrens laundry, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping under the table where the children eat, tidying the toys away). When the children are awake I am clear I don't expect her to do any chores I would rather she engage with the children (reading books, doing craft, playing games, playground) etc.

This is all pretty standard for a nanny.

I trust her and she does a great job.

As I said before, just set out your expectations, pay accordingly and it will be a lot smoother.

Zero screen time is absolutely fine (we had a nanny for 5+ years). On occasions she could of course show a short video on a specific topic - I remember a video clip about fruits and veg and vitamins, but not just put the kids in front of the TV so she can have a break.
Down time for the nanny (or a SAHM!) would be for example

• the kids are playing safely (for ex in a playpen, or quiet activity like reading) and she can have a coffee while keeping an eye on them but letting them play by themselves
• kids are at a playgroup or class
• kids are napping
• kids are strapped in the buggy and she goes for a walk with other nannies
• a playdate is happening with other nannies and they supervise the kids together while chatting / relaxing

We are all humans though, and the odd movie afternoon is of course ok if she feels under the weather / the kids are especially difficult or
unwell / it has been raining non stop for days… just not part of the daily routine.

I would say what you give them is relevant.. not necessarily out of fairness to the nanny, but for fairness and consistency for the dc.

Well then do that and save the money for occasional babysitting when you can't.

3 pages in and nobody has mentioned what is on the TV! Some TV is fantastically educational, some is just bad for brains. My kids learned so much about how the world works from Topsy and Tim!

P.S. I would have an issue with any Nanny having TV on for more than half hour a day though! But the term "Nanny" is used lightly here - she was your babysitter - so not a trained Nanny? Stands to reason her view of TV will not be the same as a professional Nanny.

I’m a Nanny, I let my charge watch 30 mins of tv a day. But we are very active so he needs down time.

When mine was a baby to the best of my knowledge our nanny didn't use tv as a babysitter at all. Now mine is older and we nanny share with another family. Our nanny tends to put the tv on while she is out of the room cooking dinner, which I think is fine.

But she's not a NANNY! You hired a babysitter, knowing full well that she's never even been a nanny before. She doesn't know what the protocol is, if you need her to chip in with stuff, then tell her!

Hilarious all these comments that imply the nanny shouldn’t need a break and be ‘on’ all day because she’s being paid and ‘gets to switch off’ at the end of the day. We are not all just young people or spinsters in the nannying world you know. Bloody rich to assume that a nanny has no other commitments apart from being totally indispensable to your household and children. We don’t just manifest at 7am like Mary Bloody Poppins.

On my long working long my long days (12 hours with an hour commute either side) I go back to my own household and my child and the stuff that entails. You bloody bet I’m going to ‘sit on my backside’ for an hour in the day. It’s called having a break, just as I imagine the parents take in their professional jobs.

And how mentally exhausting is it for the person having to do it?