Nanny calling herself mummy

[PerplexedMummy]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some advice from fellow mums as I'm really torn and not sure how to handle this situation.
I have a 7-month-old baby and recently hired a nanny to help a few days a week. She’s warm and seems to genuinely enjoy being around my baby, but she has very limited experience with children under 1 year old — and it’s starting to show.
She struggles with basic care (e.g., recently took my baby out in the sun without a hat, and when my daughter got hot and flustered, she told me she might be "allergic to the sun" 😕). I also worry about how confidently she handles feeding and developmental milestones — it feels like she’s just unaware of what’s appropriate at this stage.
But the thing that’s really bothering me is that she’s called herself “mummy” to my baby several times — saying things like “Mummy’s here!” or “Come to mummy!” when talking to her. I find this incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve tried to brush it off, but it keeps happening, and now I’m not sure if I should have a proper conversation about it or whether this is somehow common and I’m overreacting?
Has anyone else experienced this?
How would you handle it?
Thank you so much in advance — any thoughts would really help.

You have a Nanny that struggles with basic care.... just this sentence was enough for me to say fire her.
The fact that she calls herself mummy is a huge no from me.

No, I wouldn't be ok with that. Her calling herself mummy shows she doesn't really understand or care about appropriate boundaries and she doesn't understand enough about childcare to be a safe person to look after your baby.

I’d say it’s time to find a new nanny. The mummy thing is totally off, so unprofessional. And just weird. The not knowing what to do is a deal breaker anyway.

@PerplexedMummy

it's obvious surely?

"She struggles with basic care

thing that’s really bothering me is that she’s called herself “mummy”"

You need to find a new nanny

eta; if you used an agency, they need to know too

There have got to be better nannies out there, surely!

Ever seen the film ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle’ OP ….

She sounds crazy. I hope you have fired her? You can't possibly leave your child with someone who doesn't understand basic things like protecting a baby from sun. And that she calls herself mummy gives me the creeps 😱

She sounds bloody useless! Honestly I wouldn't trust her with my kid. And who calls themselves 'Mummy' to their employer's baby?!

Why did you hire an inexperienced nanny to start with? If she's more of a mothers help and you're paying in line with that then it's really a case of 'you get what you pay for'. If you need a proper sole charge nanny then you should hire someone who is experienced in doing that job.

The 'mummy' thing is really weird. Are you absolutely sure she's saying Mummy? She doesn't have a name that could be misheard does she?

Cap!

I wouldn’t bother trying to speak about it, I’d tell her it’s not working and find a competent nanny.

The mummy thing is bizarre but OP she also doesn’t know how to care for your child. You’re paying her and entrusting her with your child to come play house like a clueless 7 year old.

Where did you find her? Does she have any actual training or experience? Putting a sun hat on is very basic care.

I think that you need to find another caregiver for your child. She doesn't sound very competent and calling herself "mummy" is very very wrong!! I would be very concerned by this, she could be forming an inappropriate attachment to your child, which could lead to confusing your child at the minimum. Or she could be mentally unstable and seek to make "being mummy" a reality.

She sounds incompetent. Where was she trained? What qualifications does she have? Regardless, this isn’t working for you so I’d let her go and find someone else.

Where did you find this 'nanny'?

Is she a qualified Nanny ? It doesn’t sound like she’s up to the job anyway.

If you have concerns about her basic ability to properly care for a child I’d be getting rid straight away. Calling herself mummy would be the least of my concerns although I wouldn’t like that either, because it’s weird.

@PerplexedMummy she isnt a nanny!! she is just someone looking for a job and you employed her paying basic wage!! not qualified in childcare and sadly lacking in common sense!

I am a nanny and Id never in a million years refer to myself at mummy. That is not normal and the fact she clearly has no clue what she’s doing I’d say get rid.

I was thinking that too. Also Nighty Night- come to mumsy!

Is this woman even qualified? Have you seen evidence of qualifications, or references? Get her away from your child! She's unprofessional at best, at worst possibly even unhinged.

I opened this thread expecting to read about a difficult Nanny as in Nana/Grandmother... but this situation is far easier to handle! Fire her, obviously.

I’m a nanny, this is absolutely batshit! Is English her native language? I wonder if it could be a non native/cultural thing. Either way, it needs nipping in the bud- and I’d be considering a new nanny altogether if she’s as rubbish as she sounds.

The calling herself mummy is bad enough, but you're her employer and should be having a straightforward conversation with her, making it clear this is unacceptable and must stop.

However, she sounds woefully under qualified to be looking after a baby. You need to protect your child and find someone more suitable. Select someone with lots of experience with babies and glowing references.

Sack her. Now.

I would immediately sack her and find another.