A Nanny's role?

[coco2901]

Hi All,

Before I start, please don't stone me down for this if I'm way off the mark, I genuinely don't know and don't know where else to ask.

I am expecting my first child and need to go back to work pretty quickly. I initially assumed I would get a childminder, but actually a nanny would be better suited to our needs with such a small baby ie being in our own home. Obv the cost is much higher, I wondered if a nanny would undertake any housework as part of their role? I ask as the only way we could afford the higher rate is if we got rid of the cleaner...

Thanks

A nanny should do housework associated with the baby; laundry, cooking food (when it's old enough!) and cleaning up after that. S/he won't expect to cook or clean for you.

But you could advertise the post as nanny/housekeeper?

The cost of a nanny is much much higher than a childminder.

Nannies will do things like:

Load/Unload the dishwasher
Load/Unload the washing machine and hang things to dry.
General vacuum
Make you a cake
Might even make you something for dinner.

Your cleaner will do things your nanny probably won't, such as cleaning the toilets/bathroom, polishing/dusting.

My nanny does the cooking for the children

Plus their laundry, tidies their rooms, keep the areas they use in the day tidy etc

She has, on occasion, done general cleaning for me

nannynick, that would be fine, just the dishwasher and a hoover round the communal areas would be fine. OH is cutting back his hours so he could pick up the rest.

Thanks

A nanny generally won't do things a cleaner does, but, if you were upfront from the start and advertised the role as needing someone willing to takecleaning on as well then there Shouldn't be a problem.
Problems arrise when duties change without warning nes the nanny accepts the post.

Sorry for typos, new phone.

Advertise for a Nanny/Housekeeper - that way there will be no misunderstandings about your expectations.

What things does a cleaner actually do? Perhaps making a list of them would help us all to identify the things a nanny would probably do and the things they wouldn't do.

I'll start off the list:

Load/Unload Dishwasher
Wipe kitchen surfaces
Mop kitchen floor

Load/Unload Washing Machine
Hang clothes to dry / Load/Unload Tumble
Fold clothes
Iron clothes (my personal hate, so I don't do that)
Put away folded clothes

Make beds
Change bedding

Wipe Bathroom surfaces
Clean shower & shower screen
Clean toilet (not just bung some liquid cleaner down it)

Clean silver / windows/ cupboards /skirting etc as well as thegeneral stuff.

When I was a nanny I did more than what some nannies would do.

Everything to do with the children - washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning their rooms and bathroom, shopping, errands.

I would also do any errands the parents needed doing that weren't related to the children, I would cook for the parents sometimes and do their ironing. I would do anything really that the parents asked me to do.

Iam - same here,especially if you are appreciated you don't mind going that extra mile.

I do all of the jobs on Nanny nicks previous post apart from cleaning the toilet although I will clean after my six year old charge has misaimed at the toilet.I will wipe around the bath after bath time if I have time and sweep/mop the kitchen floor after cooking or art/craft activities,glitter travels a long way.I do not generally change the parents bed.Nannies are usually pretty reasonable when asked to do something but I would prefer to be told at the interview what my duties were to be.I don`t do any of the jobs in magics post.I find that if my employers are considerate to me I am willing to go that bit further for them.I do know some nannies who would not do anything other than strictly nursery duties,so you must make sure at the interview that they would be willing to help you with housework

tbh most nannies i know are happy with nursery duties (anything to do with child basically) but wont clean/do parents laundry

saying that im flexible with my family as they are very flexible with me - so although i wont clean/iron, im happy to go to dry cleaners or take dog to vet etc

i think you either need to get a nanny+cleaner rather than nanny/hk

a cm+cleaner will still be less then a nanny and no cleaner

I'm concerned you seem to be only just able to afford a nanny - because you said you could only afford one by not having a cleaner.

Have you factored in the following costs:

heating on most of the day, as the house will now be occupied
payroll company, unless you are doing the nanny's tax and NI yourselves
cost of advertising for a nanny/agency fee
kitty money
cost of lunch, drinks and snacks for the nanny
cost of missed work/temp nanny if the nanny is sick/on holiday

Have you looked into nanny shares?

I do parents laundry... far too much hassle to sort it all out, do separate washes for different people. I do things more on colour and fabric type of the item.

Some of us nannies also do other tasks which are not part of our usual duties - rat catching, chicken chasing, DIY tasks (plumbing, electrics, putting up shelves, painting, fixing the central heating boiler, fixing stair gates, fixing the computer), calling out contractors (for example major sewer blockages).

A nannies duties can be hard to write down in full, as a nanny is there to care for the children and also for the home. So if things go wrong which are home related, then the nanny is in a position where they can sort things out better than a parent who is at work.

Agree with FlyingSquirrel, have you looked at all the costs involved. Example Costs of Employing A Nanny

Hi, Ive been a nanny for a year and ive done all sorts. the children were (3, 4 and 7)

Cleaning kids rooms
Hovering house
cleaning bathrooms
ironing kids clothes
cooking the tea for children only

Picking up/taking kids to nursery

HAving them all full time in the hols (maybe the odd day off)

light bits of shopping

baking cakes for birthdays

running errands for parents such as going to post office

Stopping in waiting for parcels

taking kids to appointments

:) x

Oh and i also had a book where i would put all the recipts of things that i have bought for the children. eg. cookie, drink, etc while out with the children. and then id just ask for more money once id used all the money from the bowl!

( obv i paid for my own coffee etc. bt some times for things lke paying to enter a play park id charge the parents half of what i payed)

:) x

please dont forget that if you employ a nanny for more than 2 years she will be entitled to a redundancy package when the job comes to an end, also if she becomes pregnant you are obligated to pay her maternity benefits (most of which you can claim back)

I wouldn't advertise for a nanny/housekeeper for a baby as you'll get loads of cleaners lured in by the high rate who aren't great nannies (this was our experience!).

For a baby, I'd want an experienced nanny first and foremost tbh.

Kate2289 - that is all normal nanny stuff :)

Would you be happy to Hoover parents bedroom/clean their toilet/polish their photos/clean their oven?

All things our wonderful cleaner does but I wouldn't

We have a cleaner, so our lovely Nanny does hardly anything in that department, but we expect her to/ help with:

Putting away the DC's clean clothes
Cooking lunch, tea, and sometimes supper for them, and doing the appropriate tidying up afterwards. She only has to do the washing up when our cleaner isn't there, otherwise she does loads the dish washer.
Help the DT's tidy up their rooms, and keep DD2's room tidy
Run DC related errands
Take the DC to and from nursery, playgroups, friend houses ect... She is great at this and often arranges play dates with the other nanny's which the DC love :)
TireouttheDC and keep them suitably entertained

All of this is in her contract but she is fab, and we have had no issues so far touch wood :o

If you can only just afford the nanny, then tbh, I would consider other options, as someone else has pointed out, over and above their salary costs, there are a bunch of other "hidden" costs that you never think of upfront. I would really look at a childminder.

Its not that we can only just afford it, I worded that badly, its that in order to justify it against what OH would earn by working instead of staying home himself... We only need a couple of days a week and there seem to be a few nearby who would be available for that.

Thanks

thats the problem, many parents face, of it is worth having little disposable income for a few years to have a nanny/childcare

guess depends how much you/dh like your jobs and if in a few years time you can go up the career ladder and earn more,thus sacrificing earnings now iyswim

@blondeshave more fun

Hiya yeah id be happy to do that, sometimes i did them sort of things. at one point i was scrubbing all the skirting boards etc

Often cleaned all the toilets etc because the children use them to.

Ahhhh how i wish to be a nanny again! its so hard finding a family in my area!