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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Feeding the nanny

48 replies

zebedeethezebra · 25/02/2011 12:39

Can someone please tell me what is the normal stuff that you get in for nanny's lunches etc since we are fairly new to this. We have more or less given ours the run of the fridge, but I'm starting to think that now she's taking the piss a bit.

I don't want to go into too much detail, since for all I know she looks at this website!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Northernlurker · 25/02/2011 21:29

Oh come on two punnets of fruit and you're making a fuss? If you don't want it eaten then tell her but she will think you are mean.

eurycantha · 25/02/2011 23:32

I s the only thing your nanny has eaten the fruit,My boss asks me if there is anything I want her to buy,at least you have ananny who eats healthily rather than just a packet of crisps and more importantly gives your baby fruit. As the children get older and we actually get a chance to sit down and eat, I think it is good for them to have someone sitting with them even if Im just having a coffee. The children are learning table manners and I think eating is a social occasion and as long as they are eating up they like to chat and tell me what theyve been up to at school or at the weekend .If the children are home during the day I eat the same as them for lunch.

chitchatingagain · 26/02/2011 08:01

Have you ever actually TOLD the nanny that the fruit was for the week? If she doesn't know how long it would normally last then how can she know what you have 'allocated', so to speak?

I know that in our house one lot of fruit can sometimes be there at the end of the week needing to be thrown out, and other weeks goes in a day or 2. Just depends on what people feel like snacking on, how much they're around, etc.

Perhaps it would be better if you divide up the fruit and put some in a box for her?

FourFortyFour · 26/02/2011 10:28

Dividing her food up will make her feel crap .

chitchatingagain · 26/02/2011 11:19

You're right, FourFortyFour, but that's better than the unspoken resentment that the OP feels and the nanny surely will pick up and not understand why!

FourFortyFour · 26/02/2011 11:45

There is a happy medium though and it seems that some employers don't factor in extra food bills when employing a nanny.

Nothing like making the nanny know her place if her food is labelled.

cinpin · 26/02/2011 12:09

We cannot take an hour off to go out and buy lunch, so it is a perk that we can get it provided.

nanny7 · 26/02/2011 13:12

Catilla I agree with your nanny about helps with manners if you eat with the children and its good that you back her up as you want your children to have good manners etc..I worked for a family where noone eat with the child and it was considered normal to chase her around room trying to feed her!!! Once I suggest to family someone ate with her her behaviour and manners really improved..As for providing your nanny with lunch well as long as she eats the same as your children then I can't see the problem has never been an issue in any of my jobs. As long as she doesn't clean out all your cupboards, fridge and freeze of course!!

sunshinenanny · 05/03/2011 23:40

My employer buys punnets of fruit especially for myself and the child I look after and as cinpin says nannies can't just pop out at lunchtime so have always been provided with lunch

HappyHappyNanny · 06/03/2011 09:55

I have the online Ocado account and order within reason what myself and charges would like to eat.

HappyHappyNanny · 06/03/2011 09:55

I have the online Ocado account and order within reason what myself and charges would like to eat.

wizzywig · 08/03/2011 17:11

my nanny has a zillion different food allergies that are constantly changing (dont know all the details but she has told me that that is the case) so she would always be eating different meals to my kids. so i dont provide actual meals for her just gluten/ wheat/ dairy free flours, milk, fruit, etc. i wouldnt want to give her anything that would make her ill. so for me, id prefer it if she bought her own food in, i dont want to make her ill. i swear im not a mean employer!!! i had anotehr nanny who bought her child along and i bought the kids nappies and baby food so that the baby would be ok when he was over at mine.

nannyl · 08/03/2011 17:35

i think if nannies have allergies its much more normal for employers to expect them to provide more

IMO its normal for employers to have bread and cheese and milk and stuff, and the normal food that the children eat, but not to be expected to cope with fussy eaters and people who have extream allergies / intolerances so dont eat a normal diet.

Nice to keep some appropriate milk in the fridge and maybe some GF pasta, but i certainly wouldnt expect any more

mamatomany · 08/03/2011 22:14

Ours always brought her dinner with her, I don't expect my employers to feed me so not sure why a nanny would be any different unless they are live in of course.

nannynick · 08/03/2011 22:38

mamatomany - nannies are different though to normal employees as they do not usually get a lunchbreak or any rest periods during their working day (normal employees get breaks which can be taken away from the place of work.

So whilst being provided with lunch is a perk of the job, it is also in a way compensation for the lack of a break away from the place of work.

nannyl · 09/03/2011 09:06

Its completley normal for nannies to eat from the bosses fridges at work.
Like nick says, we dont get a lunch hour...
we therefore normally eat with the children, and eat the same as the do. (unless there are allergy issues)

Nannies arnt the only employees that get fed... chefs often eat the food THEY COOK as well.

I now work at an independant school, where i have my dinner cooked for me too, along with the rest of the staff and the children.
When i worked in a sandwich shop, i could have what i wanted on my lunch hour too.

mamatomany · 09/03/2011 09:10

Well mine brought her own food and I would expect that to be the case unless your boss specified it is ok.

HappyAsIAm · 09/03/2011 09:17

I am a nanny employer. I have always made sure there is enough cold cuts of meat, cheese, soup, baked beans, pasta, sauces, sausages, bacon, bread, that kind of thing for our nanny to have lunch. When she is working beyond her usual finish time of 5:45, I always get something in for her that I know she will like eg pizza, for her to have for dinner, and also say to help yourself to anything.

Its down to the relationship you have with your nanny I think. I know that ours doesn't take the mick, and is generous to us in many ways. I would like to be generous to her too in relation to food and other things.

I certainly take the point about nannies not having lunch breaks (unless the child/children they're looking after nap every day and there aren't any tasks to do). But even then, they can't leave the house to go to a shop to get something.

Bonsoir · 09/03/2011 09:18

I would expect a nanny to eat the same meal as the children, just as I expect to eat the same meal as my children.

SeeJaneKick · 09/03/2011 09:24

Two punnets is reasonable consumption. They're not boxes....as in a crate of bananas or one of those organic selection boxes which get delivered.

You're being mean.

Mtorun · 09/03/2011 10:09

Mamatomany, I wonder how offen your nannies make excuses to stop working for you! As nannynick said above " it is also in a way of compensation for the lack of a break away from the place of work"

I would never work for anyone who has a mind like yours.

nannyl · 09/03/2011 10:33

I have always had in my contract that i can eat a meal at work whenever the children do. None of my bosses have ever had a problem or questioned it as its normal!
I love cooking healthy food and often make extra portions for my bosses to eat when they get home.
If my bosses were having a party or event themselves at the weekend, the children and I might cook them a dish or bake a cake for it. (one less thing to have to worry about!)

If anyone ever quibbled it they could find themselves another nanny!

Supernanny89 · 09/03/2011 11:23

I'm a nanny and I work 8 -6, I get a 1-2 hours break when the little on is asleep but often tidy and bake for an hour then have a cup of tea and a snack, which i usually bring myself, until the baby wakes up. I bring yoghurt, fruit, or biscuits for myself as a snack. Then I have lunch with the children, whatever their having if they are both home for lunch, provided by the family. Then I go home to my partner for tea as it's also nice to have a sit down meal with him and have some adult conversation during a meal. I understand I get a break whilst the little one is alseep most days so I try not to take the piss by eating alot of their food.

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