lazy nanny

[riab]

Hi all,

How do you gently tell a nanny she needs to do more?

I have a nanny who looks after my 15 month old 30 hrs a week.

She is a lovely girl but recently I have felt she was getting relaly lazy. She is suppoused to take care of ds things - so washing / ironing his clothes, cooking his food, tidying his toys and making sure they are working, etc.

Now I do the cooking for him and I don't mind that as I'm a nutritionist so i'm quite fussy.

But every night for the past 2 weeks me or dh has got in from work to find otys all over the living room, washing up from tea still in the sink, a pile of his clean clothes (which I washed the night before) not ironed or put away so he had no clean PJ's upstairs. dirty clothing left in a heap with a dirty nappy bag by his toybox, crumbs and food over the rug and his nursery an absolute tip!

I wouldn't even mind if she had been too busy because they were out and about at activities as I have asked her to make sure he is more active now to ensure he sleeps well. But they had spent the morning in the garden and watched 3 episodes of a DVD (1 1/2 hrs).

[riab]

Well as far as the ironing (and any other potentially dangerous or tricky jobs) he sleeps for 2 hours every lunchtime so there is plenty of time then.

Nannynick - who irons your shirts then?

[NannyL]

I agree that ironing shouldnt really be done when little babies / toddlers are crawling around under your feet...

BUT when they are that small they normally have a sleep in the day anyway....

AND when they are out growing there sleep they still often need a quiet time (my 4 year old often has 30 mins of tv after lunch to recharge), and i find it very easy to iron over the other side of the room while she sits on the sofa relaxing...

by this age they are old enough to know and be told that irons are hot and very dangerouse and that you dont touch them... ever


Its completely normal for nannies tobe expect to wash and iron the childrens clothes and most of us manage to do it and do it safey

[JellyNump]

What about if you typed a job description and maybe a sort of timetable with the chores you expect her to do around your house? Maybe just say 'I know theres a lot to do, so perhaps this might help you keep track of what needs doing'?

[milge]

I would be unhappy at 1.5hrs solid tv time, unless my child or the nanny were ill. My nanny does their ironing either when they are in playgroup one morning a week, or during their nap. I would be unhappy at the iron being out whilst they were playing nearby. My nanny strucutres her days, so monday is laundry day, changing sheets, ironing, Wednesday is cooking, doing big stews/batch cooking, Thursday is cleaing their rooms and changing beds and Friday is ironing their clothes worn since monday. I think the op's nanny needs a few pointers - I would not be happy coming back to a house in complete disarray - its like that when I am there!

[kickassangel]

btw, how much does a nanny cost? i've looked at this list, and realise i could ditch my cleaner & nursery, if i could afford a nanny instead!

[NannyL]

kissangel.... nannies are not cleaners..... we are proffesional CHILD carers.

I know i cost my boss over £25k of THEIR NETT salary + expenses + things like clubs and activities + 40p per mile.... and i drivethe children around about 150miles per week. 9cause they live in the middle of nowhere)

Most people who employ a nanny have a cleaner as well.... at least everyone ive ever worked for, and all my nanny friends 'families' as well.

I most certainly would NOT work where i was expected to clean.... to nannies your home is our office.... and how many people are prepared to clean their office?

[NannyL]

my boss spendsover £3k per year on her cleaners too!

[riab]

NannyL, not everyone who has a nanny can afford a cleaner as well, you are lucky to work for a rich family in that respect.

I don't expect my nanny to act as a cleaner - but I do expect her to fulfill ALL the duties which go along with caring for a child. And that does include tidying his toys, cooking hsi food, doing his laundry.

Your point about not cleaning the office - well I think the type of person who leave half empty coffee cups all over their desk at work is a slob, so I think a nanny who does that in the house is a slob. In an office your tidy your own desk - a cleaner might come in to hoover/clean the office as a whole. Same principle in our house, I tidy/clean the house and sort out my stuff. Nanny I expect to tidy/celan all child related things.

[NannyL]

riab.... sorry but NANNIES are proffessional CHILD carers..... we are NOT cleaners....

and you cant EXPECT a nanny to do your cleaning... and nor should you cause its NOT our job

kickass angel said she would get rid of cleaner AND nursary, and you can NOT expect a nanny to do the job of a cleaner.... becuase that is NOT what we are.

If you wanna sack the cleaner fine, then but expect to clean YOUR house YOURself....

BTW if you read down this post you will see that I quote MYSELF: "I would personally be embarrassed if when the parenst came back the house was a tip, the washing / ironing wasnt done, the dishes werent washed etc (that after all is my job and what im paid to do)

I pride myself in leaving an immaculate kitchen every night"

Its is a nannies to job to look after their CHILDREN..... which includes their washing and ironing.... and keeping a tidy playroom, childrens bedrooms and childrens bathroom (if different to parents bathroom).... also to tidy up after OURSELVES... thats it.

I stand by the fact that nannies arnt cleaners... we are proffesionals and thankfully most of our bosses treat us as such

[riab]

NannyL

"I tidy/clean the house and sort out my stuff. Nanny I expect to tidy/clean all child related things. "

[NannyL]

well thats fine then (and im not suggesting you dont).... its that kickassangel wants to swap nursary and cleaner for a nanny and nannies are NOT cleaners.... (with the exception of the childrens things)...

im suggesting to her that it is not a good idea and that she is very unliekly to find a proffesional nanny to be a cleaner as well ..... cause thats not what us nannies do!

[riab]

Oh no, and tbh if even with a kid at nursery (ie not in the hosue messing up during the day) you need a cleaner i'd say it was highly unlikely oyu'd get away without a cleaner if kid was at home!

Spekaing from experience here - just spent 1 hr clenaing sofa after DS quietly smeared banana down all the cracks! All I can say is thank god for leather upholstery that is wipeable!

[kickassangel]

nannyl i really didn't intend to suggest that a nanny is a cleaner, it's just that looking at the list of jobs expected to be done by a nanny, which you deemed to be reasonable, it is MORE than my cleaner does! i wouldn't expect a nanny to clean up after me & dh, just the areas that dd occupies, but my cleaner does not have anything to do with preparing, getting in food, laundry or rubbish, just hoovers, mops etc after we've tidied up. it just occurred to me that anyone who was doing that much tidying up after dd would actually be cutting down on my current workload, so i could then do other bits of cleaning, e.g. nanny tidiess dd bedroom, so i have time to clean the bathroom, iyswim. it would also mean dd got 1-1 care in her own home, rather than going to a nursery.

once again if apologise if i caused offence, i obviously hit a raw nerve. i would appreciate it if you clairified my points in future, rather than jumping down my throat. i was genuinely surprised at the list of jobs expected of a nanny, i always assumed they 'purely' cared for the child - it had never occurred to me that a nanny might do ironing!

[kickassangel]

so, is £25 k per annum, a normal amount for a nanny? does it depend on hours, no of children, jobs etc? at that amount, for many people a nanny is cheaper than nursery etc if you have more than one child!

[Uwila]

No, £25k is not normal. That is what the very wealthy pay. You could get a live-in nanny with a little experience (couple years in a nursery kind of thing) for a little over half of that.

NannyL is very well paid. VERY

[nannyj]

I earn £24,000 a year and i'm live-in in London, But what you pay definately depends on where you are living and the age and experience of your nanny. Like Uwila said you can pay less for a nanny just starting out in their career who needs to gain more experience. I think if you can afford a nanny it's a great idea because i do lots of extra jobs and run errands to take the pressure of my boss .

[NannyL]

Ok.... although i agree that im well paid im NOT paid that much more than other full time jobs...

also cost my boss £25k per year... thats includes MY tax and NI (obviously) + Their EMPLOYER NI that they also have to pay (which isnt part of my net pay)

Also Im qualified, experianced and I have a degree... and had 9 families fighting for me... when they knew i was leaving my current job as youngest starts full time school in september...

I agree that im paid a little bit more than avaerage.... but not that much more... but then i have a degree as well which is probably why...

One of my nanny friends is about to change jobs and she will cost her new employers about £27.5k per year!....

(we are both DAILY nannies)

[NannyL]

Ok.... although i agree that im well paid im NOT paid that much more than other full time jobs...

also cost my boss £25k per year... thats includes MY tax and NI (obviously) + Their EMPLOYER NI that they also have to pay (which isnt part of my net pay)

Also Im qualified, experianced and I have a degree... and had 9 families fighting for me... when they knew i was leaving my current job as youngest starts full time school in september...

I agree that im paid a little bit more than avaerage.... but not that much more... but then i have a degree as well which is probably why...

One of my nanny friends is about to change jobs and she will cost her new employers about £27.5k per year!....

(we are both DAILY nannies)

[NannyL]

kickassangel.... sorry somehow i didnt read your post to me.... in my last post (that posted twice)

you didnt offend me.... (and i didnt mean to jump down your throat either... sorry) it was just you said swap cleaner and nursary for nanny.... so i assumed you would want nanny to be your cleaner!

You are right, i feel passionatley that nannies are not cleaners (but there are parents who dont quite understand this ).

A nanny will basically do anything associated with children, the clothes they wear, the toys they play with and the rooms that they use (mainly their bedroom / bathroom / playroom) and clean the kitchen after themselves when they have used it to make meals etc.... sweap under the dining table etc etc

(also for example on friday me and my 4 year old charge were outside scrubbing and cleaning the little tikes house outside and the sandpit and out-door / sandpit toys so they are all clean ready for the summer)

that in itself would be a big help to a working mum who sends the child to nursary.... cause all these things need to be done in the few preciouse hours you are at home with your child... giving you more quality time with your child / yourself!

[NannyL]

Just found the annual survey of nanny salaries for 2005 (done by nanny tax / published in proffesional nanny magazine and as far as im aware the only survey of its kind)

Live-In Nannies

London: £314 net per week / £21573 gross per year
Home Counties: £278 npw / £18776 gross per year
Other cities: / towns £250 npw / £16612 gross p.y
Country: £354 npw / £16910 Gross

Daily Nannies
London: £399 npw / £28171 gross per year
Home Counties: £332 npw / £22971 gross
Other Cities / Towns: £293 npw / £19948 gross
Contry: £292 npw / £19863

As this was 2005 add about 3% for 2006

Employers contributions are then added on dependant o what the gross salary is.

Hope that clarifies things

(also nanny wages generally dont depend so much on the number of children... but do generally assume a 5 day day 8 - 6 (50 hour) week... so are more likely to go up and down depending on how many more or less than 50 hours per week the nanny works)

[kickassangel]

ok, thanks. i always thought a 'nanny' was someone with high level of qualifications, wokred at your home, and some of the posher ones came with uniforms & hats etc! i also thought they cost around £20 k, PLUS live in.
It seems some people are being called 'nannies' who are what i would call child minders? not sure if there's a technical difference, but it seems to mean a difference in money. IMO, a childminder wouldn't, for example, take care of a sick child, but a nany would (if mildly ill), as nannies have more training, and are dedicated to your family alone.

[kickassangel]

btw, nannyl, i totally agree with you. i'd rather have a messy house & child, with big smiles at the end of the day, then a spotless child who'd watched loads of tv & got bored. going back to the original post, i'd sack anyone who thought 1 1/2 hrs of dvds was professional childcare!

[mears]

riab - have only scrolled quickly through thread but I wondered whether you have hires a 'trained' nanny or just a person filling that role?

Also, in your list of jobs, there is no need to be sterilising bottles or making up milk for a 15 month old. That could reduce a bit of the workload?