How much is one day nanny expected to do on the chores side?

[FlusteredFairy1]

I have been working part time for a family for over a year it started off as 2 days. It has now gone down to 1 day. Still paid same date £10phg. I keep kitchen and playroom clean and tidy as a matter if course. I arrange play dates, do crafts and cooking with the children. Son is at school in day. We play games together go scooterring and cycling after school. We go out to places in my car, mileage paid.

Mum wants me to generally clean through? do ironing(childrens) change beds(children), empty dishwasher, batch cook when LO at play group for 2 hours. Do I not get a 1 hour break?
AIBU

Think you need to sit down and chat to mum

Not possible for you to do everything and not should she expect it all as you are there one day

It's fine to do one thing off that list so either batch cook or do some ironing or change beds and put washing on etc

Being a part time nanny 3days I have always said to employers that I am happy to do nursery tasks but they need to rem that I am not there full time so for example I can put washing on change beds and batch cook but come Thursday they will also have to do washing etc

Tbh usually a one day nanny wouldn't do what you are doing but think as you have started at 2 days and gone down to one the mum hasn't reliesed you will have less time

Thanks Blondeshavemoefun It is because LO is at play group for 2 hours.

Are you at home for 2 hours, or is that the total time the child is at playgroup?

If you are at home for 2 hours between school runs then I would say have a sit down break for half an hour, and then you could alternate say change the beds every week, and then either iron or batch cook alternate weeks. I don't think you should be doing general cleaning though.

It would only take 10 minutes to unload the dishwasher while children eat breakfast though, and surely you need to be able to refill it during the day?

I make a game of dishwasher with LO, she empties or loads! unbreakables. You are quite right it is short easy job.
I usually wash and dry up as find stuff in dishwasher not particularly clean.
Also parents leave their dishes for me to do?

I am really not a jobs worth or shirker. I take pride in cleanliness of environment. I just feel I am being taken advantage of.

This TALK board is excellent as it gives me things to reflect on and see things in fresh light.

I appreciate the time people take to reply to my comments.

I would make beds possibly change the bedding on abed. I would load/unload the dishwasher, put a laundry load on. I might set the breadmaker going. Might vac the floor in heavy use areas.
I would no do ironing (but that may just be due to me being rubbish at it).

2 hours is not that much time though quite a bit can be done and some things can be done pre/post pre-school.

Nannies don't get a break, I am very lucky that in my job I do get a break some days but that is not usually the situation in nannying.

I feel the key thing to remember is that you are there to make the parents life easier, not just care for the children.

Finding the right balance between care and housework can be tricky. Helps if everyone involved is realistic.

I would prob do dishwasher while child was eating breakfast and put a load of laundry in then. Then when childs at playgroup, I would hang laundry up/put it in tumble drier. I think you need to chat with your boss and say its not poss to do all that but maybe compromise. Tbh changing beds shouldn't take too long and maybe you could cook a meal and freeze it. I think I would say that the dishwasher and changing childs bed is fine but you can't do both ironing and batch cooking so it might be that you do one or the other.
I have a friend who has similar issue. She used to do 4 full days and then it went to 2 half days ie 2-7. The family still expected her to get everything done but as she doesn't start til the afternoon and needs to cook dinner for the boys, pick them up from school and do homework/activities etc she doesn't have much time. So she picks up laundry and puts it in machine but her boss has to finish it off from whatever stage its at when my friend finishes. She now only does one afternoon and she chatted to them and she cooks the boys dinner but does enough so she can freeze a batch and she only does laundry if its something that needs doing for the next day. she will do small amount of ironing(the first hour is childfree and she quite often cooks when the boys do homework)

You should get a break, but you can still do some of those jobs too. Emptying the dishwasher, changing the beds and the batch cooking can be done while the children are there. You can do some ironing while the lo is at playgroup. You might need to explain to mum that some of the crafts/trips out might have to stop if she wants you at home cooking/changing beds. I would say general cleaning is beyond the remit of a nanny.

Are you paid for all of the time you are there? Most jobs have a lunch break, but it is unpaid. I don't mean that I think that everything you have been asked to do is reasonable, but I would expect your lunch break to be unpaid if you don't have a child to care for during that time.

I'm not a nanny, but I have to say it would piss me off if the parents left their dirty breakfast dishes around for me to deal with.

sue nannies dont have lunch breaks as such, but they do/are allowed time to relax either when kids asleep/at school/nursery etc - or if at home then to play by their selves by nannies feet while they sit and have a cuppa

and i would leave employers dirty dishes for them to wash up

I get that nannies don't have lunch breaks when they have children with them all day as they are responsible and on duty for the whole time. But when the child is out of the house and you have a genuine 30 min or 1 hour break for lunch during which you do no work, why would this be different to other jobs where you don't get paid for your lunch break? I wouldn't pay for someone to sit in my house doing sweet FA for an hour in the middle of the day - it doesn't make any sense. But I don't think that you should be expected to do non-nanny work either or more than reasonably fits in the time available.

I quite agree with you. I have thought about suggesting I am not paid for those hours so that I can go home.

If that is what you would prefer then say it! If they want a cleaner for 2 hours then they really should get a cleaner. I doubt that anyone goes into nannying as a backdoor route into cleaning. I am also aware that the rate for "nanny-housekeepers" is higher than for nannies, but this is what they are trying to turn you into. I think that 10phg would be pretty low for a nanny-housekeeper.

I don't think nanny is one of those jobs where you take an unpaid lunch hour. I have never, ever heard of parents dropping their nanny's wages for 30mins because the nanny had the audacity to sit down and eat a sandwich! I can't imagine any nanny agreeing to that. It's more of a give/take relationship than 'you were sitting down for 30 mins we need to dock your wages'.

Oh dear! Big sigh!
What to do, what to do?
So many different good suggestions.
There is a definite 'we pay you so you do what we say' approach by parents.

I have a nanny one day a week for a 3 year and 1 year old. My two DC are in nursery for the other three days. I expect no household work at all. She cooks for the children and cleans up any food related mess, stacks dishwasher and occasionally cooks a cake as an activity with my eldest ( while younger sleeps). That's fine. She's good and engages with my children. I'm happy with that. In your situation I would pay you for your time while the youngest is pre school and give you one manageable task a week that would take about an hour. I would not expect you to complete all my household tasks for a week in that time...

I expect you have a very happy nanny who feels valued and appreciated. Good on you, toomsnywheeliebins xx

If nanny has an unpaid break, what happens if a child needs to come home from school at that time, such as they are ill? Would nanny say, "sure I can come once my break is over". I don't see that working well. There is an "on-call" element to the job when older children are involved.

Not doing parents dishes I feel is petty. Nanny is not there just to do things for the children but to help with whatever the family needs in my view.

Nanny becoming nanny-housekeeper I feel is what happens as children get older. Pay does not tend to increase but there is still pay for all hours, regardless of children being present. So isn't that better for all, rather than trying to work out when nanny is on unpaid break, when they are oncall, when they are working?

"We pay you, so you do what we say" - isn't that the case in all jobs? The employer has control over what happens, if they choose to micromanage rather than let employees decide for themselves what is reasonable to do.

I have to disagree and say that the nanny is not the family dogsbody. If she clears up after the parents and does general housework/cleaning it's a slippery slope then to becoming a full time cleaner with a little bit of childcare on the side! Value your nanny and her child-related skills, you don't want her exhausted from all that drudgery!

You raise good points Cindy34. However, I am a nanny not a house keeper. Have you seen the pile of dishes? I am nanny for their children not cleaner! Though saying that might get better pay.
I am employed as a trained experienced nanny.
I do love the chat on this site. It is quite addictive.

So is the solution to only care for babies and toddlers?

Or maybe only doing before/after school care for older children and not be oncall during the time they are at school?

Absolutely.
Also to set clear expectations in contract, including changes that can occur when children start play group etc.
Most importantly ensure that the relationship with parents is spot on.