Sorry if this offends anyone but...... 'plump' nannies?

[sunnyjim]

Is it just us or are nanny's generally 'plump'? (okay in this specific case I'm talking fat really, size 18+)

We have a new nanny, not started yet, but doing the odd half day alongside me to check that we all get along.

I just have concerns about her ability to deal with DS (active 22 month old) on a day to day basis. She finds it difficult to get up or down from the floor and I found I had to slow my pace massively when we went out to the park today.

I guess a part of me thinks that if she has a weight problem, does this reflect in her willpower/ self motivation in other areas?
Will she feed him decent food?
Will she take him to active sporty things (which he loves) or focus on sitting sitll crafty things (which he hates)

A young size 10 nanny may be more unhealthy than a larger woman. Being thin doesn't always rule out a lifestyle of eating junkfood and enjoying sitting on one's bottom, praticularly in younger women.

One of our best nannies was overweight. I didn't find it a problem at all and our much older 3 children were wise enough not to mention it. I am actually more interested in the way someone talks to my under 5s, when I had under 5s so the fact she was very clever was much more important than the running around stuff which they do naturally anyway and at nursery school did lots of active things. She took them to swimming and a gym group too.

Yes some people who are too heavy have trouble running around but usually it's not such a problem children are at risk. Lots of over weight people cook very good food for the children in their care. They arep robably also packing in the chocolate biscuits in the evenings etc like most of us who've put on weight from time to time but I never noticed a correlation between larger nannies and bad cooking/food.

This is bonkers. I've been a size 24, I'm now a size 16, hoping to get to a size 12 in the next six months and I'm still every bit as lazy as I ever was. It's about the person, not the body size - who'd have thought...?

(Good job I'm not a nanny).

Oh thanks for the entertainment. (a non plump Nanny!)

sunnyjim, why did you give her some trial seesions with your ds???? it seems to me that you had already made your mind up, you state that you dont want your son to be obese...... what a ridiculous statement, like do any of us want that????? jesus, i feel sorry for the nanny!! i just hope she went home after sessions with you and called you an uptight narrow minded obsessive idiot!! for gods sake what the hell is wrong with her putting sugar in a bowl, perhaps she was brought up with a bloody sugar bowl on her family table, and thought she was doing you a favour by filling one up, ever thought of that? you really need to open your eyes, and realise that compassion and a true love of children should be top of your list of prioritys when employing a nanny,not whether they struggle to get off the floor, at least she got down there in the first place which shows she was trying to communicate on his level. at the end of the day do what you want with regard to your ds, but your prejudice is sickening!!

another thing....... just read original post, please explain what exactly does willpower have to do with looking after children???????

I am a size 24/26 and a childminder. This week i have been looking after 6 children (2 of my own) aged 9/6/6/3/2/1. We have done loads including park numerous times, played football, soft play, swimming, sports day type comp, also loads of indoor activities and baking. My menu has been FULL of healthy foods and we also had a competion this week as to who could eat the most fruit (used stickers and winner had a magazine today)
As you can imagine when looking after young ones i am constantly on the go! YES im a fat mum BUT thats because I eat badly and on the go....the children i care for including my own eat a VERY healthy balanced diet. I can move just as fast as a skinny person and regularly do when i help out at toddler groups. I have more energy than alot of my friends. Unfortuanetly i am also aware that there are alot of people out there with the same views as yourself and i just hope you dont employ this girl then maybe she can find a family who will value her for the way she cares for there children.

Still wondering how much I should be paying per nanny kilo per hour. any thoughts?

I have to say that i have not read all the posts on this tread yet!!!

But i have to say that you better hope to god that the nanny in question dosn't read this or she will leve you to it!!!!!!! who do you think you are.

You should never of hired her if you felt that she was not going to meet you "standards"!

I find it so disapointing that there are people in the world that still think like you !

What will you do if your ds grows up and is only attracted to plus size ladys !!!!!!! there is no place in the world for such narrow mindedness.

Perhaps free sessions at the local gym as part of her package wouldn't go down well.
It's not nonsense to say larger people find it harder to run across the lawn etc. There's some truth in it. I don't think you need that agility. What I like is someone fairly bright, who knows a lot about children. My own problem is that my nanny is about 7.5 stone and the cleaner has before and after pictures of her being showing when she was about half as much again of her present weight so I am positively elephantine in comparison to them.

whats wrong sunnyjim, has the cat got your "tongue" or something????? still waiting to hear your reply. oh silly me, of course, the nanny ate it with some full fat cheese on some thick white sliced bread!!!!

smeeinit love your photos - well your humour anyway

Hope you didn't find me rude.

I don't think the fact that the nanny was plump is the problem, more than she was slow & lethargic - which of course ANYONE can be. My maternal family love their food ( a bit too much) so I am very wary of when they eat at my house, especially when my daughter is around, But of course this is my own experience & no-one elses.

The most important thing is to have someone trustworthy, kind, caring & a good role model (for me).

course i dont find you rude mojo
this is an open forum and we are all entitled to our own views/opinions.

My weight has varied over the years by about 4 stone. It certainly didn't affect what I put on my children's plates or the activities that I undertook.
The only thing I noticed was that when I was 15 stone and got on my friend's horse it used to give a big sigh...
Now that was an incentive to lose weight!

whats wrong sunnyjim, has the cat got your "tongue" or something????? still waiting to hear your reply."

No the cat hasn't got my tongue, I was spending time with DS and DH yesterday and strangly enough this afternoon it didn't occur to me in the middle of a rousing game of hide and seek that I should drop what I was doing and rush over to the computer.

I've made my apology for the wording and implications of my first post. I agree that it sounded as if I was generalising about fat poeple based on what I had observed about this girls physical fitness. I have met peopel of all sizes and shapes with a whole variety of fitness levels. Regardless of weight this girl WASN't FIT. I couldn't have known anything about her fitness before I watched her doing some trial sessions and I was trying NOT to judge fitness merely by appearances.
If she had been any other weight and showed the same inability to do phsycial activities I would have the same concerns.

I have decided that fitness/energy levels of a carer are very important to the well being of DS. So based on this girls inability to keep up with him / carry out physical play I won't be hiring her.

Just to clear up any possible doubts in anyone's mind, this trial period was agreed and we both have an option to say 'no thanks' at the end of any trial session. If she doesn't get taken on she gets full pay for all the hours she worked regardless of whether it was sole care or shadowing plus a bonus cash in hand payment for inconvinience.

I will be going through the whole procesa again now of interviewing people and despite the amount of flak I've taken on here I won't be changing my mind about what is important to me. This is my child and if I prefer him to have a carer who fulfills certain criteria (ie energetic, fit, happy) then that is what I will recruit for. I'm willing to pay for a nanny not daycare precisly because I want his childcarer - a very important person in his life; to be a good fit with his interests/needs and with us as a family.

So if anyone knows of a nanny who woudl fulfill this job spec please put them in touch:

Fit
Happy
Practical
Independant
Capable
Imaginative
'Up for it'
Competant
Professional
Good at sole working
Keeps a boundary between personal life and work
Commited to further study/training (we pay half)
Decent cook who loves trying new foods out

yeah yeah whatever sunnyjim, im not remotely interested anymore, you are narrowminded and that is a fact, plus you didnt answer my question anyway.

Sunnyjim, you never came across as narrow minded or any of the unpleasant things levelled at you. I think some people have axes to grind and can look for oppotunities to do so, don't worry about it.

fiofio, tut tut

ok
Employ yourself a pretty blonde size 0 nanny and sit back an wait

How long do you think it would be before she is playing with your hubby as well as your kids!

Hi Sunnyjim,

where are you? I,m looking for a nanny post,

I would fit your job/person spec. I,m in

Yorkshire..

auntiemary - never because i trust my husband.

nanninurse we are in Hull

Too far for me Sunnyjim.... Good luck with your search, i'm sure you will find the one.

We had one nanny turn up, visibly sweating, serveraly overweight, and complaining that the hill had nearly killed her.
She didn't get offered the job.