BLOODY TV DOCUMENTARY

[marypoppins2]

Did anyone see that documentary on ITV on Wednesday night about nannies from hell. Oh my god I wanted to go down to their head office and shake them by their suit collars.
Of course they picked the worst bunch of nannies they could find and bunched us all into the same group.
For those who didn't see it these nannies came in drunk to work, slept with their bosses husbands, charged parents for food items they didn't really buy and sat around watching tv all day with the subtitles on.
It makes us all sound like half wits and slackers and hopefully any sane parents out there would realise it was all about sensationalism and not a true professional nanny's character.
It's hard enough at the moment to find a nanny job and to convince the parents to trust you with their children, without having these idiots worry parents unneccessarily. I'm sure some nannies are like that but they are in the small minority and most of us respect our bosses, work places and role in the family.
The flip side of it is that it was all 'oh poor parents, these awful nannies' nothing was said about the trials that nannies have to put up with. I bet every nanny out there has a list of unreasonable demands parents have made, things they've had to put up with and jobs from hell.
If there are any tv producers reading this then please by all means contact me as between myself and my nanny circle we could fill up a 3 hour programme or even a series.

'Again childminders aren't always able to do this due to lack of materials at their house or not being able to go to the library and do research with the older children due to having little ones.'

On the contrary Marypoppins2, CMs HAVE to have a wide variety of resources for ALL the children in their care, no matter the age range, development stages etc. I am continually buying new resources for the children in my care... as they develop, interests change, they need new stimulus etc.

CMs will be rapped on the knuckles by OFSTED (and their inspection report would show this too) if they don't. It's a must-have for us.

And me getting to the library has never been a problem for me, there is storytime for the little ones etc. My parents and I work well together (open communication), and no one child has ever held another back.

If I did get a parent who told me they didn't like us going to feed the horses, or they didn't want their child to go to the park for fear of the child falling etc. (overprotective), I would not be able to offer that parent a contract, as my current mindees take preferance. My setting wouldn't suit her then obviously, and she'd have to look elsewhere.

There are pros and cons in everything... and that's why it's crucial that parents do their homework and use the right childcare for their own children's needs. I have parents who hate the thought of using a nanny, I also have seen people on MN say they wouldn't use a CM. We are all different and there's nothing wrong with that.

But one form of childcare is NOT better than another. As a CM with an outstanding grade, I would never look down on a CM with a lesser grade, as I would never look down on APs or nannies. It's just not fair or particularly nice imo.

There's certainly a hierarchy in terms of costs, but I actually don't think there's much of a difference in terms of quality of care between a childminder and a nanny. Obviously if you're a nanny with only one charge it is easier to devote constant attention to them (which in itself I'm not sure is such a great idea actually!) but I'm a nanny with three charges, so actually not that different from a lot of CM set ups!

Au pairs are different in that they're not professional childcarers, and work short hours. I think a CM job is much harder work than being a nanny though, and am very grateful that the EYFS doesn't effect me! I would also pick a childminder/nanny over a nursery for the under-3s every time.

Ebb, the thing is, I'm not an exception, I know that many girls are rubbish APs but there are the ones who are good at what they do. Though I do realise that there are likely to be more APs who don't care about kids rather than nannies because the studying to be a nanny part would obviously put them off. And I don't think they are on the same level as a nanny but I don't think that they should automatically be labelled badly. A lot of people do already hire APs to do a nannies job because they're cheaper, most APs in this country are probably doing a nannies job, I remember looking for a job and most of them were 8-10 hours sole charge a day of under 5s, it was ridiculous. I agree that APs with sole charge of under 2s is a bad idea.

I also agree that CMs do a good job, I would consider CM-ing when I have my own children, but like you the paper work would put me off beforehand! Why should one type of child carer get all this paperwork whilst another doesn't?

& Willow, I would rather have a CM or nanny for an under 3 than send them to nursery too, why would you do that? Babies need one-on-one time which they don't get at nurseries :/

Ugh it's another case of nannies thinking they're better than everyone else.

Yes I am a nanny but I would never think like this.

CM's work a damn site harder than we do in my opinion, yes it's hard work being a nanny but I can do what I want, when I want as long as the baby doesn't come into danger.

CM have to plan in advance, make sure all of her charges can do certain activities and of course plan for the EYFS!!!

P.S. I watched the program and thought it was funny, I wasn't fazed by it and even suggested my bosses watch it.