Would you be comfortable keeping nanny on who is on antidepressants?

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current nanny has had an unusual amount of things happening in her life recently and have taken many days off as a result.. breaking up with her boyfriend, sick relatives, death of a close friend etc. The GP offered it to her before and she turned her down but now she says she will ask her prescription.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

Athene - events in peoples lives can lead onto clinical depression - it's otherwise known as Adjustment Disorder leading to depression,

It's what happened to dH.

i can kind of see why you are worried, but as a mum who has had postnatal pyschosis which has led on to sevre pnd, should i not be allowed to look after my kids?

seriously, i was hopitalised in a psych unit but then had to come home and although my dp has taken lots of time of work i have had to look after my kids, i take anti d's and have also had medicine for my psychosis and to help with sleep, but still looked after my kids and been fine to do so (was actually assessed by SS due to being in hospital and a danger to myself etc) but they and the boys school have been supportive of me being the boys sole carer.

talk to her, see if she needs to lessen her responsibilities, ie do less housework etc for a short while, but be kind please xx

i wouldnt be concerned, my mum is a childminder and is on anti depressants she has been on them since my papa died a few years ago, when she registered as a childminder she was already on them. you need get a letter from you doctor to say that you are mentally fit and that they see no reason why you would not be able to work with children (every childminder needs this done) my mum was a little worried that it would go against her and spoke to her doctor and the doctor assured her that this would no be the case and that he seen no reason that would class her as unfit to watch children. she is now fully registered and looks after children and is more than capable.

As someone who suffers from chronic depression, which is basically always there, but major bouts of it have been triggered by external events, I can understand a little of your worries.

To be honest, when I started taking ADs for one of my major bouts of depression I needed to have time off work. Two of these times have been since having children abd I am lucky I was working as I was able to have time off from the children as well.

Your nanny is going to know best whether she needs time off work. Once she is established on tfe ADs then it is very likely that if you didn't know she was taking them, you wouldn't realise.

Hoping you've got some clarity now, and assuming you're not thinking of firing her - a coupke of things which may be useful:

o if you're on those terms, suggest she takes the anti-ds at night - gets the initial nausea over with when she's least likely to notice

o if she's been telling you everything that's been going on so far in this detail, then you might want to consider how you're maintaining your professional relationship with her. Are you giving her enough space to do her job, or are you trying to be her friend? If it's her thats telling you this much unprompted, then that might be a trigger to reconsider her employment. The depression - short of palpable inability - shouldn't.

What would you do if you were going through what she is going through?

Should parents who are taking ads give their children away?

She was honest and told you what is going on. If you're worried ask her how she's feeling/coping, what support she needs and go from there.
She might need/appreciate some time off for the first weeks if the side effects are too much.

You do know you cant fire her just because she's on ads right?

I can understand the OPs concerns.

Agencies ask nannies if they're taking medication. Any medication can have side effects, sometimes it takes a while to find a combination which is 'right'. I can totally understand why someone might want to know about a medication an employee is taking which affects their performance. I get hayfever in the summer so I take antihistamines. Some antihistamines make me drowsy - if I was popping Benadryl I wouldn't be in any fit state the look after children, so I take an antihistamine which doesn't make me drowsy. If I didn't take that approach and took the Benadryl I'd expect an employer to be concerned, not because it's discriminating against me because I have hayfever but because I'm not fit to do my job because of the side effects of the medication. If my job involves driving children around and I'm at risk of falling asleep at the wheel then it's perfectly reasonable for them to have concerns!

The OP isn't saying she's going to fire her nanny for being on ADs, she's asking for ADVICE, possibly because she doesn't know about ADs, the effects they might have, how they might affect nanny's ability to care for her children etc. which she has been given, along with some rather undeserved comments by people who've jumped to conclusions.

OP: I think you nanny is being sensible and proactive by seeking help you and you are normal to worry about what she has told you but do take heart from the posts on here - plenty of people with depression on ADs are able to care for children, including registered childminders who have to fill in a health declaration form for OFSTED. Do keep an eye on your nanny but also take note of what other people have said regarding the DDA and dismssing her. Also be prepared that she might need to take some time off so she can make sure she is fit to work - better take the ADs and have a couple of weeks off than struggle on without them being completely incompetent. If you are concerned then can you discreetly ask people who might see your nanny with the children how they feel she's coping? No need to say that she's depressed/on ADs/you have concerns - just bring it up in conversation.

I hope your nanny gets well soon.

Would you be uncomfortable with a nanny who was taking medication for a physical illness? She's taking medication to deal with an illness.

If she can't do her job that's another issue. She didn't have to tell you she was on ADs.

frakula - well said, totally agree.