What duties do nannies do which they feel are part of their job but you feel are beyond the call of duty?

[nannynick]

Events at work this week have got me thinking about how some of the times nannies do are seen by their employers as being beyond the call of duty.

For example, the downstairs toilet Bubbled this week at work. I knew that was a bad sign!
So after doing our usual morning routine and having lunch, toddler and I investigated the household plumbing. Toddler was not allowed to touch anything of course but did seem to enjoy watching, helping clear leaves and stones from manhole covers etc. We established that there must be a major blockage somewhere which we could not find... so called MumBoss to advise her and to suggest that I called Thames Water. I don't often disturb her at work, so she must have realised that I thought it was a major problem. I called Thames Water and arranged for a site visit, they came within a few hours and after a while found where the pipes were blocked and cleared the blockage.
So by the time by boss got home, everything was sorted out, plumbing back to it's normal state.

So is sorting an issue like that out something that is part of a nannies job, or beyond the call of duty? As I saw things, I work in the home and if there is a major issue with the home in some way which affects my ability to work there, then I get it sorted out. It's just part of the job. If MumBoss was at home that day, then I think she would have done the same as me... investigate the problem and then call someone out to fix it.

I think MumBoss thinks that I went beyond the call of duty in sorting it out. Well maybe it's not strictly part of my job but it's not as though I could leave it for her to deal with... she was at work, it needed someone onsite to deal with it.

What duties do nannies do like this which may or may not be beyond the call of duty?

Was MumBoss grateful? Hope so.

I was hugely grateful that our nanny saw sewing name labels in dd's school uniform as part of her duty. Hadn't occurred to me that she would do that chore.

She also brought her dad's power drill to work one day and changed dd's bedroom blind over for a blackout blind. That was 'over and above' in my book too.

Good on you for calling Thames water . I just havt to get the rods out . LOL We found using washing tabs instead of powder in the washing machine sorted out this problem . Going back to your original point .There is loads of little stuff that I do that I know are not part of my job but makes life easier for my fab bosses ie lighting the coal fire and putting the logs away when they are delivered . Things like that . But hey thats life and its a two way street in nanny life . lol

Wow! Love my nanny but initiative is not her strong point. She would prob text me and tell me there was a prob but I would have to fix!

Strange you should mention rods... I did get a rod set but soon realised that the home-grade rod set wasn't going to solve this problem... especially as I could not locate a manhole cover near the main sewer entry point. Would have been a bit dangerous rodding with a toddler in tow anyway.

I think you are right in how you say that nannies do things that make out bosses lives easier. They may be little things, they may be more major things. They may be child-related things, or they may not be directly related to the child.

When we discuss on here about the benefits of having a nanny, over taking a child to nursery/CMs... I feel these small (and not so small) things we do should be raised a bit more often. They are after all benefits of having a nanny - a nanny doesn't just care for the children, they also look after the home.

K75 - how would you be able to fix things though... you may not be in a position to very much. Also you may not be able to anything the nanny couldn't do.

It is about showing initiative, about knowing when something is a major issue (or could very quickly become a major issue) or when it can be left for a few weeks.

I agree with you NN, although I'm sure some nannies won't.

I found myself tidying around the main areas of the house because the grandparents were due, and I had it instilled into me by my own mam that we had to tidy for nana coming lol

as nick says we are there instead of parents so i have

called plumber when had no heating

called chimney sweep for fireplace

called plumber again when no hot water

taken dog to poodle parlour

taken dog to vte when throwing up

called electricty company for updates when had powercut to find out would be no power for a day so went to shop&brought candles/torches etc

fed/chased/put chickens to bed

taken car to garage when making noise/for mot

I call myself my MB's wife lol

I call myself my MB's wife lol

I would take time off to fix Nick.

She would be happy to be in for someone coming if really needed but couldn't see her making appointments etc. Although I have never asked!

She does comment on other nannies who run errands etc. and clearly doesn't think it's in the job description! Have to say though, we do know some where these are in the extreme and the poor kids get dragged around everywhere. Wouldn't want mine shopping all day!

Initiative is a must in my line of work and I hugely credit you all for it.

Nick, if you were my nanny I would jump for joy with your proven initiative.

As Nick and Blondes say, your the person in the house, i have rodded a blocked pipe as could see blockage was between to openings, have opened and dried out a tumble dryer, made up Ikea furniture, hung pictures & curtains and changed a light bulb fitting, but i am DIY trained by my Dad and DH is also handy.

I recently did a whole slew of sewing/mending for the family i was with as MB can't sew, not my job but meant MB, DB and baby had things back that weren't wearable before, also fixed on strap guide on the pram that was coming unstitched and constructed a painting that was shipped in 3 parts.

I would feel that it were part of my job to do things like that, however I would always double check with my boss before I did anything as I'm never sure if they'd appreciate my efforts or get annoyed with me for doing it wrong, iyswim?

Good point Pixi, it's hard to know when doing something will be seen as helping, or being not. Thus why I had contacted my boss to ask if I should contact ThamesWater, as I didn't know if they had a maintenance contact with a specific supplier for that kind of thing. Then once I got the OK for that, I kept MumBoss updated via txt message as to progress, so she could make an executive decision to halt if necessary.
Expect though that she was just glad that she could use the loo when the got home without the high risk of sewage spreading over the garden!

I agree that the nanny is the person in the home as well as the person caring for the child, and as a live-in nanny I try to care for the house as if it were my own.

Noticed prob with heating boiler and waited in for men to come fix it, cleaned the fridges, collect parcels from post office, and sew/mend clothes as necessary. Just part of the job.

BTW, nice work on halting the sewage Nick!!
Hope MB grateful...

I would have no idea what to do in the situ you were in nannynick, tb-blatantly-h!

I am the House Manager as well as Nanny in my current position so most of the time I get tradesmen in/arrange anything and everything without seeking prior permission as it's my job to Get Stuff Done so my bosses don't have to worry about it. I will email and tell them what the issue is, what I have done about it, and the costs involved after the fact. They trust my judgement and as I live here too it's in my best interest to keep the house running in tip top order! The problem I have is the language barrier, many Dutch tradesmen don't speak much English and I have had a crash course in Dutch plumbing terminology recently, as well as different paint types, how to find a propane gas canister, online grocery ordering, where to get certain things... it's a huge learning curve but I LOVE being able to show my initiative/responsibility and get stuff done. I'm so good apparently my Mumboss told Dadboss he was now obsolete (actually Dadboss deliberately does a bad job so he's not asked to do anything again. Tres annoying and a tad immature.)

I think if a Nanny goes above the call of duty they should at the very least be thanked profusely if not treated to a bottle of wine/chocs/flowers to say thanks. I would hate to have a Nanny who just did the bare minimum though, especially if they ignored plumbing issues etc. They are there to help make you're life easier to a point, so showing initiative is an important part of that IMHO.

Agree with thenewbornnanny

Even if you're in the house and your boss sort of expects you to do things that need doing it's nice to thank them and possible treat them to something, especially if it's an urgent ishoo like plumbing. Something which really niggled about my old boss was that stuff would go wrong in the house, which I would sort (sometimes having had to ring her to find out the number for the plumber/electrician), but she would never thank me. TBH I almost felt like not doing it, but dealing with something broken in the house for 3/4 days if it went wrong when she was on a long business trip (as it invariable did) was more hassle than sorting it. And sometimes stuff would go wrong over the weekend but she would leave me to sort it. Grrr.

I do loads that is not in my 'job description' if such a thing counts for anything these days. In my household there are other staff - in the old days they would have been called nursery maids but not sure what the description is today who the nursery chores are divided up between but tbh I do most of them because they don't do them properly. Initiative should be a pre-requisite. I run errands, replace things if I can see we need them but the big shop isn't due, make costumes, clean areas that isn't my job to clean but I use them. I've helped build furniture, redecorated playrooms and bedrooms, deal with builders, tradesmen etc. I always do the childrens mending and clothes alterations and things like unload the dishwasher if it needs it and no one else has done it.
It makes my life easier too and also gives me bargaining power as my bosses know I do loads that I don't have to do and are more likely to be flexible should I need it though don't usually use it

I defrosted the fridge at work the other day, as it wouldn't shut properly. Spent the time the babies were napping using the hair dryer to speed it up, gave it a good clean too.

Have changed light bulbs and fuses, when the db at the time was an electrician

Cleaned up cat offerings of birds, voles, mice and half eaten rats.... Took said cat to be neutered too.

Have helped out with lots of pets, from cleaning out fish, dog walking and mucking out ponies.

Do lots of stuff around the house that strictly isn't my job, bosses laundry, bedding, tidying up, cleaning the fireplace out, emptying the dishwasher, etc, etc. My thought is that as mb and db out all day, they don't want to get back and have to start with all that!

Alot of it is common sense really.

Have to add, that the majority of the cat offerings were dead (obv the half eaten rats!) But occasionally had to catch live mice and birds.......

it's nice to have a bit of give and take. Our nanny is a share, so I don't expect her to do household duties, though the share is always based at our house. I do really appreciate it though when she empties the dishwasher, or even hangs out laundry once and a while. DH wanted to ask her to wait around the house once to take delivery of our new laptop, with a 5-hour delivery window, and I felt that was unreasonable and managed to get it myself on my day at home.

i have down loads of things while at work that probably arnt nanny jobs

stripping wall paper
helping pull wires through when boss rewiring
holding ladders that DB is climbing
giving orders to the builders
clearing leaves
clearing up dog sick / poo
taking sick dog to vets
taking dog to doggy hairdresser
feed /walking dogs
helping with everything when moving house
de-leafing the swimming pool
taking things back to shops
calling burglar alarm fixy people out when alarm broke and bosses were on holiday
driven bosses to / from garage when their car was broken

probably loads more of other stuff.... and then my bosses have done stuff for me...
rewired my TV ariel, lent me a digi box when mine broke
lent me tools / cake tins etc,
come and worked out how to programme my boiler
picked up me when my car in garage
im sure i could go on and on there too!

Au pair rather than nanny, but ours sometimes got up in the night when toddler woke up, which was way beyond call of duty and very much appreciated!

I know I do a lot more then I should. Sometimes I mind and sometimes I don't but I know I would like to be thanked every once in a while.
I regularly:
Drop off and collect dry cleaning
Drive bosses to airport etc
Take car to mechanic
Clean out fridge/pantry
Cater for house guests
Organise paretns filing
Buy things for parents (not kid related)
Parents laundry
Arranging for tradesman (tradesperson?)to come
Clean parts of the house I am not meant to
I am sure I could go on and on