Nanny Duties When Kids Go to School

Hi! I am writing this as a former Nanny. I am sure your Nanny has also been thinking about her job for "next year" when both kids are at school. Talk to her. See what she suggests. Maybe share her with another family. Think about the discussions you had when you hired her. What were her duties then? Did they involve any cleaning? How did she react? Did the kids nap back then? What did she do while they were napping? Remember at a typical 8 hour job, you receive two 15 minute breaks and at least a 1/2 hour lunch. So, one of the three hours could technically be considered her breaks for the day all rolled into one longer break. Does she work longer than 8 hours? The nine hours without the children could be spent planning healthy weekly menus for the kids, making shopping lists,shopping (she would probably shop for whatever you need, most gals love to shop!!), doing laundry for the kids, planning educational and fun activities, creating games, etc. I always kept a schedule so the kids weren't bored and their activitities were different each week. I did this while they slept!! Personally I would say no to any housecleaning. I would rather find another family or take a pay cut than clean toliets, tubs, and floors in someone else's home every week. Usually people are Nannies because they love children. She probably wouldn't be able to clean to the satisfaction that your cleaning service provides. Would you feel comfortable telling her to scrub the toliet one more time because she didn't get is quite good enough the first time? Just some things to think about. Good luck!

I agree with most of what's been said already, but wanted to share my experience with a very similar situation. If you already have a good relationship with your sitter and you both feel free to speak your minds (the key to a healthy and productive relationship with a nanny, in my humble opinion), let her know exactly what's on your mind. If she understands that you want her to stay full time, but need to find a way to fill the time (and keep your costs in line), she may be happy to take on a more household manager role. We did exactly this with our nanny and she was happy to take on the role. We let our cleaning service go and worked together on a reasonable set of tasks and expectations as well as giving her the freedom to decide when things got done, so it wasn't as if we expected her to get the house cleaned at times when there were kids around. We made a point of making sure she had the time to get everything done too. If that meant getting the kids out of the house to give her a couple of hours to accomplish a bigger project, we were able to find ways to do that too. I miss having someone other than me thinking about whether the kids' drawers have been cleaned out of things they've outgrown or if there are toys that can be put away. It was a fantastic arrangement for us, but it requires that everyone treat each other with respect. She's a professional and just because cleaning the floor is part of her job it doesn't make her less so anymore than it does when you clean the floor. Good luck!

A.,

This can be such a difficult thing to figure out. I worked on and off as a nanny for 5 years, and this was always a little bit of an issue with different employers.

I think the most important thing is to just really be open and communicate well with your nanny. Sit down with her as her role is changing to really go over the new plan--she will really appreciate it. See what she is comfortable with--the last thing you want is a nanny is secretly resenting the changes.

I never minded doing laundry, errands, light cooking, etc. However, I always drew the line at housecleaning. I had no problem straightening up, but I was not comfortable doing heavy cleaning like cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors, etc. I felt like this really put me in an inferior role, and I found that it also changed my dynamic with the kids.

A great nanny is hard to find---figure out a new plan that you are both comfortable with!

Why not just tell her........talk to her and see what she wants to do. She is a grown up and it sounds like you can trust her, so just talk to her.

I've never had a nanny, but having done babysitting for younger kids through the years and found that as they began school I planned more activities for them that encouraged learning and enrichment to complement their school activities.

Maybe when you talk to her you can ask if she is willing to take on more of a "tutoring" role with your school aged children and plan science experiments, some small field trips, creative activities, etc. for them that will go along with what they are learning in actual school? I would think this would not make her feel demoted but part of their education experience! Just a thought.

I do think it is important to talk with her though, as she may also have some wonderful ideas and suggestions for what she can do that you have not thought of yet!

Good luck :)
Amanda

I also was a nanny for a wonderful family for 5 years before I got married and had my own family.

I completely agree with Chrissy's advice.

I did the children's laundry, kept their drawers up, sorted toys, planned healthy meals, ran errands, went to the grocery store, etc. There was plenty to do during the day that involved the children's welfare. Not to mention all of the activities after school. There is also a ton of other things from day to day. I also volunteered at their church and was "room mom." We all know all of that is a full-time job. However, I would not have become a cleaning lady of sorts. I was a professional nanny and should be treated as such. I would have been offended if they asked me to take on that role.

I would not even think to try and give her extra duties this year without raising her pay. She still has one child at home. In the spring I would bring up your thoughts for the fall and see what she is willing to do around the house. Nannys are NOT cleaning people, and I would be offended if you asked me to clean(I used to nanny)! You could give her the option of reducing her hours or taking some household duties during that time, but be prepared that she may quit. You need to decide if losing her over the extra hours of free time is OK with you? Also be aware it may be hard to find another nanny to work short hours of drop at school and pick up for less money. I would talk about it early enough so you and she could have time to get new jobs/nanny.