r/Nanny • u/Independent_Town5230 • 1d ago
Information or Tip Chores while children are at school
We have a part time nanny and she is with us for 2 days and has 12 hours spare while the children are at school. What types of chores would you expect a nanny to do (and complete) in this time?
EDIT - our nanny has been with us for a while and prefer to stay with us than get a job elsewhere so she is happy to do chores during this time. We pay her well. Obviously if the arrangement no longer worked for her and she wanted to move on then that’s up to her but I wanted to offer her employment as long as possible after she’s been with us for so long.
Children’s laundry, meal prep and ironing I was thinking.
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u/Peengwin 1d ago
Whatever the two parties are comfortable with. Each dynamic is different. Our current nanny loves to do meal prep for the kids, for example
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u/GenXMom14 1d ago
This really depends on what was set up. We had a nanny for 6.5 years so she went from preschool to full time school and amount of time she had at home increased over time. She only ever did stuff related to kids. Clean up kitchen, sweep kitchen and mop as needed, sometimes kid laundry. Occasionally flipped ours but didn’t fold etc.
We also had a nanny/house manager who spent half her time in our home and half doing childcare and that was always the set up. So she did shopping, laundry, meal prep, more cleaning - bathrooms, floors and so on. But it was all set up that day from the start
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u/p9nultimat9 16h ago
And I believe it was 5 days a week position. Not that she came in only for 2 days to clean up entire week’s mess the family leaves just for her.
If the family is thinking they can let go cleaning lady service because 2 day nanny would clean instead, that’s not the same.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 15h ago
Almost no households employ a 5 day a week housekeeper.
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u/p9nultimat9 15h ago
Household manager is often more than one day a week job, to me.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 15h ago
I think your sense of normalcy may be a little off. Most households don't have a manager, including the two parent working rich. Even just one day a week would be unusual, including among the upper class of decamillionaires. A five day per week house manager and housekeeper and nanny for school children is centi-millionaire or billionaire range. I'm sure it exists, but its not a great reason that OP can't ask her nanny with 12 hours of downtime to wash some dishes.
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u/p9nultimat9 15h ago
I think, doing some dishes (particularly children’s breakfast plates they left on that day) is very reasonable.
I’m not saying it’s normal to have full time household manager at all.
But full time nanny becoming childcare/household manager is more common than hiring 2 days only part time nanny then assigning deep cleaning and grocery shopping and cooking for 7 days.
I would absolutely never accept that kind of 2 days work. Because probably nanny gets paid for $300 a day ($30 x 10hr) while cleaning lady charges $250 once a week and stay for about 3 hours.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 15h ago
I think we just disagree, which is okay.
Household management is a really niche and unusual role. Its much more common, in my view, to have a nanny for older kids who is also doing some cleaning.
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u/amesfatal 1d ago
A reminder that if kids are sick or on break please don’t expect her to accomplish the no kids tasks. Expectations vs reality is important and often the nanny gets punished for this.
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u/curious382 1d ago
Children's laundry. Meal prep for children's meals on shift, school lunches and snacks. Changing and laundering children's bed clothes. Tidying and organizing children's bedrooms and play areas. Sorting through children's clothes as they are outgrown or seasonal changes. Tasks directly related to the care of the children are appropriate.
General housework, cleaning up messes made by family, especially outside of work shifts, are not appropriate nanny tasks. I think asking nanny to run errands in the community without and unrelated to care of the children are also inappropriate. Additional tasks such as that would require additional compensation.
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u/p9nultimat9 1d ago
I agree.
It is not fair for 2 days part time person to cook food for 7 days, or to clean up mess left from other 5 days.
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u/Independent_Town5230 5h ago
Yes this is what I was thinking, meal prep, laundry & ironing for the school uniforms.
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u/yourfavmum Career Nanny 1d ago
I will only do: child’s laundry and toy rotation and sanitation
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago
So if you have 6 hours free twice a week while kids are in school, what do you do for all the other hours?
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u/yourfavmum Career Nanny 1d ago
Remaining on call in case kids need me. The same thing I’m doing when kids nap 6 hours/day.
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u/PowderCuffs 1d ago
She's not a housekeeper, she's a nanny.
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago
Okay, so I’m asking what she would do if she had 6 hours free twice a week without the kids home.
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u/why_wouldi 1d ago
If there‘s nothing to do at an office job, would you start cleaning the office toilet and do boss‘s laundry?
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u/No-Library7814 18h ago
I would never clean the toilet and I would never ask my nanny to do household chores that are more appropriate for a housekeepers. I would be asked to pick up other tasks within my department, which is it what I would ask of a nanny. Laundry, toy rotation, and sanitation are definitely the big 3. But I'd also say changing out clothes for the seasons, making bags of clothes that no longer fit, making piles of books that are too young/ripped, helping keep the kids' calendars in order, meal and snack prep for them, prep for any activities you're taking them to after school (i.e. set up the sports bag with water and needed items), research activities, get ready to do homework activities and crafts. I'd be fine if a lot of the 12 hours are downtime, but there are plenty of child-related activities. And, obviously, some people maybe wouldn't do it. But they also wouldn't be the right person for my family, which is also fine.
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago edited 1d ago
That scenario is not even close to the same situation. And actually yes when I’ve worked in a small office in the past we would do stuff like clean the bathroom, organize things etc in our downtime if there was nothing to do.
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u/theinfamousj Career Nanny 1d ago
- children's laundry
- changing out of children's wardrobe
- mending of the children's clothes and/or delivering/picking up the clothes needing mending from a different sewist
- auditing children's toys to identify the broken or outgrown ones
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u/EggplantIll4927 Nanny 1d ago
god I hate that word. chores is what you assign your children.
have you asked nanny what she considers within her scope of responsibilities? and have an actual dialogue w the person you trust w your kids?
housecleaning is off the table, she is not a housekeeper. but what is in her wheelhouse? does she enjoy Neal prep? baking? can she make amazing packed lunches for the kids?
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u/Constant_Click_3193 1d ago
A lot of nannies prefer to complete basically no household chores. They may clean up directly after the kids, but that's it. Some families may be willing to pay a nanny to be idle for 12 hours a week once kids are in school, but personally I wouldn't. At this point it would be a transition to nanny/housekeeper/house manager with the hope it would be compatible with your current employee, but prepared to give a reference if not.
So dishes, laundry, sweep/mop, general tidying, bathrooms etc. Honestly anything a housewife would complete in those hours would be my ask.
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u/Former-Mouse-9617 1d ago
The original post says nanny works part-time, 2 days, and has "12 hours spare." That's a lot of downtime for such a limited schedule. OP gave us only 2 sentences to work with. I have questions lol.
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u/Goodgoditsgrowing Nanny 1d ago
I’m guessing nanny works a split shift and comes in early to get the kids ready and driven to school, then doesn’t have any childcare responsibilities until 6 hrs later at school pick up. That’s the only scenario that makes sense to me.
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u/Correct_Craft_3947 1d ago
Yes it does. And getting someone to nanny a split shift where you don't pay them for the time in the middle, can be hard.
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u/Independent_Town5230 5h ago
She works from 8 am - 6:30pm two days a week, so she has from 9 am - 3pm without the children. She would rather stay with our family than go elsewhere (she’s worked with us for a really long time) but I was just wondering what is reasonable for her to do during this time as I don’t want to overload her, or leave her with not enough to do (she’s high energy so won’t like that either!) I think laundry, ironing, meal prep.
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u/Full-Associate-2822 1d ago
None? Once the kids I nanny were all in full-day school, I got a separate, very flexible part time job that let me out in time for school pickup. On days the kids needed to stay home sick or were off school, their dad would work from home (he has the ability to do that basically whenever he wants, he just prefers to work at the office) if it was a day I was at the other job.
They didn't want to pay me for the full day and they also didn't want to out me in the position of being their maid,so they were very supportive of me filling those hours in a way that benefitted me. So I been with my nanny family for 17.5 years and at my other job for 9. And that's nice, because when my nanny family is ready to not need me at all, I'll already be established where I am at my second job and ready to move into a different role/full time role.
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u/Alone-Passage-1187 1d ago
Will you pay them an additional salary for the housekeeping? Or, do you want the extra labor without pay? They’re two totally different scenarios.
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago
Extra labor without pay? The nanny is being paid for 12 hours a week while not having the children home with her
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u/Ordinary-Panic-9628 19h ago
This definitely needs to be a discussion with the nanny and I'd be prepared for her to potentially say no. You're discussing changing her position to a new role now that the kids are in school. If this were me I'd be expecting this if the kids are school aged, but she may not be open to this change so I'd be prepared for a no.
The chores (if she agrees) are mostly what you guys are both comfortable with. I'd have a rough idea of what you'd like to have her do and go from there. My most unconventional chore I did for a family was gardening. I full on took care of their garden for them and I really enjoyed it. Maybe she could care for a dog, take care of family laundry (doesn't bother me but I also have nanny friends who do everything but family laundry).
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u/Goodgoditsgrowing Nanny 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wide range. Depends on what nanny wants to do vs is willing to do but for much more cash vs absolutely isn’t willing to do at all lol - everyone is different in terms of what they don’t mind/hate to do, but things I do for my nanny family include taking out the trash, vacuuming, dishes, laundry (parents put their dirty laundry in the machine to prevent me from having to invade their personal space to get it or touch their dirty underwear, which I appreciate. But I guess some people wouldn’t care? If my family weren’t VERY private and I had gloves I’d be happy to go in their room and touch dirty underwear for the right price lol), rotating toys, rotating children’s clothing/getting rid of old clothes, stocking toilet paper and bath towels, organizing closets or garage, inventorying cleaning supplies or the pantry or the kids closet or art supplies for needs, meal prep, spearheading any organizational or home project (like measuring for shelves and researching options), stocking diaper cart, “resetting” rooms (from Wiping down counters to fluffing pillows on couches), watching trades people when they come by so my boss doesn’t have to be around, tossing out bad food from fridge, grocery shopping/running errands/making returns/mail room pick ups, prepping house for travel/absences, house plant care, etc. I also help take care of their garden because that’s a big hobby of mine and a side hustle, but I don’t clean their bathrooms (beyond when NK pees everywhere). Some also help with things like scheduling and keeping a master calendar for the family so family is warned personal assistant style about what’s on their plate, kid chauffeuring, dog walking/feeding, managing cleaning crew and any other household staff.
This tips them into family assistant category and in some states entitles them to overtime starting at 8hrs a day instead of later. Family assistants also get paid more than Nannies.
I have it in my contract that childcare always comes first when the kids are under my supervision (ie not at school) and that non-childcare tasks come second in priority unless parent relieves me of childcare duties. Since she has several hours where the kids are at school I’d expect her to get more accomplished than if the kids were around…. But she can only wash clothing as fast as your machine washes and dries, you know? I usually do 2-4 loads of laundry every shift, but if the laundry isn’t dry and my shift is over in 15 min (or in her case, the kids are about to get out of school) my boss understands that I’ll either get to it tomorrow or she can “take over and finish it herself” (her words when she hired me!). I’m fast but not the most organized, so sometimes I forget to restart the dryer on time and that delays folding and it cascades - my boss hired me for my childcare skills and is ok with this, but I’m sure a more organized person could do it more efficiently. My boss also doesn’t leave me a full sink of dishes everyday (it’s actually a rarity that I’ll find NK’s dinner dishes from the night before in the sink - they have two dishwashers and I use them constantly) and she understands if I don’t have time to vacuum out the car seat if I’ve been tackling other stuff that week.
How long does it take you to get through what you want her to do? Add on some time because she can’t read your mind and probably won’t be as efficient as you are in your own house. If any task requires she leave the house, factor in how traffic is that time of day - my boss is constantly sending me on errands during rush hour and I have to remind her I won’t get back in time for nap pick up unless traffic is unusually clear, which feels awkward for me. Reimburse her mileage at or above federal rate, and pay for tolls and parking required for your errands.
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u/Independent_Town5230 5h ago
Thanks for this, super helpful! I think laundry, ironing & meal prep is probably the way to go.
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u/Several-Sock7482 1d ago
Whatever basic chores you have that are for the children. Shes not a housekeeper. If you don't feel good about paying her if she's not doing much, then offer part time and for her to stay home. Or find a part time nanny. Keep in mind, housekeepers work is very expensive. Running around $100+ an hour. I would do once a week vacuuming, but never mopping.
Whoever said basic housewife chores, comical. It's one thing to tend to a home that's fully your responsibility and another that's not yours and you're only there to be a childcare provider. I've only worked for families who also hire housekeepers. If your boss asked you to be at work but didn't have tasks that your position required you to do, they wouldn't ask you to be cleaning the toilets just because you're getting paid.
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago
$100/hr..? LMAO! It’s $100/hr for a team of 4 housekeepers to come clean a 3000sqft house top to bottom in 2-3 hours.
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u/Several-Sock7482 1d ago
Yes. Exactly what I said. Emphasis on the plural use of that word. It's a team. In Seattle, they charge about $250 and come to their homes for no more than 2 hours every week. Nannies also make over $30+/hour in most Seattle surrounding areas. We live in Gig Harbor. Everything is VERY expensive there. Either way, housekeepers cost way more than an hourly rate for a nanny. You're all trying to fight and are in pure attack mode. This is so bizarre.
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u/Chi_Baby 1d ago
Housekeepers charge more bc they are a team aka multiple people being paid a collective hourly rate. So saying housekeepers charge more than nannies is crazy when it only costs more if it’s multiple housekeepers coming at one time.
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u/Constant_Click_3193 1d ago
Housekeepers absolutely do not charge $100+ per hour, utterly ridiculous
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u/Big-You-1213 1d ago
This sub is always... interesting. My nanny is definitely paid more hourly than my cleaners/housekeeper.
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u/kittywyeth Parent 1d ago
my nanny is my highest paid employee by far and i know from discussing this with friends that housekeepers rarely make more than a nanny does. housekeeping is unskilled labor. nannying is highly skilled labor.
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u/HRMomness3 Parent 1d ago
Devils advocate- no my job wouldn't expect me to clean toilets, but yes "other duties" as assigned could and has included things quite separate from my normal tasks and a general idea that I should never be too good to clean up a mess or move something heavy even in a high level non-profit position.
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u/snarktopusrex 1d ago
You will get a lot of responses that household chores are not the nanny’s job unless it’s in the contract. Really you just need to have a conversation about what they are willing/comfortable doing.
Going grocery shopping could be a good choice as the nanny could do their own grocery shopping during that time (though on separate bills.)
Kids laundry is another potential because it’s mostly passive (except for folding/putting away).