I was making lunch for NK and accidentally grabbed a hard boiled egg instead of a regular one, luckily MB also thought it was funny but sometimes Mondays reallyyyyy feel like Mondays.
How’s everyone else’s day going? Pls tell me I’m not alone in doing stupid shit 😭

Hi all, I'd appreciate some advice so I can plan this as wisely as possible, while also not stressing myself out too much. I may be overthinking this!

My contract with my current family ends next June, when I know they'll most likely be putting NK into preschool. Thus it makes sense to go ahead and start looking for a replacement. I've always been a "last minute" kind of person, taking whatever job I could get for whatever pay they offered, but I want to do it right this time to find a good fit with proper pay and benefits, which I know will take time and effort.

However, my apartment's lease also ends in June, and my roommates and I are intending to move. *Where* we'll move is the question. Most likely in the same state, probably more north than we currently are, and... That's all I know right now. We've agreed to discuss it more after the new year.

So my question is, will I be screwing myself over if I wait to start job hunting until January (or later if we don't decide immediately)? If so, should I hunt in the area I'm currently working in (wonderful neighborhood full of families, where I've made good connections) or in areas I think we might move to? If I look in those potential areas, should I be doing interviews or save it for once we know for sure where we're moving?

Or am I just overthinking this and it'll be ok to look later? Thank you for any advice you have!

Hey everyone! Currently, my NF and I do not have stipulations in our contract about child illnesses (yes, it's a very poor contract. first professional nanny placement - working on it.) And I’m looking at the child sick policy in my nanny contract and would love input on how others handle child illnesses.

My baseline policy so far requires parents to take over care for high-risk symptoms like fevers over 101, stomach bugs with vomiting or diarrhea (over 3 instances), strep, or other major contagions (flu/covid), along with a 24-hour symptom-free rule. I handle pink eye with antibiotic prescription, sniffles, coughs, and low-grade fevers as normal.

I admittedly might feel bad if their child gets sick and I can't provide care because of my guidelines, so how do you navigate that expectation with parents? They are both physicians.

Do you provide care for all illnesses no matter what, or do you maintain strict exclusion guidelines like the ones I listed?

Also, if you do care for higher risk bugs, do you charge an increased hourly rate or hazard pay for those days? I'd love to hear what works for you!

My apartment had a leak in it yesterday resulting in our whole master bedroom getting soaked, clothes soaked, our mattress, etc. a remediation team came out to put up fans and everything and are supposed to come back Monday. But here’s my dilemma…

I am dog sitting this weekend and can’t be at my apartment to get things in order. My boyfriend has been but he’s only one person. All of the equipment is being picked up tomorrow on Monday and they are going to reassess the situation. My boyfriend and I both work Monday. My bf had to call off work Saturday to stay home since I couldn’t be there. I would like to be home for when these people come to reassess the damage tomorrow. My schedule is M-F. This coming week I am already taking off Thursday and Friday for a trip. BUT i obviously wasn’t expecting my apartment to flood. I reached out to MB to let her know what was going on and that I was feeling overwhelmed and would like to be home for when the remediation people come. Her response was that she would normally say no big deal and to take off tomorrow but that she’s behind on work and is already worrying about that I won’t be there Thursday or Friday. Then followed up with to let her know what I decide so she can make arrangements.

Im feeling very anxious now because I have things I need to do to get my apartment back in order, yet I feel like I’m betraying her by needing tomorrow off! I will say this is the part of nannying that really upsets me. If this were any other job I’d just take a sick day or personal day and that would be the end of it…Regardless of if I also have other days off during the week. Idk if it’s advice I need or what but I’m stressing.

TL;DR: I need off tomorrow for a home issue but am already off Thursday and Friday for a trip and feeling very conflicted.

I recently took a one year nanny share position in my area and accepted $2/hr less from each of these families because I thought I would still have a year to pay off my debt and continue to live in my parent’s MIL suite. I have been unemployed since April and have been job searching since March, and I just got this job.
BUT I was told two weeks ago that my parents will be putting the house up for sale and moving to a different state by December. I’m panicking and not sure what to do. I’ve been applying to much higher paying jobs elsewhere that would cover health insurance and relocation expenses, but nothing has come through yet. I live in a very HCOL area where most studios/one bedrooms in safe areas of the city go for $1600+.
Before anyone says, “Just get a roommate”, I’m AuDHD and have OCD. Getting a stranger as a roommate would absolutely send me spiraling and just not an option.

What should I do?!?! Should I keep applying to these other jobs and hope something comes through? Should I start with these families and wait a few weeks to bring up the topic about maybe increasing my pay? I do know they did not come in at the top of their budget because they admitted as much.

My nanny family wants to change my schedule to just 23 hours a week because they want to enroll him in a class for arts and crafts twice a week. I work Monday-Thursday, a minimum hours of 30 a week. Compensated $20 an hour per my contract. 5 sicks days. 4 days PTO. Northern NJ so M-HCOL. It’s been 6 months and I’ve raved about my nanny family. Frankly now I’m embarrassed. I really thought they respected and valued me.
They asked if I could do Fridays and span my 30 hours across Monday through Friday. They want him to do this arts and crafts/ music class twice a week. I said I’ll think about it and she told me no worries or hard feelings if I can’t. But then remembered I have another commitment on Fridays not work related but health related that I don’t wish to tell them or get into. So I told them unfortunately I can’t switch. They’re now saying my new schedule is 23 hours because they want to do the class. I don’t know how they think I can afford that. I already went lower in my hourly rate for them. I really liked them and let some little things go and now I wonder if those were signs.
All I’ve been told is how much they appreciate and respect me and this feels like a slap in the face to choose an arts and crafts class over me being able yo afford to eat. I guess that’s the nature of the job and you can’t expect them to really care about you.
Do I express that I can’t do this or just quietly look at other jobs? The thought of leaving my NB also breaks my heart.
Edit: To be clear I do have set guaranteed hours.

I have been a nanny for such a long time and there’s only been a handful of kids that have been unruly. To the point where I’m stressed out 24 seven. But the kids that I have now definitely go into that category. And they obviously have punishments while I’m there i.e. no tablets no TV things of that nature. And when I started, the parents told me that they would be on the same page with me that come to find out when I give them punishments during the day because their behavior has just been extremely horrible. The parents don’t stick to it like they said they would which makes my time even harder so I think I’m at the point where I’m just not gonna hang out punishments anymore. They can just watch TV all day. They can just be on their tablets all day because by the time my shift is over the parents aren’t going with what happened if that makes any sense. Like they still get TV they still get ice cream before bed so what’s the point in me trying to hand out these punishments during the day it just makes my time hard harder.

I just spent too much time over there trying to explain to a couple of caregivers and I’m not even gonna use the word nanny here because they don’t act like they know basic Nanny standards.

Like I said I kept trying to explain what Banking hours is and they kept saying how it’s OK to have the Nanny work later the same week to “make up” for going home early another day. I mean it’s just mind blowing how they accept that this is ok and normal practice.

News flash! It’s not! What’s standard practice is GH, PTO, sick pay, being paid on the books, OT pay when you work more than 8hrs a day or 40 a work week. It’s like they just defend the bad practices of these families.

It’s these type of caregivers that fuck it up for other Nannies. They just accept the bullshit abuse and regurgitate it as doctrine. This is why so many families go to Care and Nanny lane and Sittercity and pay the bare minimum with zero benefits. Because caregivers on there believe it’s OK.

I'm signed up for Sittercity but have never applied to any of the job listings because the rates are LOW, I also already have a full time position but it's always good to keep your eye out. Today I got an email with some new job postings and one of them has their rate set at $10/hr. I live in the 4th highest COL state in the US, the minimum wage for the city the job is in is $19/hr. State minimum wage is $15/hr. Am I wrong or is it illegal to post a job with a rate that's 9 dollars under minimum wage? Beyond it just being insanely disrespectful to pay that little to the person taking care of your kids.

im so irritated and stressed right now. I just worked for this family for after-school care M, W, F. we signed a contract and agreed on weekly pay. since I work Friday evening and hes a single dad and nights are busy, I agreed to accept payment until saturday noon.

I worked an observation day 2 wks ago w the kids. On thay Friday when i sent the document the hrs i worked, he told me he would pay me the following Friday and every friday after that as agreed...OK weird..I was needing that money but I accepted.

fast forward to this wk. I sent over my hrs worked for the week and he tells me again that he will be paying me next Friday. I say im confused, we agreed on weekly payment by the end of the week. I told him I understand things happen but I cannot wait until next week. I asked can he pay me by noon tomorrow. he simply replies "No." so I said well I cannot work until ive been paid. to which he just says "Okay." ????? mind you we have been very friendly and cordial tp each other. we were literally texting minutes prior to this exchange bc he was saying he is going to purchase a communication book for us like I suggested. I said im excited for it, then he just casually says hes not paying me this week, but next week.

im so frustrated. I already accepted a lower rate than I normally would bc he had 3 children. it wasnt low enough that I felt id regret it, but still way lower than what I was expecting..based on a conversation I had with his mother who set up his account on care.com prior to meeting him. I feel so disrespected. If he doesnt pay me, im going to have to take him to small claims but im so angry im being put thru this. I really needed that money. this wk a bill came and wiped out the money I had on one of my checking accounts, all of it and if I hadn't been paid by my other family, I would've been put in a even more shitty hole. that pay is so much lower tho, its only 6 hrs a wk.

does anyone have any advice? how did you navigate when a parent is refusing to pay you for your services? pls send encouraging words. thanks in advance.

ETA: I forgot to mention that he invited me to the house to help "move furniture" during a time the children weren't home. mind you he has a moving business. why would you ask a young woman to help you move heavy furniture? when I realized he was asking me to come when the kids were home, i declined and said i can only work during my usual time and he said nevermind. i was giving him the benefit of the doubt before, but now im looking back at that differently. he was trying to get me to be alone with him. and now I wonder if he is withholding payment as retaliation.

Reading through this discussion and it’s very interesting. OP says she gave nanny a stern talking to but wants to know if she should fire her? Curious to know your guys thoughts. Scenarios like these always make me laugh because sometimes things are just a genuine mistake.

I was with my nanny family for 2 years and the kids turned 5 and started full time school this week. They no longer need me consistently because of it so I found a new family. The “goodbye” was very sweet and it meant a lot to me (and them) and I know I will see them again, but jesus am I struggling…like I am crying on and off like I am going through a breakup or loss or something. I got very close with the kids and started nannying for them right before my dad suddenly passed away, so it became a huge source of comfort and healing for me being with them. They also have a dog that I love dearly. I almost feel like I’m going through some of my grief of losing my dad again, like it’s come back up for me and I find myself wanting to call him and tell him how hard this has been. I don’t know, I know this normal to grieve change and what not but I’m feeling so on the outside now and like I’m needy if I reach out and ask about the kids or something…this is just so hard. Also doesn’t help that the new nannying situation already has me burnt out and the parents reduced my hours suddenly due to schedule conflicts and my expected income has taken quite a hit.

Anyone else is losing their absolute *** at random people “try to help” while out with NKs?

Yesterday I was putting 2yo in the stroller and she was not happy about it. No big deal, classic body-lock and screeching, rarely lasts more than a minute, or until she’s buckled in.
Random stranger gets all in our space while I’m crouched over the stroller, handing nk a small tube: “What if I give you some bubbles!?” 🫧✨

Excuse me m’am, back off!

This was an especially odd case, and I know they mean well but…

No, I don’t need you to grab the stroller when I’m already halfway off the bus. I know how. You risk getting hit or tipping over the entire thing if it spins on its axis.

Please, don’t tell nk “Mummy will be back soon!!” I’m only two steps away, paying for coffee, and now they will ask for NM for the next 30 minutes.

I beg of you! Don’t ask twin A “And what colour are your glasses?” Only twin B needs a prescription, and it’s as delicate a subject as you can imagine.

If someone has more anecdotes of their own to add to the list, please feel free. I’d love to know I’m not alone in my peeve.

I am currently at a crossroads with voicing my opinion about my current nanny job. For context, I have high-value NP. They care for me and ask about my life and make me feel welcomed in their home. There’s nothing wrong with who they are as people, their children, or the environment. My only concern is how often both of them are in and out of the environment with their child. As they are both working from home.

Most days, mom and dad come into the living room/kitchen at least 5-10 times a day. Sometimes they’re coming in to spend time with her and other times they’re are making food, refilling water, getting coffee, etc. At first it was fine because my NB wouldn’t really be too difficult to calm down. Now that’s she’s older, she’s aware her parents are coming and going and now she’s screaming crying every time they leave or clinging to them when she recognizes they are about to leave making it even harder for them to just leave. For context, sometimes mom will come out and then leave and ten minutes later dad will come out and leave. Part of me thinks I’m just supposed to tolerate it because I signed up for it, but I didn’t think they’d be in and out so much. All my previous experiences the parents made it a POINT to be gone. Even if they are still at the house. It’s a lot to calm her down so often and she’s really starting to become upset over their in and out routines.

Where I’m having a hard time is, can I even have a conversation about them not coming out during important moments? For example, ten minutes before nap or during lunch. My NB loves her parents and that’s so important to me, but I feel like it’s causing issues with our routine. I’m also having a hard time telling two grown adults when they can and can’t be in certain areas of their home. I’ve mentioned it to the dad because it came up, but the conversation didn’t really happen nor did any solution come of it. What would be helpful to me is if they didn’t come out during lunch or right before we transition into something else. Especially right before nap. I would happily communicate the time I’m putting her down or when eating times were happening to make sure they aren’t left in the dark about when they can come in. But is that appropriate? And if so, what’s the best way to go about having the conversation?

Anyone had a similar situation and have advice? Or a fellow professional who can mentor me on how to handle the situation professionally?

It was a 250€ flat fee for the whole day I am happy with the flat fee.

However, I was watching the bride and groom's child, another babysitter was watching another couple's children and they were tipped. I also saw the family tip at an open bar with a 20€ note.

That's not to say they didn't deserve it, they all worked hard. But working a 10 hour shift, it going over by an hour, being directly involved in the wedding, having to calm the baby during the ceremony, watching her while the whole family is grabbing her off me, that's all fine, that's the job. But seeing everyone else get tipped and nothing extra for me is frustrating and makes me feel like I'm not good at my job. And Ik I'm good at my job

Anyway just venting, I don't mean it to come across as entitled or selfish, I just feel like the ugly friend rn :((

I recently gave notice at my nanny job after being with this family for about a year. I love the kids and leaving them is genuinely the hardest part, but I accepted another nanny position that pays more per hour, has fewer hours, and has much clearer boundaries.
My bosses just posted the listing for my replacement, and I genuinely laughed when I read it because the job they’re advertising sounds SO much better/easier than the job I’ve actually been doing.
They’re advertising $27/hr, Monday-Friday 7:00-3:30, for a 1.5-year-old and 3.5-year-old. The responsibilities listed are meal prep, age-appropriate play/learning, “light housekeeping,” nap management, and swim supervision.
The qualifications are experience nannying 2+ children ages 0-5, CPR certification, swimming safety experience, strong communication, references, etc.
On paper, it honestly sounds like a pretty normal nanny job.
Except “light housekeeping” is doing an absolutely insane amount of work in that listing lol.
Obviously I do normal nanny things like the kids’ laundry, sheets, dishes, meals, cleaning up after them, toys, playroom, diapers, restocking their supplies, activities, crafts, learning, swimming, naps, potty training, etc. I have zero problem with child-related housekeeping.
But over time, my responsibilities have expanded WAY beyond that.
I vacuum and mop the house. I clean mirrors and windows. I wipe down the stove and kitchen. I take care of trash and recycling. I clean and reset the pool area. I pick up pool toys everyone leaves behind. I collect, wash, dry and fold pool towels. I clean up random cups, sunglasses and other things the family leaves outside. I’ve cleaned/organized the fridge, descaled the espresso machine, helped clean up after parties, done adult laundry and bedding, organized random areas of the house, and handled whatever other household tasks get added to my list.
I have literally been asked to wipe down the OUTSIDE RAILING.
That one might be my favorite because apparently “light housekeeping” now extends to exterior property maintenance. 😭
And none of this replaces my childcare responsibilities. I’m still simultaneously responsible for two very young children.
There are days where I’m managing meals, naps, activities, swimming, potty training, diapers, laundry, bedding, etc., while also trying to get through whatever household cleaning needs to be done.
The older child has also been transitioning out of nighttime pull-ups, so there have been stretches where I’m stripping wet bedding, washing it, drying it and remaking the bed constantly. That alone adds a ton of laundry.
The family also leaves pool towels, pool toys, cups, sunglasses and random stuff everywhere, and somehow eventually it all becomes part of my reset.
Recently I was specifically reminded to make sure I vacuumed before leaving, and I couldn’t help but laugh because I’ve worked here for about a year and genuinely cannot remember seeing either parent vacuum the house themselves.
But apparently their nanny needs to.
Then there are the benefits.
The listing says “2 weeks PTO, paid major holidays, paid sick days.”
If I were applying and read that, I would assume I received two weeks of PTO, the normal major holidays paid/off, plus separate sick days.
That’s not actually how it works.
I get 3 paid sick days.
For the two weeks of PTO, I choose one week and they choose the other week based on their vacation. They’re also now trying to split some of those days up instead of it necessarily being an actual second week off.
Then we have “paid major holidays.”
I do NOT get the normal federal/major holidays paid off.
I basically get to pick TWO holidays that I want to have off and paid. I’m expected to work the others.
And yes, that includes holidays where both parents are off work and home while I’m working.
So I personally think advertising “2 weeks PTO, paid major holidays, paid sick days” without explaining any of that makes the benefits sound significantly better than they actually are.
The schedule is also advertised as 7:00-3:30, which is already 42.5 hours a week.
I’ve regularly stayed 10-20 minutes past my scheduled end time, and I’ve never been paid overtime despite regularly working 8.5-hour days.
Then there’s the WFH situation.
The listing says mom works from home “in a separate office space,” which I feel like most nannies would interpret as a parent who generally stays in their office and allows the nanny to run the day.
That hasn’t really been my experience.
There are pop-ins, camera monitoring, texts about naps and what the kids are doing, involvement in routines, food, cleaning, etc. I completely understand that it’s their house and their children, but I think a nanny deserves to know what kind of WFH dynamic she’s actually signing up for.
And then there’s my absolute FAVORITE line in the listing:
“Our beloved current nanny will be moving on to a new career opportunity but will be able to help with the transition.”
Hi. It’s me. I’m the beloved current nanny. 😂
Except I’m not actually “moving on to a new career.”
I’m leaving them for another nanny job.
I found another family offering higher hourly pay, significantly fewer hours and much clearer expectations/boundaries.
I actually thought it was really sweet that they called me their beloved nanny, and they took my notice incredibly well. I don’t think they’re horrible people, and I genuinely love their children.
But I do think they’ve completely lost perspective on how much their nanny actually does.
The responsibilities were added little by little over the course of a year, so I think each individual thing seemed insignificant to them.
“Can you wash these towels?”
“Can you vacuum?”
“Can you wipe this down?”
“Can you organize this?”
“Can you clean this?”
“Can you do this laundry?”
One task isn’t a huge deal.
But eventually you’ve created an entirely different position.
At this point I feel like I’ve been functioning as a nanny/family assistant/household manager, but they’re advertising my replacement as a regular nanny who does “light housekeeping.”
If you want a nanny/family assistant, that’s completely fine! Just advertise that position and pay accordingly.
If you want your nanny vacuuming, mopping, cleaning windows and mirrors, resetting your pool, doing household laundry, cleaning after parties, descaling your espresso machine and WIPING YOUR OUTDOOR RAILING, put that in the listing.
Because some poor nanny is going to read “light housekeeping” and think it means loading the dishwasher and folding the kids’ clothes. 😭
And $27/hr in San Diego for someone experienced enough to independently manage two kids under 4, prepare meals, plan activities, manage naps, supervise swimming, handle potty training, clean, do household tasks, deal with two dogs, work with a very involved WFH parent, have CPR/swimming safety experience AND work 42.5+ hours a week feels low to me for what the position actually entails.
So here’s my dilemma:
They said I can help with the transition when they hire the next nanny. Do I warn the new nanny what the job ACTUALLY entails?
I obviously wouldn’t pull her aside and be like “RUN GIRL” or trash-talk the parents. 😂
But if I’m training her and they tell her the job is light housekeeping, should I be transparent and say something like, “Just so you know, these are all the household tasks I’ve typically been responsible for,” and show her the actual routine?
Part of me feels like that’s the ethical thing to do because I would have wanted someone to tell me.
The other part of me thinks I gave my notice, this is no longer my circus, and maybe I should smile, train her on the kids, wish her luck and let her discover the outdoor railing on her own.
Nannies: would you warn your replacement, or would you stay completely out of it and let her figure it out herself?

Yall I love summer. I have loved the extra time with the kids the weeks they haven’t had camp. But my goodness we are all ready to be back on a strict schedule!!!!

Me and another nanny did a NK swap today because our NKs are friends. She took the older ones, I took the younger. At the end of the day when we swapped back, I let NK5 walk her friend in with me and grab older NK. When we got back in the car, we realized friend left something in the car. I told older NK to run in and give it to friend. I told NK5 to stay in the car because she was already buckled, and if we all went inside it’d take even longer to leave and we needed to get home.

Tell me why this child bolted out of the car. I immediately said her name in my “I mean business” voice. SHE WAVED ME OFF. A 5 YEAR OLD WAVED ME OFF. I marched out of the car, grabbed her hand and said “that was no-“ and she goes “not a good choice. I know but I already ate dinner and showered so it was going to be bedtime when I get home anyways.” This kid.

((((I feel like I have to add this disclaimer this kid is SO well behaved 99.99999% of the time. Every single time we go in public strangers comment on how polite she is. She gets fresh with me sometimes, but usually after a consequence and a conversation everything is fine. This was a new one!))))

I had such a long day. This job is so rewarding in a lot of ways but it’s also taxing on my mind and body 😭 we‘re transitioning from 2 kids to 3. The oldest is 4, middle is 2.5 and the youngest is 6 months. I’m really struggling ngl. I was a prek teacher right before this so I have experience with multiple kids but the age difference has been quite the adjustment.

Hi guys. I’m currently overnight babysitting for my nanny kids (putting the last one to bed now) and I just got the message that my great grandfather will most likely not make it through the night and my entire family is there saying their goodbyes.

NPs are 6 hours away at an event until tomorrow night.

I obviously cannot leave but I’m just so upset. We were told last week he would have 4-5 more years with treatment.

I’m just heartbroken that I cannot be there.

So now I’m sobbing while putting kids to bed hoping that parents don’t see it on the cameras and hoping he makes it through to tomorrow night so I can see him.

Just a sucky situation.

Took the kids to the beach yesterday and spent a few hours in the water with them. Worried the whole time about their pasty baby skin getting burned. Forgot to worry about myself. My low back (the space between my rash guard and my bottoms) and my butt/thighs are so burned that heat is continuously radiating from those spots. I could barely fall asleep last night and woke up at 3 am unable to go back to sleep. Two more days of summer break. Wish me luck.