Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Question of the Day

Every once in a while, we will post a "Question of the Day" for everyone to discuss. We can talk about how we would all handle certain situations and get different perspectives on the issues from both nannies and employers. I present to you our first problem:

Yesterday, I got an email from an upset nanny because her boss canceled on her because of heavy snow. Her boss, worrying about her safety, told her not to bother coming into work. The nanny appreciated the employer's concern, but was upset that she wasn't going to be paid for the day and her rent is due in a few days. What do you guys think about the situation? Should nannies be paid when their work day is canceled by their employer? On one hand, the nanny obviously won't be doing any work for the parent, so should she get paid when she is told she can stay home? On the other hand, its not her fault that it snowed (or whatever the reason may be for the employer canceling) and she depends on every paycheck. Opinions? Comments can be posted anonymously, so feel free to talk away!

Friday, February 23, 2007

Thursday, February 22, 2007

To Do: Find a New Assistant

Often, when I tell people that I am a nanny, they react as if I've just told them that I don't have a job.

"Cool, so you just sit on the couch all day, eating ice cream sandwiches?"

No, no I don't.

Anyone who is a nanny can tell you that nannydom is full of many things, the least of which is downtime. Kids do not take six hour naps, we don't watch t.v. all day, and contrary to popular belief, childcare is not the only thing we do...it's what we expect to do, but it isn't long before the other jobs start to creep in and our job becomes less about being the nanny, and more about being the household manager.

The "To Do" list made its first appearance in my life one spring morning when I showed up to work. The mother, rushing out of the house, yelled on her way out, "Can you run a couple of errands for me? I left the list on the counter."

This first list wasn't very intimidating. Pick up milk and cheese from the grocery store, drop off dry cleaning and buy stamps at the post office. These things I can handle. Sure, they weren't part of my job description and if I wanted to be someone's personal assistant, I would have gotten that job instead, but at this point, I wasn't very troubled. I ran the errands, kids in tow, and hoped that "to do" lists weren't going to be a daily thing.

Four weeks and dozens of lists later, I wondered where the turning point of my job had been. It was as if my employer had joined some sort of "Make Your Nanny Manage Your Life" forum. Overnight, I had gone from "childcare provider" to "grocery shopper, dry-clean runner, package sender, car washer, weed trimmer, and appointment maker." I also had to help the carpet guy figure out how and where to move all the furniture out of the three rooms he was re-carpeting and pick up a second cousin from the airport. None of these things had been mentioned in my interview, during which the job had been presented as taking care of two little boys. Imagine if the day were spent running my own errands, dragging the kids all over town. I would be fired before I could say, "The dry-cleaning had to be picked up by five."

It's as if employers don't have time to work these things into their own busy, hectic schedules, so they dump them instead into our busy, hectic schedules. These schedules, mind you, that are supposed to primarily be about taking care of the kids. Before you ask your nanny to take Fido to the dog groomer or to make sure all the plants in the backyard are watered, please remember that these are not the jobs she asked for...and if these are the services you need, advertise correctly:

WANTED: PERSONAL SHOPPER, PRESENT BUYER/WRAPPER, DOG WALKER, LANDSCAPE MANAGER, DRIVING SERVICE FOR DISTANT RELATIVES, babysitter, etc.

And, just so we're clear...bringing your husband's underwear to the laundromat with the rest of the dirty clothes kind of makes me uncomfortable...I'm just saying...