for nannies

For nannies....what do you think are the most challenging part or work of being a nanny???

hoping to hear your response soon....

Before settling down with my own family, I worked as a nanny for many years in Australia, Germany, Ireland and Sweden.


The hardest part for me was dealing with parents who expect a certain standard of discipline, behaviour, etc from the children when under the nanny's care yet when the parents are at the wheel, the kids get away with murder! Parents have to be consistent in their expectations of the children under the care of all adults whether it be grandma, nanny, teacher, sports coach or parents. If the kids aren't allowed to demand juice from the nanny and have to eat at the table, then plonking them in front of the TV with snacks and juice when the parents are watching them sends the wrong message to the kids. The nanny is an extension of your parenting and has to be afforded the same authority and respect.


I worked for an Irish Lord and Lady who had no relationship with their 4 kids whatsoever. The father is a lawyer and the mother doesn't work but is a bit of a socialite. I was the live in nanny and there was also a daily nanny, part time gardener, part time housekeeper...it was chaos! The children where not the easiest BECAUSE the parents were so difficult and unreasonable to work for that very few nannies lasted longer than 6 months. One qualified maternity nurse they hired just after the 4th was born lasted 2 days before quitting! The instability in the childrens lives made them emotional wrecks. The 8 year old was always angry and sullen, the 6 year old was a yo-yo swinging from clingy to violent and back in minutes, the 3 year old was an unhealthy attention seeker and the one year old was to young to be ruined yet but prefered the 2 nannies over his own parents and even didn't recognise his mother after she'd been away a week.


This family was one extreme! -but from a nanny's perspective, if you have a good and understanding employer who sets reasonable expectations and sees you as part of the 'team', the job falls into place and you're happy.


PS, the reason I left that job after 3 months, besides the difficult working situation was that the father, who had been making inappropriate comments about my body, sexyness, etc from the start, tried to come into my room one night whilst his wife was away on a showjumping clinic....I gave my notice as soon as she came back.



As beancurd mentioned, when you're the one who gets to feel a sense of achievement over teaching the child a new skill or you get to be there to see the 1st steps, you can't help but feel a bit of guilt that you're seeing this and not the parent. I had some great employers who saw me as part of the family and their kids loved me and I loved them back. I'd think about them constantly when on holidays and I still keep in touch and send a birthday note....still think of them!

thank you so much guys! youve just given me a lot of ideas that would certainly help me to have a better understanding regarding this matter...