Wednesday

Employer is locking away all the food

Received Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - Rant
Hello everyone. I know this is not a nanny sighting, but the board has been empty of new stories for a while, so I thought I would submit a problem I am having. I am a live in nanny for a very wealthy family in Switzerland. In my contract, it states "Nanny is welcome to have any of the food or beverages in the kitchen." Pretty straight forward, right? Wrong. First, and I am not exaggerating, there is barely any food ever in the house. I try to eat pretty healthy, but it is hard as there is never any fruits or veggies in the house. There are bottles and bottles of wine though! Whenever my hostmom goes grocery shopping, she only brings the items that she will need that night upstairs, and locks the rest of the food in the cellar.

They own another house in Switzerland, and go to it on the weekends. I need a break on the weekends from work, so I rarely go. However, she takes any food that I might eat while they are gone, and lock it away in the cellar. When it comes time for me to make lunch, she will leave the food out that I am to prepare. The problem is, she will leave enough food for one person when there are two of us that have to eat!

My hostmom is borderline anorexic, and I rarely see her eat. I am not overweight, nor do I binge eat. I am 5'9, and 145lbs. There is no reason to lock up the food!! I usually end up having to buy my own food for meals, and as I only make about $350 and food prices are going up, it is really hard. I have asked for $100 or so more dollars a month to cover my food expenses, and they said no, that I could eat with them! I think this is just more of a rant, lol, but those of you who have live-in nannies, please make sure they are not hungry all the time!!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the "borderline anorexic" woman thinks you can do with some weight loss or something as nutty as she is.

This is not a complicated situation. Tell her there is not enough food in the house and either they need to give you money for food or buy more.

That's it.

Anonymous said...

OP, are you an au pair? If so, can you contact your agency? You don't deserve this and definitely need to do something!

If you are Swiss or can be paid cash, I'd start looking for another job. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Oh man, you need to talk to them. If they don't want to buy food for you then they need to give you a food allowance to go buy it yourself. That sucks!

Anonymous said...

locking up the food? that is ridiculous!! I definitely think you need to ask them or mention it to them.

Anonymous said...

Everytime she locks up the food, hurt her. Steal something treasured from her. Or maybe drop some senkot in her coffee. An eye for an eye.

Kitty said...

I am confused when you say ...."Nanny is welcome to have any of the food or beverages in the kitchen." " The problem is, she will leave enough food for one person when there are two of us that have to eat " The first line is singular, then your 2nd is plural? Are there Two Nannies?

Anonymous said...

Kitty
Um, the kid has to eat, too.
:)

Kitty said...

this blog is distasteful to say the least I acually thought it was real. shame on you whomever you creeps are. get off the net.

Anonymous said...

Why would you say this blog is distasteful?
It is real. These are real people with real problems.
I don't understand why you're upset??

Anonymous said...

No offense is meant to the Swiss, but is that a culture thing, to only keep the food you will need for that day at hand and to put all the other food away? Either way, say something to them again! Maybe she just didn't get it before.

Anonymous said...

I find your comment distasteful, Kitty.

UmassSlytherin said...

kitty,
why are you so mean? I see in your profile it says your interests include cats, cooking, family, and an old jerry o'connell movie that was quite good, actually. but no blog?

You must be unfamiliar with the blogging world if you find this one distasteful. The blog administrators here do a great job of making sure the posts and comments are not distasteful. It is a great blog which is why it is so popular. My blog is distasteful. Not this one, though.

This blog is providing a service and is also a means by which we can all be advocates for quality childcare and quality parenting. It is also a forum in which we can all express our opinions on these issues. What do you find distasteful about that? Please enlighten us.

Anonymous said...

Very eloquent, UMass. I am finding myself actually quite fond of your serious side, too!

UmassSlytherin said...

Thank you, anon. Incidentally, I thought I would let you know that in the film The Dreamers, you can see Michael Pitt nude.

Just saying.

Anonymous said...

Could you ask for a key to the cellar so you can get more food when you want it?

Anonymous said...

So I guess he is HAWT??? How distasteful. ;)

Anonymous said...

OP here, Kitty, why on Earth would think this is fake? Because I accidentally made a grammatical error? I am so sorry for my small mistake, please forgive me.

I am a nanny, and I have a little girl that I watch. There is never enough food for the both of us for lunch, or for snacks. And whoever suggested getting the key, no, she hides that too. No, this is not a cultural thing, as I go to my boyfriends house a lot (they feed me, lol), and there is always pleanty of food. The mom is just weird when it comes to food. Such as telling the little girl that she is "alleric" and is not allowed to drink it. Trust me, she is not allergic. Its because her husband likes whole milk and she doesnt want her little girl to become fat by drinking it.

Anyways, I do appreciate the people who had constructive and positive things to say. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I agree with kitty. Distasteful. You don't need a blog to find one distasteful. Do you need to write a novel to know you don't like reading certain genres?

Anonymous said...

So I, like many others, am still waiting to find out why people find this post distasteful? Kitty, since you made the statement, perhaps you care to support it?

Anonymous said...

I wish people wouldn't make blanket statements like, "This blog is distasteful" ... it leaves it open to all kinds of interpretation and we're left with trying to figure it out for ourselves.
I never was good at guessing games.

Anonymous said...

I am so completely confused. Kitty, were you commenting on the anon comment saying OP should steal something or slip senekot in her food, or on this entire blog?

As to the post, I say sit the woman down and talk to her. Or, if she's not helping, how about the dad? Maybe the mom doesn't realize she's overdoing it.

Anonymous said...

OP,

This family is not a good fit for you. It's not just the food, it's the mother's problems. You say she is nearly anorexic and has an issue of being afraid her daugher will be fat. I don't think I could stay where people were so uptight about food. It can't be just the food. I would feel to weird living where people were so uptight or cheap about their food. Go to your agency or another one and secure another job before quitting.

kathleencares said...

That is really strange that she locks the food away, but maybe it is a cultural thing as the other post mentioned. Either way, I would talk to her and let her know you are hungry and need to eat. If they won't give you extra money for food, they need to make sure you get enough in the home. I would just let her know you are hungry and are use to eating more than they are providing you. If she thinks that is unreasonable, you might consider looking for another job.

Anonymous said...

What a shame this Mom is visiting her food obsession on her Nanny.

You really should have a talk with her and explain that you need access to the food, be it with your own key or whatever.

If this continues .... you'd be better off trying to find a different job.
You don't say how long you've been with this Family, but I would hope there aren't other serious issues involved than her just keeping the food locked away --- there's something really wrong with that.