I was a nanny for four weeks to two badly behaved boys. They didn't listen, would scream and throw things at me. I called upon my 7 years nanny experience to deal with them. One day the five year old was having a screaming fit and throwing coffee mugs at my head. I said very calmly, "The answer is no. You are not having a can of coke. Stop acting like a spoiled brat". Was it a bit harsh, yes, I'm sure, but I was under fire. Well the kid told on me after I left that day. The father called me up and it his haughty English accent told me that he wouldn't tolerate me emotionally abusing the children any longer. He further advised me that he was seriously considering involving the authorities. That was on a Tuesday night. I never got paid for that week. Quite honestly, I felt they were threatening my reputation, so I took it as a loss.
I got fired over Munster Cheese. Three years ago, I was working as a live-out nanny for two attorneys in Rye, NY. I made $700 a week and lived in Port Chester, the next town over. The hours started early and ended late but the three kids were in school all day. For dinner, they ate Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Dinsosaur shaped chicken nuggets or Michelina Entrees. So, cooking dinner was a breeze. Breakfast was Captain Crunch or Poptarts or Toaster Struedel. Breakfast was a breeze. Lunch was at school. They didn't keep any food in the house except these things. One a rare occasion, they would go to Whole Foods and get some good breads and vegetables, that was nice. The parents ate breakfast and dinner and lunch on the fly. I don't know what they did weekends. One day I was out and I got two bagels at the bagel store. I ate one with cream cheese for lunch at the park. That evening when the kids were eating their processed packaged crap, I put a few slices of munster cheese on a bagel and put it in the toaster oven. It was great. I left work as always at 8PM. At 8:45, I get a phone call, "What happened to ALL of the Munster Cheese". I said, "What are you talking about?" My female employer was screaching at the top of her lungs about how I had been eating all of their groceries and she couldn't take it any longer. She said she "Needed these remedied" I asked her, "what are you saying?" She said, "It'd be nice if you went to the store, purchased some cheese and returned it". I started to explain to her that I had used three slices of cheese, but she interrupted me. "Why, Why, Why would you use any cheese? That was from the Country Store." I was shocked, but sane, so I said"I think you're over reacting". She said, "Well was I over reacting about the cherries? What about the hot chocolate? And the blueberry muffins?" Before she listed everything I had eaten in the past three months, I said, "I am not bringing you cheese". She slammed the phone down on me so hard me ear hurt. About twenty seconds later it rang again. It was her. I picked it up, she screamed, "AND BY THE WAY, Don't come back, you're fired". I started to tell her I would be back for my pay but she hung up on me. I had to work with the agency that found me the job to get the pay she owed me and it took about ten days. Over cheese.
Got fired from a nanny job. Need to vent about the experience. Well, last week I was fired. The mother came home and told me Suzy and I just weren’t clicking. I wasn’t spending enough time with Suzy, she was spending a lot of time on her own, and the parents “were having to come home from work early because she felt uncomfortable around [me].” (Read the rest HERE)
I "Leaned in" at my Nanny Job and Got Fired...(by Laurel Lathrop)
One Wednesday night not long ago, I went to bed with a job and woke up unemployed.
I was a nanny, working for an extremely wealthy family in Manhattan. The dad was a C-level exec at a financial firm, with a glossy home office that included an aquarium full of tropical fish. The mom was a homemaker who had contracted an autoimmune disease that made her too weak to do most chores.I picked up the couple’s two daughters from school and supervised their homework; I helped with cooking, laundry, and errands. This was normal nanny stuff, plus some tutoring: the younger daughter was struggling to read at her grade level, so we read together for half an hour every day on top of anything assigned by teachers. (Read the rest HERE)
2 comments:
As a new employer I tried to think of every scenario possible and cover it in the contract, but even so I still forgot a few things and the Nanny didn't suggest any changes (maybe b/c she was scared to do so or didn't know what to suggest).
But, I understood that Nannies expect to be paid consistently which to me is similar to the rule that you pay for daycare even if your child is absent. We will be traveling next weekend and as such the Nanny will have a free day on Monday but she will be paid her full week salary. I understand that she needs consistent pay, and she also understands that we will run late once in a while (we also come home early once in a while too) it works out, everyone is happy. and, I want my Nanny to be happy b/c she is taking care of my child. We also negotiated babysitting fee and overnight fee, etc. I did forget to negotiate dog watching fee, so dog will be boarded this time around.
You sound like an amazing and thoughtful employer. Good for you!
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