We have had our nanny for about 4 months and she is great with the kids and the kids love her. When she first broke something, I thought "accidents happen" and told her not to worry about it. Now it has been 4 months and she has broken so many things that I am losing count...Candle Holder, Small Bathroom Mirror, Kids Blue Chair, Patio Chairs (2), Living room window blinds (2), Stains on floor, Set of markers every week left out to dry, child's thermus, swing on playset, wine glasses (2) & we have a battery operated 4 wheeler for the kids that she leaves out in the yard everytime she uses it...so that won't keep for much longer. We pay her a lot of money and now the damage she has accomplished over the past several months is adding up fast. How should I handle this? She is very sensitive.
Thank you for the ideas. Made the list and talked to her about it. She was understanding and agreed that future instances will be compensated for.
Make a list like you would for a child and tell her what all needs put up, taken care of etc, and that this responsibility goes with the job. do you think the kids do any of it and she just doesn't want to blame them, or does she do it all, as she should start to be responsible for her actions when it is big things. Something little like a felt pen is one thing , expensive things are something she isn't be responsible about.
If you want to keep her as a nanny, let her know that from now on, whatever she breaks will be taken out of her checks. If it continues though, let her know you will have no choice to let her go. You can even give her a deadline (say, a month, or whatever you decide you can put up with). Tell her that all toys should be put away after use. This also teaches the kids responsibilty. I was a nanny for 3 years, and if I had broken anything, I would have offered to pay for it right away. You said she's sensitive, but she is also your employee. If you hired someone to help with your business and they kept costing you money, would you keep them or let the behavior continue? Probably not.
You need to talk to her about it. I am a nanny and the worst thing is when you feel like you can't have open, honest conversations with the parents and vice versa. Plus, what is she teaching your child when she doesn't put things away or take care of items and they end up getting ruined. As a nanny, showing children how to take good care of their toys or the items in their house is a very important part of teaching them personal responsibility. I think if you explain to her the situation and let her know that you would appreciate her taking more care with your items, she should understand. If she doesn't, or makes a huge deal about it, maybe you need to look for other help. If you pay someone to work for you, then you should be able to expect certain things from them and if they can't meet your conditions, they might not be right for the job.
Business is business. She's not taking care of your stuff. Fire her.
Broken things: I agree that you should write a list of what has been broken and the value of them, and just explain that you're not angry, but this needs to stop now. Not only is it things being lost that are of value (sentimental or financial) to you, but that the sheer number of things being broken in such a short time shows a lack of concern for your personal property. And things like mirrors can leave little splinters of glass that could hurt the children. If it is the children and she's taking the blame, covering for them is a mistake because they need to learn how to take care of their things. As for things being left out: marker sets and the 4 wheeler): how are the children supposed to learn to care for and respect their property when she's not? She's a big girl, and she needs to understand the simple things that we all teach our children (like put away your toys) or she's not fit to be their nanny. That's not mean, it's common sense.
I've been through a couple of nannies in the past year. There's a fine line you have to walk when it comes to them. On one hand you want to be stern and managerial since after all it's a business and she's your employee. On the other hand you have to be delicate because you'll always have it in the back of your mind that if you piss her off she'll take it out on your children. I would sit her down alone and talk to her in a professional manner about how it's important that she informs you when things get broken and who broke it. Write a list of everything that's been broken so far and the estimated cost. Let her see on paper that these things add up. It's also important that she understands that if it were your children who broke something that covering for them is hurting them, not helping them. They need to learn that there are consequences for their actions (age appropriate of course). If you want her to be the one to discipline them you need to be VERY specific on how she's to handle it. If it turns out that she's the one breaking the stuff then I would give her a week or two after having this conversation with her and see if it stops. If not, let her go. You might look into getting a few nanny cams. They can be hidden or not and you can even get the kind that you can monitor from the internet at work. I hope this helped!
That is awful. It sounds like she is not being f=very careful and does not value your things.
What you should do is bring your kiddos to me. :-)
I run a day care from my home. I will have opening in June. I live in McKinney near 121 and Stacy Rd. We have lots of fun here and I have a room dedicated to the kids. I've got a grassy backyard with a swing set and sandbox.
I have lots of age appropriate toys for learning. We love to play and read books together, play silly games to encourage learning. I love being around kids and feel blessed every day.
If you are interested I wouldllove to share more information with you,
M. ###-###-####
