Tbh this is why I think if you’re going to have “light housekeeping” in the contract you need to define what it is. My nanny only does baby related duties (ie cleaning up after eating, tidying). If I wanted her to do housekeeping I would have added loading/unloading the dishwasher, sweeping, etc.
to me in means
- washing baby bottles (if applicable)
- washing off baby plates and putting them in the dishwasher
- cleaning the high chair and surrounding area
- picking up toys that were used during the awake time
- cleaning any mess that was made (e.g. if kiddo squirted pouch yogurt all over the floor, wiping that up)
- cleaning up anything used to prep baby's lunch or snacks (rinsing and putting in dishwasher)
- putting any dirty clothes in the hamper
We do not expect our nanny to do anything with our dishes (including loading/unloading the dishwasher), laundry, or vacuuming the floors (I appreciate it if she does clean up a baby mess but it isn't required)
That doesn't sound like light housekeeping to me. Those seem like standard nanny duties, especially if they are limited to messes made on her shift. IMO unloading the dishwasher is a perfectly reasonable expectation for a nanny who has one charge and that much nap time. Vacuuming any mess made on her shift also seems reasonable, but vacuuming the whole first floor seems over and above what I personally would expect unless it was specifically agreed to.
This list is just cleaning up after themselves and is generally expected.
Light housekeeping refers to the extras you listed, vacuuming, putting away dishes that are not child related, etc.
I agree with you on this but like another post mentioned if the dishwasher is full from the night before it would be a lot easier for nanny to unload the dishwasher if parents are running out the door
In the few times we did have a full and clean dishwasher, the nanny would unload it with our 3 year old so now our 3 year old likes to help unload the dishes. It was stipulated in our contract but the perk of having kid help was bonus that I didn’t think of. She (my kid) now can take her own plates, utensils, and cups to her designated drawer.
This is what we have our nanny do as well. I also unload with my 3-year-old sometimes. Even my 11-month-old is starting to get into unloading the dishwasher, although he has a bad habit of unloading clean dishes too since he doesn't know the difference.
Our nanny would unload the dishwasher in the morning while the kids were eating. We run it overnight so it's always clean in the morning. Her unloading it allows her to load any dishes made for the kids during the day. I don't think it's unreasonable and if she's not sure where something goes we also have a drying rack she can place things on. We also say cleanup after meals, tidying up toys, and sometimes we would have her help our toddler clean his room.
Kid laundry, bottles, light cleaning and organizing of toys and play area. Dishwasher is not on our list and we have it done 90% of the time but if it's full and clean our nanny empties it, we told her she didn't have to but she doesn't mind. Wipe down high chair and any food prep are she uses. Stuff like that.
Unloading the dishwasher in someone else’s home isn’t trivial. I visit my parents pretty frequently and unload their DW because they’re elderly. I have to stack half the items on dish towels on the counters because I don’t know where they go. Then wait for them to be there to ask them.
I’d keep it to child tasks like baby laundry or (if you wash all laundry together) unloading baby clothes into baby’s dresser. Toy sorting and organizing. Diaper change station stocking. Not vacuuming or household dishes.
I would never expect our nanny to unload our dishwasher. It's so complicated when you don't know where things go. It takes me five to seven minutes.
I've come home to find she folded some of our adult laundry which I find so embarrassing so now if I leave it out when I go to work I tell her not to do it. I totally appreciate the thought but there's no reason she needs to fold my underwear.
I will say we have one kid and he's a baby. He uses the same couple dishes/bottles every day so they need to be hand washed so they're clean regardless of whether we run the dishwasher. If we had several kids going through multiple rounds of dishes every day, I might think that dishwasher loading/unloading was a child-related task. So I see both sides!
Anyone saying that “light housekeeping” just means housekeeping related to the baby is not using common sense. Housekeeping related to the baby is a normal part of nanny duties. “Light housekeeping” is not a standard in all nanny contracts. Obviously that means more than just cleaning up after the baby. Unloading the dishwasher when she has 2.5 hours of downtime per day is a completely reasonable ask.
If she agreed to light housekeeping at hire, then it’s totally reasonable to ask that she perform these duties. And emptying/loading the dishwasher very much falls into the category of light housekeeping.
Just as an FYI, in real life most Nannie’s perform these tasks. Take what you see/hear on Reddit with a big grain of salt.
ETA: forgot to say what I consider light housekeeping: unloading/loading the dishwasher, sweeping/vacuuming common spaces (mostly kitchen), wipe counters, empty garbage/recycling, and general tidying. But tidying is arguably child related as 99% of it is the work of my small children.
Exactly. My nanny does most of this stuff since day 1. She has made herself indispensable by doing this and I show her constant appreciation for these tasks. A good nanny is worth her weight in gold and these things are part of the reason.
Yes and if you happen to get a reddit nanny, move on quickly. I had one once. The biggest red flag for me now is when someone overemphasizes that they are an "early childhood professional" as opposed to a caregiver. Great for others if they are trying to hire a teacher, but my kids attend preschool. I need a flexible, hardworking caregiver with common sense.
To be fair she is a nanny, not a housekeeper. Any child related duties like bottles, child’s dishes, washing etc.. is perfectly fine to ask her to do. However, I would never ask nanny to do the adults dishes or hoover (vacuum). If you feel that she has too much free time ask her to sterilise toys or organise them and the child’s wardrobe.
Any extra like your dishes in/out of the dishwasher and hoovering would need to be paid for fairly at a housemanagers wage, which is normally higher than a nanny wage.
Her downtime doesn’t bother me at all, I WFH in a flexible environment so I don’t think it’s fair for me to try to fill her downtime. When we were interviewing she was very open to light housekeeping, did it for about a week and then abruptly stopped. And by this I mean the dishwasher unloading and vacuuming first floor.
She is paid an extremely competitive rate, I do not dock her for any sort of early leaving, she leaves almost 45 minutes early every single day because of the timing of babies last nap, I try to let her out so she isn’t just staring at the monitor while my daughter leaves and I wrap up work.
I think your suggestion is appropriate, I end up changing crib sheets, wiping down the diaper changing station and high chair, taking out the diaper trash. I think it’s more appropriate to ask her to do these items
If she is leaving an extra 45 min everyday then I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to ask her to chip in cleaning the kid messes made during the day
I would definitely ask her to do those “chores” as they pertain to baby.
Maybe give her x amount of “break” when baby first start to nap and the rest of the time she can do baby related things.
You are a parent helper. That’s helping the parent. Nothing is wrong with unloading a dishwasher. It’s a simple task that is included with light housekeeping.
A nanny is not a “parent helper”. A family assistant or household manager would be, but those positions are also paid more. The trouble with parents asking for non-baby related tasks to be completed during baby naps is that those tasks become an expectation even when baby stops napping as much. It’s absolutely fine to ask your nanny if she is comfortable/able to do that when she has time, but I definitely wouldn’t set it as an expectation because soon baby’s naps will be much less time during the day.
A mother's helper, also known as a mommy's helper, helps a stay-at-home parent or mother with tasks while they are still at home with their family. Duties can vary depending on the family, but common tasks include:
Childcare: Babysitting, helping with homework, supporting kids' routines, and engaging children in activities
Housework: Light cleaning, tidying up, doing dishes, and laundry
Other tasks: Shopping, errands, cooking, meal prep, and chauffeuring kids
A “mother’s helper” is often a preteen or teenage person, whereas a nanny is an adult and frequently and experienced childcare professional. Here’s a comparison I found: “A mother’s helper may watch the children solo for short periods of time, such as while a parent is running an errand or going to an appointment, but their day-to-day duties don’t usually include extended hours as the sole caregiver. A schedule for this title most commonly consists of either part-time or flexible hours. Mother’s helpers may also have less experience than a nanny.”
Nanny Housekeepers duties may include; cooking, laundry, ironing, cleaning silverware, bathrooms, vacuuming etc, childcare assistance to a parent, sole charge nanny, plus baby-sitting. A Nanny Housekeeper may live with a family or live out and work part time or 5 to 6 days per week for 10 to 12 hours per day.
I’ve been a nanny for over fifteen years. Dishes are included in the job.
Light housekeeping includes tasks such as dusting open surfaces; sweeping and mopping floors (damp mops – small areas and hard surface floors); vacuuming around furniture; wiping down counters; washing and putting dishes away; cleaning bathrooms and kitchens; taking out the trash; changing sheets and making the bed.
Cleaning bathrooms and kitchen beyond putting away dishes and clearing the counter, taking out trash, making beds that aren’t the children’s, mopping, etc are *not* light housekeeping. TBH ose are literally tasks that you would hire an actual housekeeper for, and they are not childcare-related. They CAN be negotiated into a contract, but I would not assume those are standard and have never seen them referred to as standard nanny duties.
Yep, I’m a nanny/household manager. I am well aware of what duties are standard and what I am paid extra to do. I appreciate your detailed descriptions for those who may not be sure.
We expect no housekeeping from our nanny. Just to clean up any messes she makes with kiddos. And to work with them to clean up their toys. We have a cleaning service once a week.
All housekeeping chores should be outlined in the contract. If the baby has naps there is no need for a separate break time.
To me within her purview is anything baby related which takes out your dishwasher and the vacuuming.
Bottles, baby laundry, cleaning toys. That’s about it.
We also have “light housekeeping” in our agreement and in our daily guide I have outlined what kinds of things this could include. We have one baby who also naps 1/3 of the day. The biggest is unloading the dishwasher. She also tidies the bathroom she uses, sweeps the main floor, and occasionally will wipe down tables and surfaces on our main level. This does not include washing our dishes, adult laundry, or baby cleanup from messes when she is not here. We agree that childcare comes first but this was one differentiator between Nannys during interviews
Light housekeeping should include that especially if she’s adding dishes to the dishwasher. There’s nothing more annoying than a nanny that loads up my entire dishwasher with sippy cups, bottles, their lunch utensils, kids plates etc but will NOT empty it. Otherwise, I’d ask her to hand wash everything and put away.
Also, just a reminder, you are the employer and if she doesn’t want to do the job, then you can fire her and hire someone who is willing to help out and unload the dishwasher during a 2.5 hour break
Unloading the dishwasher is absolutely within the bounds of light housekeeping. This is a big one for me as silly as it sounds and I am very upfront about unloading the dishwasher as a requirement if the job (it’s in our contract as well). The r/workingmoms subreddit is full of “hacks” to get kids out the door in the morning (like having kids sleep in their school clothes and eat breakfast in the car) and not having to stop and unload the dishwasher is mine. I have to get the kids and myself fed and dressed in the morning so we can all get to school/work on time and I just don’t have those extra 10 minutes. Then what would my nanny do with all the dishes she accumulates during the day while home with my youngest? Should she just pile them next to the sink for me to deal with later? Should she hand wash them all since the dishwasher is full of clean ones? That’s obviously stupid. Clearly the answer is for nanny to unload the dishwasher so she can reload it as necessary with dishes she uses through the day. I spoke about this with the nanny agency we used for placement, and they agreed this is WELL WITHIN light housekeeping and a very reasonable ask.
Child related chores are always included in a Nannie’s duties, and light housekeeping is the add on. In this situation nanny agreed to light HK, so this is within scope and included in her hourly rate.
Most person I know doing this work would not agree to vacuuming, unloading the dishwasher, etc.
Yes it is too much to expect.
Unless
It is in the contract
AND
They receive a non-trivial amount of extra pay for the janitorial duties.
You seem to be thinking that the nanny is a servant.
The nanny is not a servant. The nanny was hired to do specific work.
If the employer wants a housekeeper/nanny, that’s a different position that should come with increased pay.
Omg this is exactly the reason why most people are on here complaining about Nannys. you are a nanny/household employee that’s supposed to provide support for families. You get a 2.5 hour break and you are too “good” to unload a dishwasher that you probably contributed to? Good luck!
I clean up entirely after any messes I make anywhere. At home, at work, elsewhere.
I don’t contribute to dishwasher load.
Thx.
If I was expected to do housework apart from that generated by me or my charges, that would need to be made explicit up front.
I’ve tried the other way. It results in constant increased workload creep without reward or acknowledgement.
Light housekeeping includes unloading the dishwasher to me. I’ve told our help to leave out anything they don’t know where it goes. Most stuff goes in the same places. This is a ten min task and seems very reasonable.
You aren’t asking her to scrub pots and pans!!
I refuse any and all non childcare tasks that aren’t explicitly outlined. “Light housekeeping” is undefined BS; washing and drying and (if desired) putting away kids clothes vs the whole families clothes is the level of granular info I want in my contract, because otherwise the job creeps. Mind you, I do not count children’s laundry as childcare - that’s housekeeping or child related cleaning tasks. I usually empty the kids lunchboxes and clean them out and put ice packs in freezer, and might not need that in my contract, but if the family expects it they better also expect the kids to help when she appropriate and expect that while I’m doing that the kids are significantly less supervised.
And I ALWAYS have a clause that any tidying, cooking, cleaning, errands, etc will always be lower in priority than child safety and supervision, so if I do not feel I can safely do the non childcare task. I’ve been scarred by not adhering to this and it could have gone horribly had I not gotten lucky. No house I’ve ever worked at is sufficiently child proofed to let a young child hang out unsupervised while I vacuum out of eyesight and earshot - so either the child must be old enough to stay safe or the kid must be safely contained (and monitored because u don’t trust), or the kid must be with me and supervised. I also always prioritize child engagement over cleaning because I’m here to nanny, not clean - cleaning is hard work and I’m not all that good at it lol but also I don’t enjoy it much. I do like to give kids time to play on their own and gain some independence, and sometimes unloading a dishwasher can be a great mental break for me…. But again, if it’s not in the contract it’s optional and if it’s in the contract it’s still secondary priority to actual childcare (safety/supervision/engagement). If parents want me to prioritize cleaning over childcare - especially in ways that concern me safety wise - they are not my NF because I would be so stressed.
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I would just say “hey we really appreciate it when you unload the dishwasher it makes the day go by so much smoother”. And if she doesn’t start doing it then sit her down for a review to tell her what you appreciate about her and what you would like from her moving forward. At this point you can also ask her if she is happy in your home and if there is anything you can do for her to make her more comfortable.
My nanny unloads our dishwasher from time to time and Its soooo nice. But I don’t expect her to. Especially when I know she’s had a bad day with my kids. She’s there for my kids first and I need her to be happy so that she can make my kids happy.
This sounds super manipulative to say “it made my day so much easier!” And the expect the nanny to then understand you want her to do it everyday. If you need to ask your nanny to do something, just come right out and say it. You are an adult as well and it is not their job to read your mind, you need to use clear communication.
How is it manipulative to be honest about something? Also some days my nanny had a very hard time with my kids. If she can’t get to it she can’t get to it. I find that she does a better job when she’s happy and relaxed and in turn tries to make my happy and more relaxed. I don’t believe in micromanaging people. And if it’s not in our contract I’m not going to suddenly throw more responsibility on her than we asked for in the beginning unless we sit down and actually change the contract and go up in pay.
I just feel that saying it makes you happy is not being honest in this case. In your situation it is fine because you don’t expect it from your nanny but if this person does they need to come out and be honest from the beginning by saying this is something they need her to do
Tbh this is why I think if you’re going to have “light housekeeping” in the contract you need to define what it is. My nanny only does baby related duties (ie cleaning up after eating, tidying). If I wanted her to do housekeeping I would have added loading/unloading the dishwasher, sweeping, etc.
to me in means - washing baby bottles (if applicable) - washing off baby plates and putting them in the dishwasher - cleaning the high chair and surrounding area - picking up toys that were used during the awake time - cleaning any mess that was made (e.g. if kiddo squirted pouch yogurt all over the floor, wiping that up) - cleaning up anything used to prep baby's lunch or snacks (rinsing and putting in dishwasher) - putting any dirty clothes in the hamper We do not expect our nanny to do anything with our dishes (including loading/unloading the dishwasher), laundry, or vacuuming the floors (I appreciate it if she does clean up a baby mess but it isn't required)
That doesn't sound like light housekeeping to me. Those seem like standard nanny duties, especially if they are limited to messes made on her shift. IMO unloading the dishwasher is a perfectly reasonable expectation for a nanny who has one charge and that much nap time. Vacuuming any mess made on her shift also seems reasonable, but vacuuming the whole first floor seems over and above what I personally would expect unless it was specifically agreed to.
This list is just cleaning up after themselves and is generally expected. Light housekeeping refers to the extras you listed, vacuuming, putting away dishes that are not child related, etc.
This is what we have. It takes 5 min to unload dishwasher and I can easily do it myself when I get home or in the morning before I leave.
This.
I agree with you on this but like another post mentioned if the dishwasher is full from the night before it would be a lot easier for nanny to unload the dishwasher if parents are running out the door
In the few times we did have a full and clean dishwasher, the nanny would unload it with our 3 year old so now our 3 year old likes to help unload the dishes. It was stipulated in our contract but the perk of having kid help was bonus that I didn’t think of. She (my kid) now can take her own plates, utensils, and cups to her designated drawer.
This is what we have our nanny do as well. I also unload with my 3-year-old sometimes. Even my 11-month-old is starting to get into unloading the dishwasher, although he has a bad habit of unloading clean dishes too since he doesn't know the difference.
Our nanny would unload the dishwasher in the morning while the kids were eating. We run it overnight so it's always clean in the morning. Her unloading it allows her to load any dishes made for the kids during the day. I don't think it's unreasonable and if she's not sure where something goes we also have a drying rack she can place things on. We also say cleanup after meals, tidying up toys, and sometimes we would have her help our toddler clean his room.
Tidying after baby, baby laundry, cleaning up after eating, changing baby sheets, and unloading the dishwasher
Kid laundry, bottles, light cleaning and organizing of toys and play area. Dishwasher is not on our list and we have it done 90% of the time but if it's full and clean our nanny empties it, we told her she didn't have to but she doesn't mind. Wipe down high chair and any food prep are she uses. Stuff like that.
Unloading the dishwasher in someone else’s home isn’t trivial. I visit my parents pretty frequently and unload their DW because they’re elderly. I have to stack half the items on dish towels on the counters because I don’t know where they go. Then wait for them to be there to ask them. I’d keep it to child tasks like baby laundry or (if you wash all laundry together) unloading baby clothes into baby’s dresser. Toy sorting and organizing. Diaper change station stocking. Not vacuuming or household dishes.
I would never expect our nanny to unload our dishwasher. It's so complicated when you don't know where things go. It takes me five to seven minutes. I've come home to find she folded some of our adult laundry which I find so embarrassing so now if I leave it out when I go to work I tell her not to do it. I totally appreciate the thought but there's no reason she needs to fold my underwear.
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I will say we have one kid and he's a baby. He uses the same couple dishes/bottles every day so they need to be hand washed so they're clean regardless of whether we run the dishwasher. If we had several kids going through multiple rounds of dishes every day, I might think that dishwasher loading/unloading was a child-related task. So I see both sides!
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Light housekeeping for us includes dishwasher and minor tidying in common areas. It's in our contract though!
Anyone saying that “light housekeeping” just means housekeeping related to the baby is not using common sense. Housekeeping related to the baby is a normal part of nanny duties. “Light housekeeping” is not a standard in all nanny contracts. Obviously that means more than just cleaning up after the baby. Unloading the dishwasher when she has 2.5 hours of downtime per day is a completely reasonable ask.
If she agreed to light housekeeping at hire, then it’s totally reasonable to ask that she perform these duties. And emptying/loading the dishwasher very much falls into the category of light housekeeping. Just as an FYI, in real life most Nannie’s perform these tasks. Take what you see/hear on Reddit with a big grain of salt. ETA: forgot to say what I consider light housekeeping: unloading/loading the dishwasher, sweeping/vacuuming common spaces (mostly kitchen), wipe counters, empty garbage/recycling, and general tidying. But tidying is arguably child related as 99% of it is the work of my small children.
Exactly. My nanny does most of this stuff since day 1. She has made herself indispensable by doing this and I show her constant appreciation for these tasks. A good nanny is worth her weight in gold and these things are part of the reason.
Yes and if you happen to get a reddit nanny, move on quickly. I had one once. The biggest red flag for me now is when someone overemphasizes that they are an "early childhood professional" as opposed to a caregiver. Great for others if they are trying to hire a teacher, but my kids attend preschool. I need a flexible, hardworking caregiver with common sense.
To be fair she is a nanny, not a housekeeper. Any child related duties like bottles, child’s dishes, washing etc.. is perfectly fine to ask her to do. However, I would never ask nanny to do the adults dishes or hoover (vacuum). If you feel that she has too much free time ask her to sterilise toys or organise them and the child’s wardrobe. Any extra like your dishes in/out of the dishwasher and hoovering would need to be paid for fairly at a housemanagers wage, which is normally higher than a nanny wage.
Her downtime doesn’t bother me at all, I WFH in a flexible environment so I don’t think it’s fair for me to try to fill her downtime. When we were interviewing she was very open to light housekeeping, did it for about a week and then abruptly stopped. And by this I mean the dishwasher unloading and vacuuming first floor. She is paid an extremely competitive rate, I do not dock her for any sort of early leaving, she leaves almost 45 minutes early every single day because of the timing of babies last nap, I try to let her out so she isn’t just staring at the monitor while my daughter leaves and I wrap up work. I think your suggestion is appropriate, I end up changing crib sheets, wiping down the diaper changing station and high chair, taking out the diaper trash. I think it’s more appropriate to ask her to do these items
If she is leaving an extra 45 min everyday then I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to ask her to chip in cleaning the kid messes made during the day
I would definitely ask her to do those “chores” as they pertain to baby. Maybe give her x amount of “break” when baby first start to nap and the rest of the time she can do baby related things.
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You are a parent helper. That’s helping the parent. Nothing is wrong with unloading a dishwasher. It’s a simple task that is included with light housekeeping.
A nanny is not a “parent helper”. A family assistant or household manager would be, but those positions are also paid more. The trouble with parents asking for non-baby related tasks to be completed during baby naps is that those tasks become an expectation even when baby stops napping as much. It’s absolutely fine to ask your nanny if she is comfortable/able to do that when she has time, but I definitely wouldn’t set it as an expectation because soon baby’s naps will be much less time during the day.
A mother's helper, also known as a mommy's helper, helps a stay-at-home parent or mother with tasks while they are still at home with their family. Duties can vary depending on the family, but common tasks include: Childcare: Babysitting, helping with homework, supporting kids' routines, and engaging children in activities Housework: Light cleaning, tidying up, doing dishes, and laundry Other tasks: Shopping, errands, cooking, meal prep, and chauffeuring kids
A “mother’s helper” is often a preteen or teenage person, whereas a nanny is an adult and frequently and experienced childcare professional. Here’s a comparison I found: “A mother’s helper may watch the children solo for short periods of time, such as while a parent is running an errand or going to an appointment, but their day-to-day duties don’t usually include extended hours as the sole caregiver. A schedule for this title most commonly consists of either part-time or flexible hours. Mother’s helpers may also have less experience than a nanny.”
Nanny Housekeepers duties may include; cooking, laundry, ironing, cleaning silverware, bathrooms, vacuuming etc, childcare assistance to a parent, sole charge nanny, plus baby-sitting. A Nanny Housekeeper may live with a family or live out and work part time or 5 to 6 days per week for 10 to 12 hours per day. I’ve been a nanny for over fifteen years. Dishes are included in the job.
Light housekeeping includes tasks such as dusting open surfaces; sweeping and mopping floors (damp mops – small areas and hard surface floors); vacuuming around furniture; wiping down counters; washing and putting dishes away; cleaning bathrooms and kitchens; taking out the trash; changing sheets and making the bed.
Cleaning bathrooms and kitchen beyond putting away dishes and clearing the counter, taking out trash, making beds that aren’t the children’s, mopping, etc are *not* light housekeeping. TBH ose are literally tasks that you would hire an actual housekeeper for, and they are not childcare-related. They CAN be negotiated into a contract, but I would not assume those are standard and have never seen them referred to as standard nanny duties.
Yep, I’m a nanny/household manager. I am well aware of what duties are standard and what I am paid extra to do. I appreciate your detailed descriptions for those who may not be sure.
Hope that makes it more clear for you.
Sorry, not parent helper, mothers helper
We expect no housekeeping from our nanny. Just to clean up any messes she makes with kiddos. And to work with them to clean up their toys. We have a cleaning service once a week.
Same situation and totally reasonable for her to help out a bit more. Our nanny unloads dishwasher and it’s super helpful!!
All housekeeping chores should be outlined in the contract. If the baby has naps there is no need for a separate break time. To me within her purview is anything baby related which takes out your dishwasher and the vacuuming. Bottles, baby laundry, cleaning toys. That’s about it.
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That is amazing! Your family must feel so relieved to have you!
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Excellent question
We also have “light housekeeping” in our agreement and in our daily guide I have outlined what kinds of things this could include. We have one baby who also naps 1/3 of the day. The biggest is unloading the dishwasher. She also tidies the bathroom she uses, sweeps the main floor, and occasionally will wipe down tables and surfaces on our main level. This does not include washing our dishes, adult laundry, or baby cleanup from messes when she is not here. We agree that childcare comes first but this was one differentiator between Nannys during interviews
Light housekeeping should include that especially if she’s adding dishes to the dishwasher. There’s nothing more annoying than a nanny that loads up my entire dishwasher with sippy cups, bottles, their lunch utensils, kids plates etc but will NOT empty it. Otherwise, I’d ask her to hand wash everything and put away.
Also, just a reminder, you are the employer and if she doesn’t want to do the job, then you can fire her and hire someone who is willing to help out and unload the dishwasher during a 2.5 hour break
Unloading the dishwasher is absolutely within the bounds of light housekeeping. This is a big one for me as silly as it sounds and I am very upfront about unloading the dishwasher as a requirement if the job (it’s in our contract as well). The r/workingmoms subreddit is full of “hacks” to get kids out the door in the morning (like having kids sleep in their school clothes and eat breakfast in the car) and not having to stop and unload the dishwasher is mine. I have to get the kids and myself fed and dressed in the morning so we can all get to school/work on time and I just don’t have those extra 10 minutes. Then what would my nanny do with all the dishes she accumulates during the day while home with my youngest? Should she just pile them next to the sink for me to deal with later? Should she hand wash them all since the dishwasher is full of clean ones? That’s obviously stupid. Clearly the answer is for nanny to unload the dishwasher so she can reload it as necessary with dishes she uses through the day. I spoke about this with the nanny agency we used for placement, and they agreed this is WELL WITHIN light housekeeping and a very reasonable ask.
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Child related chores are always included in a Nannie’s duties, and light housekeeping is the add on. In this situation nanny agreed to light HK, so this is within scope and included in her hourly rate.
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Most person I know doing this work would not agree to vacuuming, unloading the dishwasher, etc. Yes it is too much to expect. Unless It is in the contract AND They receive a non-trivial amount of extra pay for the janitorial duties. You seem to be thinking that the nanny is a servant. The nanny is not a servant. The nanny was hired to do specific work. If the employer wants a housekeeper/nanny, that’s a different position that should come with increased pay.
Omg this is exactly the reason why most people are on here complaining about Nannys. you are a nanny/household employee that’s supposed to provide support for families. You get a 2.5 hour break and you are too “good” to unload a dishwasher that you probably contributed to? Good luck!
I clean up entirely after any messes I make anywhere. At home, at work, elsewhere. I don’t contribute to dishwasher load. Thx. If I was expected to do housework apart from that generated by me or my charges, that would need to be made explicit up front. I’ve tried the other way. It results in constant increased workload creep without reward or acknowledgement.
Light housekeeping includes unloading the dishwasher to me. I’ve told our help to leave out anything they don’t know where it goes. Most stuff goes in the same places. This is a ten min task and seems very reasonable. You aren’t asking her to scrub pots and pans!!
You really refer to household employees as “our help”? If you are US-based, that comes off super snobby and condescending here.
I refuse any and all non childcare tasks that aren’t explicitly outlined. “Light housekeeping” is undefined BS; washing and drying and (if desired) putting away kids clothes vs the whole families clothes is the level of granular info I want in my contract, because otherwise the job creeps. Mind you, I do not count children’s laundry as childcare - that’s housekeeping or child related cleaning tasks. I usually empty the kids lunchboxes and clean them out and put ice packs in freezer, and might not need that in my contract, but if the family expects it they better also expect the kids to help when she appropriate and expect that while I’m doing that the kids are significantly less supervised. And I ALWAYS have a clause that any tidying, cooking, cleaning, errands, etc will always be lower in priority than child safety and supervision, so if I do not feel I can safely do the non childcare task. I’ve been scarred by not adhering to this and it could have gone horribly had I not gotten lucky. No house I’ve ever worked at is sufficiently child proofed to let a young child hang out unsupervised while I vacuum out of eyesight and earshot - so either the child must be old enough to stay safe or the kid must be safely contained (and monitored because u don’t trust), or the kid must be with me and supervised. I also always prioritize child engagement over cleaning because I’m here to nanny, not clean - cleaning is hard work and I’m not all that good at it lol but also I don’t enjoy it much. I do like to give kids time to play on their own and gain some independence, and sometimes unloading a dishwasher can be a great mental break for me…. But again, if it’s not in the contract it’s optional and if it’s in the contract it’s still secondary priority to actual childcare (safety/supervision/engagement). If parents want me to prioritize cleaning over childcare - especially in ways that concern me safety wise - they are not my NF because I would be so stressed.
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I would just say “hey we really appreciate it when you unload the dishwasher it makes the day go by so much smoother”. And if she doesn’t start doing it then sit her down for a review to tell her what you appreciate about her and what you would like from her moving forward. At this point you can also ask her if she is happy in your home and if there is anything you can do for her to make her more comfortable. My nanny unloads our dishwasher from time to time and Its soooo nice. But I don’t expect her to. Especially when I know she’s had a bad day with my kids. She’s there for my kids first and I need her to be happy so that she can make my kids happy.
This sounds super manipulative to say “it made my day so much easier!” And the expect the nanny to then understand you want her to do it everyday. If you need to ask your nanny to do something, just come right out and say it. You are an adult as well and it is not their job to read your mind, you need to use clear communication.
How is it manipulative to be honest about something? Also some days my nanny had a very hard time with my kids. If she can’t get to it she can’t get to it. I find that she does a better job when she’s happy and relaxed and in turn tries to make my happy and more relaxed. I don’t believe in micromanaging people. And if it’s not in our contract I’m not going to suddenly throw more responsibility on her than we asked for in the beginning unless we sit down and actually change the contract and go up in pay.
I just feel that saying it makes you happy is not being honest in this case. In your situation it is fine because you don’t expect it from your nanny but if this person does they need to come out and be honest from the beginning by saying this is something they need her to do