5 ways for a nanny to lose a dream job

Nannies, at the end of last week's post I did promise you this....so take note and practise well if you want to lose your dream job.

1. Be demanding, asking for as much money per hour as you can get, because, if people are rich enough to afford a nanny they can afford to pay more.  If possible, even if you've told the agency that you are happy with the amount being offered, try to squeeze a bit more at interview.

2. Be late, or better still, ring at the last minute and cancel the day's work, because you are only looking after children for people who should really be at home looking after their own children.

3. Be less than honest about your daily activities, after all you have the whole day to fill in and with no one watching, who knows what you do????.  Since they can't tell, park babies and young children front of the TV while you phone your friends or use Facebook.  With older children, set them to play, then get on the phone, breaking off from time to time to supervise.  When you go out with the children, spend most of the time in the neighbourhood cafe meeting up with friends.  Don't tidy after the children have played so the parents know their treasures have been busy.  Leave your dishes for the parents to wash because they'll have to clean up after dinner anyway.

4. Be disrespectful of family values, using food, especially lollies, as bribes and using threats to get the behaviour you want.  Who's going to know, and anyway, that's what most people do, isn't it?  Isn't it?

5. Be a snoop and blabbermouth, reading mail, bills etc, and telling all your friends details of the family's life.  If they don't want thins made public, the parents shouldn't leave them lying around.  And if you are really sneaky, there's money to be made from the gossip mags.

Over the past two blogs, I've given parents and nannies the benefit of my advice on what to do to break their relationships.  I'm sure you have realised that I have been somewhat tongue in cheek, and neither our clients nor our nannies fit these stereotypes.

The golden rule for the nanny-client relatuionship, as for all realtionships, is to be respectful of each other and to communicate clearly and honestly.