toddlerherdingadventures-blog - Tumblr blog

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Wow ok

Soooooo I'm leaving this nanny job. I got offered a part time teaching position YAY! I am super super excited!......The only drawback is that they need me to start right away, and I will have to quit this job basically immediately. I was feeling really nervous and guilty about quitting suddenly, and I even called my mom and googled the best ways to quit a nanny job. What totally reinforced my decision to take the other job, though, was MB/DB's reaction to the whole thing. They are out of town and I texted them a very neutral text saying I accepted a teaching job and wanted to talk. I waited and waited, writing down my talking points. It took them OVER AN HOUR to respond. And the response was "We will text you later". Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

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Aug 11

So yesterday amidst all the chaos I made mini quiche for the kids to eat today, which tbh felt like the only win I got. So I come in this morning and DB is cooking breakfast AND lunch for the kids. Cool thanks, now what do I do with the food I cooked? Whatever, not a big deal, I can bring the leftovers home. Then he tells me F3 told him at bedtime that she was "in time out a lot". He then tells me that time out does not work for her, which I was already trying to find a solution for. I give hime my suggestion, which is to focus on positive reinforcement and start another sticker chart if needed. His suggestion? "Just ignore her bad behavior and let her do what she wants" and she will supposedly self correct. I am floored. For fuck's sake people!! This is why your child is a terror who ignores you!! This is why she thinks its ok to tell me to die! This is why she hurts her brother on purpose! This is what YOU THE PARENTS have caused. They let her think she can do whatever she wants. I'm so stunned by the parents' lack of understanding how to raise children, especially because their older son is 10 and really well behaved. All I can say at this point is TGIF. I hope she has a major meltdown on their plane ride and then they can explain their shitty parenting theories to all the other passengers who had to listen to their kids scream for 4 hours.

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Inside this issue!

The best fur vests for breastfeeding

Getting poop out of your skirt buckles 

Diapers. What are they even?

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

Every time the kids spill something on their clothes. Followed by crying. And then screaming.

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

Aug 10

F3 had a hell of a week. She has been unbearably whiny and bratty. Today she fell and bit her lip hard enough that it bled. Then the rest of the day she was defiant and kept hurting M3 on purpose. On top of that M10 is sick. I'm just super done, and all I can say is good luck to the parents on their 4 hr flight on Saturday. Ugh.

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Aug 8

I have a case of the Mondays. My stomach is acting up and the kiddos are behaving pretty badly. F3 had a 1 hour tantrum as soon as she woke up. She was whining and crying about nothing and then threw her iPad. I took it away, my policy is that if they throw something, it is "mine" for 24 hrs. So after I took away her iPad as a consequence, her dad gave it back. Like wtf?!? So after he left the tantrum continued again and she pushed her brother and told me to die. It's frustrating that I can't enforce any rules when the parents are home. The behavior they allow is ridiculous. To top it off, they left all the dishes and laundry for me to do. I was gonna take them to the park but I dunno now. Fucking mondays

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

Morning grumpiness and screaming?

If anyone out there has advice, I would love some! One of the twins, F3, wakes up every morning crying. If I am there when she wakes, the parents expect me to get her. Which is fine, except that every time I go into her room and say good morning, she immediately starts screaming and crying, or will yell at me NO!! or DIE!! If she is in a more rational mood, she will cry and say she wants her mom or dad, and if I tell her they are at work or downstairs, she screams and cries for them. Sometimes I can talk her out of it by asking which "big kid undies" she wants to wear, but usually she just screams. I don't know how to handle this because of the parents. If it were my own child (or the parents were already gone for the day), I would turn around and leave her in her room to scream. In my mind, telling someone to die is unacceptable and does not warrant attention. Especially because I have talked to her about it calmly many times already. So I walk in, she screams DIE!!, and my inclination is to leave the room, BUT the parents are usually there. And their reaction to the twins screaming/crying/whining at all is to cuddle them and give them cookies. So basically I don't know what to do, because if I leave her to cry, the parents will be mad at me, but if I stay in her room and bargain with her, I am encouraging bad behavior. How should I deal with this? Everything I have read online about morning grumpiness talks about sleep patterns, but unfortunately the parents are unwilling to make adjustments to sleep schedules (see my other post for my rant about no naps). So adjusting their sleep/nap schedule is out of the question. I have tried cuddling her or hugs and she pushes away and kicks me. So I can't even touch her. I have also tried playing calming music on my phone and it makes her scream louder. Is there anything else I can try to stop her screaming and telling me to die every other morning?! Someone please help!!

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

July 26th

Did not get fired. I think i'm still on my way out tho, I just have this bad feeling they are gonna let me go without notice. Either way, I'm looking for other jobs and saving my money. I do really care about the kiddos and we are getting closer. So far today and yesterday have been really good. Good behavior from the twins and 10M, no naps is actually bearable, and I got to take them to a kid-friendly place today. I hope things are on an upward swing! Right now my attitude for nannying is "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst". Anyway hope my fellow nannies are having a good day and week!!

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July 19th

Fuck. I might be fired today. Fuck

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July 18

So the bomb was dropped on me today that the parents want to get rid of nap time altogether. Even though the 3yos still nap for an hour or more every day. Apparently they're not sleeping at night, so I understand wanting less naptime, but to go to 1.5 hours to no nap at all seems extreme and sudden. Not only do I think it will be tough on the kids, I KNOW it will be hard on me. Their naptime is the only time I get to sit down. I use that time to do the dishes, and laundry, eat my lunch, and spend one on one time with 10M. So for me, 10 hours with no breaks. For 3M and 3F, no rest at all after getting used to 1 hr of rest daily. For 10M, no more one on one time. I don't know how to tell the mom I think this is an awful idea. I feel utterly uncomfortable talking to her about this. But this does not bode well. I keep going back to the thought that these ppl do not treat me like a human being and don't even want my opinion or input. Everything is presented to me as hey, do this thing. And then they scold me like a child when things go wrong. I'm seriously not trying to be whiny, but I do think as someone with a college education in child development and teaching, with 10 years of experience, that they could at least respect that and try to frame their plans for their kids as a conversation rather than a command with no room for questions. I hate that I need the money so much. I hate that I would have to leave these kiddos that I care for. But I know from my past that I can't be in a job where I am not respected and valued as a person. This is spurring me even more to get back to teaching and leave this job. At some point long days and being treated like crap don't balance out a big paycheck.

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

Learning to speak Insanese is hard.

By Hedger Humor

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OMG (July 11)

This morning has been rough. I was running late so the mom talked to me about it and I felt like a child being scolded, and she implied they might fire me? Maybe I’m overreacting…i dunno I have issues from other jobs and bosses being shitty. I need someone who will level with me and not scold me. If I continue as a nanny I need to find a family that is more chill and treats me better. On top of that M10 has a camp today and it was a struggle getting them all out of the house. Then i get to the camp and have to pay them with my own money. My card got declined twice bc I was barely making it thru the week and so I had to transfer money to pay the stupid camp. To top it off the dad decided that extra cookies were a good idea so it’s meltdown city in here. I feel like crying and I dunno if I can handle this mess right now. UGGGGHHHH

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July 10

Today was a good day. Prolly cuz we didn’t have a set schedule. I’m really trying to have a positive outlook this week, day 1 almost done!

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An actual photo of me on the first warm day of the year.

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Lol seriously

A helpful summer tip for parents. You’re welcome.

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

True terror is trying to eat a candy bar right as your toddler walks in the room. Like, no, child, this is MINE. NO. You already had one. It’s my turn. It my- *shoves the whole thing in my mouth* Itsh mine damnbbit!

[toddlerherdingadventures-blog]

Welcome to my life..