
TOP 7 REASONS WHY MUMMIES HAVE BAD EXPERIENCES WITH CONFINEMENT NANNIES
Some Mummies mention that they dare not confront the Nanny while she is on the job for fear of how the baby could be treated afterwards. Others recounted how they suffered helplessness, high blood pressure, and depression and could only count down to the day the Nanny would leave their home. The best they can do at the moment is to make complaints on personal blogs, forums, and social media only after the Nanny leaves their home. Unfortunately, these complaints are unable to prevent new Mummies from having the same experience. The complaints go undiscovered on the Internet mainly due to a lack of visibility and accessibility. MummyNanny addresses this issue with the Complaint Radar. It allows you to find Mummy complaints that already exist on the Internet in one place and also allows you to submit newly discovered ones. Based on lessons learned from these complaints, here are the 7 most common reasons why Mummies have bad experiences with confinement Nannies, whether engaged through freelance or Agencies.
1. No Shortlist
One of the recipes for confinement problems is when you simply settle for a Nanny who was suggested by a friend or another Nanny. Just selecting only one Nanny from a list provided by an Agency is no different, whether or not your choice was based on previous recommendations.
2. No House Rules
Based on previous complaints, another factor that often leads to misunderstanding between a Mummy and her confinement Nanny is the lack of house rules. Without a clear set of house rules, the Nanny may not be aware of her boundaries in your house.
3. No Knowledge about the Nanny’s Job Scope
Most Nannies have their own rules and job scope. Some of them draw a fine line between the duties of a maid and those of a confinement Nanny. The professional thing for them to do is to inform you about these rules before you make any commitment. However, some may fail to do so while others may leave out some points they think you should already know. Unfortunately, some Mummies only learn about certain important aspects of the Nanny’s job scope during the confinement. The differences in expectations eventually lead to friction along the way.
4. No Direct Communication with Shortlisted Nannies
Without a direct line of communication with your shortlisted Nannies, there is no way for you to know how much they are willing to abide by your house rules. Also, you will not be able to ask them to provide you with a complete list of their job scope.
5. Lack of Awareness
When Mummies share their bad experiences with confinement Nannies recommended by people they know, some comments suggest that the problems could have been avoided if they engaged an Agency instead. On the other hand, some responses to complaints about Nannies engaged through Agencies advise new Mummies to hire Nannies recommended by people they know instead. The previous complaints show that neither of these beliefs is true. That is why is it not safe to make a decision solely based on one of these standpoints.
6. No Career-threatening Penalties
The sad reality is that, unlike most careers, a Nanny’s performance on the job hardly affects her career and reputation, whether she is a freelancer or affiliated with an Agency. From a business standpoint, most Nannies are not bothered by bad recommendations because they are always dealing with new and inexperienced Mummies rather than returning customers. Therefore, these problems just continue without affecting their business. Furthermore, getting blacklisted by one Agency does not prevent a Nanny from getting assignments with another Agency.
7. Overly Relying on the Idea of Replacements
It is reassuring to know that there will be another option if things turn out unexpectedly with a Nanny. However, the idea of getting a replacement Nanny causes more harm than good. Without the assurance that your feedback will have significant implications on the Nanny’s career and reputation, any lady can simply become a confinement Nanny and claim to have some years of experience on the job. After all, she can always be assigned to another Mummy if she is replaced. This leaves a lot of room for unqualified Nannies to be put in charge of Mummies and babies and will only cause more bad experiences in the future.
Conclusion
Congratulations for making it this far. By now you understand that there is no shortcut to this. Just like the saying goes: easy come easy go. It’s not every day you have confinement so it is worth putting in the effort to ensure that you do not have a bad experience. We hope every Mummy will go the additional mile to avoid disappointment. Repeating the same old process will not give different results, so let us join our efforts in creating a better confinement experience for every Mummy out there.