This is the second time in my nanny career that I've ignored my gut feeling and went with something because I was getting a tad frustrated with the search.
This time, the money was the lure.
So.....I got fired after only working a week. The father called and was very nice, saying that they had been talking extensively and just felt it wasn't a good fit. He went on to assure me that it had nothing to do with my qualifications, as obviously I am very experienced and qualified, nor did it have to do with the way I was caring for the children. The "fit" just wasn't there.
I have to be honest; I am quite relieved, as I was already lying in bed at night, dreading going in and thinking of when and how I would quit this job when the time came because I knew it would come, and soon. I was trying to give it a bit more time, because those first few weeks can be a bit awkward as you get used to the family, and the job. Also, a few more paychecks would have been nice, too, before throwing in the towel.
In the end, I sincerely believe it all boils down to the mother, and whatever mental issues she has. She came across as very emotionally needy, and anxious. I had the feeling from the beginning that I was there for her just as much as the babies. The whole environment was very different than anything else I'd ever worked, and quite uncomfortable. And I am not one to give attention to emotionally needy adults. My job is to care for children which, by the way, also didn't seem to be their primary focus.
My last nanny family told me about the reference call they had received from the father. My former MomBoss told me that she got a strange vibe, and that the father of the current family was more concerned with whether or not I would do housework than how I was with the children. He seemed surprised, my former MomBoss said, when she told him that she didn't require much housework of me, as she wanted me to focus on her children. He was shocked that she allowed me to take the kids on outings, that she ~gasp~ TRUSTED me with her children.
My former MomBoss also told me he had called her three different times, and that she talked to him twice and decided to ignore his third call cuz she had already told him everything he needed to know. The third call he made to her was apparently 2 days after he had decided to hire me, and a day before I actually started.
I also had the suspicion that they were still looking even after I started the job. Their job posting remained up, and I overheard the MomBoss talking to her cook while I was in the other room, and much of what she was sang indicated that they may have still been interviewing people. I wasn't eavesdropping: I was folding the baby's laundry and could actually hear her from where I was.
I am curious if anyone else has worked in an environment where it seemed you were expected to pay more attention to the parent than the kids?
This is the second job I've been fired from in my life, and the first was at 19 when I worked in a Baptist preschool and got pregnant and wasn't married! A couple of years later, they re-hired me and I worked for them for 7 years until I moved out of state.
All I can say is, I am confident that it's not me that is the problem here. Every single family I've worked for, I still have good relations with them.
I think the mother's deep insecurities and unrealistic expectations are the problem.
I mean, come on......I was the 5th nanny they'd hired in 9 months. The first two they claimed they fired. The last one quit suddenly, with no notice. The other is unaccounted for, but obviously didn't stick around long in any case.
What does that say??
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