Really need some young nanny advice
I’m a nanny for an 10 year old girl and 8 year old boy and I’m honestly getting so burnt out emotionally. I care about them a lot, but the entitlement and disrespect is becoming exhausting and I feel like I’m slowly losing patience.
The parents are both WFH and very in-and-out. MB especially barely spends time with the kids, and DB is either gone or working most of the time. I genuinely think the kids are craving attention and connection from their parents, especially their mom, and because they aren’t getting enough of it, they act out constantly. The problem is that they then redirect all of that onto me.
I’m young, so I think they see me more as a big sister than an authority figure or nurturing parental figure. They expect me to do EVERYTHING for them and speak to me like I’m their servant sometimes. Today I was literally helping NK put away his laundry by folding everything and handing it to him to put away, and when I left ONE pair of pants for him to do himself he looked at me and said, “Don’t you know you’re supposed to be doing the laundry anyway?” 😭
It’s not even just isolated comments either. It’s the constant complaining, attitude, disrespect, and inability to hear “no” without acting miserable. They scream and yell over me, they throw stuff and push me, they mock me and roll their eyes, they aren’t grateful for ANYTHING. And what makes it harder is that the parents don’t really correct it. MB “gentle parents” to the point where the kids completely walk all over her and talk to her with attitude constantly with little to no consequences.
I know they’re kids. I KNOW a lot of this behavior is rooted in wanting attention from their parents and feeling emotionally disconnected. I can see the deeper issue clearly. But understanding it doesn’t magically make being treated poorly all day easier.
I love nannying and I genuinely love being a supportive, caring presence for children, but I’m starting to wonder if this specific family dynamic is burning me out. Our contract technically ends in the summer and there’s no renewal in place yet, my struggle is I told MB I would stay with them till the end of the year but like I said no contract in place or signed for that yet. Lately I’ve honestly been thinking about looking elsewhere because I’m just tired.
Has anyone else worked for a family where the kids clearly wanted their parents emotionally, but took their frustration out on you instead?