Is this normal?
I’ve been nannying for a couple of months now, for three kids under 3 years old. This is my first ever nannying job. It started out great, lots of spending time with the kids and mom. Mom does not work but having three kids she needs the extra help to get through feedings and nap time routine during the week when her husband is not around
On a typical week, I spend 1-2 days with only two out of three kids, as one kid will have a play date or activity scheduled. The other 2 days of the week I’m typically left with all the kids to take care of feedings and nap time routine on my own so that she can go out, socialize, work on art projects and attend group workout classes. This part DOES NOT bother me, because it feels like an important part of my job to give mom space to be herself and do things she enjoys
My biggest issue is that in the time she’s away, I’ve become extremely forward in helping out with dishes, keeping the floors clean, taking out the trash and bringing the barrels to the street, doing the family laundry, organizing the recycling, and other general household chores. Oftentimes I will leave for the week on a Thursday, come back on Monday, and find that the dishes haven’t been touched and are overflowing in the sink. The dishwasher will have the same dishes that were in it when I filled it last. The trash won’t have been taken out in days and is piled into a corner of the house or outside in the hot sun, and the household trash bin will sometimes be so overflowed that I will have to transfer garbage and dirty diapers by hand into a 2nd trash bag before taking it out. And, by far, the most frustrating thing is that every day I clean and organize the kitchen, but am expected to clean up after last nights’ dinner the next morning, and it always looks as if a bomb has gone off in there
Please do tell me if I’m overreacting, if this is normal to be expected of a nanny, or in the case that I’m not overreacting, how do I address this?