Lesson 4: On the Job
Conflicts
There are a million things that might come up while you are a nanny. There is no way to list them all. You will encounter conflict from many angles. Sometimes you will see it coming and other times it will come out of nowhere. The only thing you can be prepared for is your reaction to the situation.
All relationships have moments when you feel incredibly frustrated and sometimes angry. Feeling upset by things is okay as long as you are not feeling upset all of the time, are quick to anger, or take out your frustrations in a physical way. If you have problems dealing with the frustrations that may come with everyday events, you should seek professional help. Feeling frustrated by a complicated situation happens to everyone and, as stated before, it is what you tell yourself about the situation that ultimately determines how you handle it.
For example, you have been working for over forty hours one week and you are tired and in need of a break. The parents are going through a hard time at work and need to go in over the weekend and expect you to stay with the kids. Yes, it is okay to feel frustrated. No, it is not okay to be furious. Think of this as a rarity and let the parents know that working over forty hours is tough on you but you know they need you so you will do your best. In doing this you are making your needs known while spinning the situation into one of special circumstance rather than one of your rest time being ruined. You do not always need to be happy and smiling, but rather looking at things as being out of your control, so they do not become internalized as a personal attack. This will help you through difficulties.
No working environment is conflict-free. There are always things that come up unexpectedly or things that are asked of you that you may not like. This is part of working for someone else. Nothing can be done to make conflicts go away and not happen because you are dealing with people and people are always unpredictable.
Things may come up where the job changes and is no longer what you originally had agreed upon or there may be outside issues that come up. There are some areas where situations come up more than others. It does not hurt to think about some issues that could come up and how you think you might respond to them.
Hours
Your hours are dependant on the parents and when they think you should end your day. While this is something you work out in the beginning, things can change over time.
Being in Charge
You are in charge of the children when the parents are not around. It is your job to assert yourself as the caregiver.
Discipline
Being in charge sometimes means giving discipline in situations. You may find your ability to discipline is effected by different factors.
Chores
You will always have things outside of watching the children that you are expected to do.
Accommodations
The arrangements of your living situation along with off-time constraints are part of the contract.
Always know when and how you can reach the parents if something comes up. You do not want to be stuck trying to resolve an issue without trying to bring them into the loop whenever possible.
