Someone’s sick in your household. Should the Nanny still come?
Question from a parent: My spouse is sick but I still need the Nanny to come and care for the children. If my spouse stays in their room, can I still have the Nanny come? Can I give them the heads up and let them decide if they want to work or not?
Since this is a frequent question we get from parents, we thought we would answer the question on the blog and offer an agency perspective to help families make informed decisions when faced with this scenario.
What is the protocol in 2024 for having a Nanny come to your home when someone in your household is sick?
First things first.
We should note that having a Nanny come to your home when someone was sick (adults or children) was already tricky enough already before the COVID-19 pandemic.
You may think: “Isn't caring for sick children part of a Nanny’s job?”
Well, this is only true up to a point.
Professional nannies are typically very mindful when faced with the prospect of caring for sick children or being around sick adults in their place of work. This is particularly more important if they’re working with multiple different families.
The reason for their caution is the possibility that they will get sick and/or pass it on to someone they live, interact or work with.
And when a nanny gets sick, it means that they may not be able to work, potentially also impacting their ability to earn an income.
Of course, now, there are many more factors families and nannies will need to consider around illness in the home:
A person’s comfort level in the presence of illness (yours and the Nanny’s)
Who’s sick? (an adult in the home or one/all of the children the Nanny is expected to care for?)
The nature of the illness (a few sniffles, a fever, an infection, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, COVID-19, etc.)
Health/lifestyle specifics of the Nanny and the family (i.e. Is everyone involved generally healthy or is anyone at risk in any way? Does anyone live or care for someone who is immunocompromised?)
Keeping these 4 general factors in mind can help guide your thinking when deciding whether or not you should have the Nanny come to your home when someone in your household is sick.
In our 21+ years of experience as a Nanny agency, parents in this situation have 2 choices:
If someone in your home is sick with a serious and/or potentially contagious illness (e.g. flu, pink eye, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, COVID-19, etc.), then the right thing to do is cancel the Nanny and have them not come to work in your home.
If someone in your home is sick but it’s something minor/non-contagious (e.g. ear ache, upset tummy, some sniffles), then let the Nanny know what the situation is and let them decide.
Having open communication, respect and empathy when dealing with these types of scenarios will go a long way in helping families and nannies maintain a harmonious and lasting working relationship.
What we offer: Our by-appointment babysitting service is a subscription-based membership that gives you access to our pool of expertly pre-screened nannies for in-home babysitting appointments in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa.
You can learn more about our service here. Visit the Babysitting Help Centre.