| i had a really terrible time with this family. the boys were fine, for the most part. ben, the eldest, is glued to the tv. adam, the middle, threw temper tantrums and sometimes resorted to physical violence toward me. ronan, the baby, is sweet, but completely attached to the hip. all of these, of course, are problems that can be worked through. the boys were never the problem.
my main concern was with the parents, brendan and mandy. my job was not really nanny, but more of a housekeeper. i was meant to be up and ready to work at 8:30 every morning. i would get the boys dressed, make their breakfast, give them their lunches, and send them to school. while the two older ones were away i would have to watch the baby, as well as sweep and mop the house, vaccuum, do the laundry, clean the bathrooms and boy's rooms, make the dinner, iron, organize the toy room, do the dishes, and so on and so forth. i certainly don't mind doing some house work, cleaning up after myself and the boys, but this was extreme. i was sweeping the house three times a day, and mopping three to four times a week. there is no house on earth that needs that much attention! the line, i feel, was really crossed when i was expected to wash and iron the parents clothes. the duties of the house were not shared out equally. i would do laundry on saturday, fold it, and put it in piles ont he table. when i came back after my weekend off, the clothes would still be there! the parents had not bothered to even put away their own clothes, and waited for me to do it for them.
my other major concern was the pay. i was working 10.5 hours a day, more than 52 hours a week, and only making 150 euro. this equaled out to about 3 euro an hour. i was meant to be off at 7, but almost every night the parents would ask me to come home around 10 so i could mind the kids while they went out to the pub. it was more like a break for a few hours than a night off. and if i ever tried to tell them no, i was often met with some excuse as to how they could not get anyone else. i was rarely asked if i would be willing to watch the boys extra. it was just expected of me. one evening mandy mentioned that she was thinking she mihgt go out that night. might being the key word. i said, alright. why did it matter to me if she went out? she wasn't asking me to watch the boys, just saying she was thinking of going. i had plans that night, anyway. around 10:30 i got a text message asking me to come home. when i said that i couldn't, she sent her neighbor down to the pub to puck me up. he stood by my table until i left with him.
when the information came through that i couldn't get a work permit, they sat down with me and told me they would begin looking for a new nanny. i said alright, assuming that they would take their time, finding a girl that would be right, and that i would get plenty of notice when they had found one. no. about five days later, while preparing for a holiday, they sprung on me that they had found a girl, who would be here before i got back from my trip. i was advised to pack up my entire room that night. when i got back from holiday, i had my friend with me (they had known for at least a month that he was coming, and when). i went back to the house to drop off my things. later that night i got a phone call saying that i was not welcome in the house anymore. i tried to explain to brendan that i had no money, no place to go, and that i would only be in the country for three more nights, and could i please stay with them. this was a complete blow to me, as they had known that i had a friend, and that i was coming back to ireland. they had a complete lack of sympathy to my situation, and said that if i stayed in the house the kids would not know who to say good morning to. they used their kids as an excuse, basically, for kicking me out on the street.
i was greeted with the idea that i would be treated as a part of the family. i spent a lot of money to get to ireland quickly, even getting a rush passport and giving up concert tickets because they asked me to come sooner than i had intended. when i got there i was greeted with hard work, little pay, and extra hours. and when it was time for me to leave, i was dropped into the street without an ounce of pity or understanding. not even a "thank you for coming", or a "we enjoyed your company." i feel like i gave up a lot to get their and to be good for them and their family, and i was repayed with nothing. i was treated like less than nothing. they used me, completely.
overall a terrible experience. |
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