When I was a little girl, my mom always taught me to make sure the house was cleared before my parents came home. So, after the kids go to bed, I walk around the house, pick up toys, wash dishes, put things away. It didn’t matter whether the mess was caused before or after I came to babysit, but in retrospect, maybe it should have been.
In a now-viral TikTok, a nanny pointed out that parents shouldn’t expect their nannies and nannies to clean up their house, especially if the mess was already there before they arrived. In the film, Maiya pans across a cluttered living room covered in text that reads: “What their house looks like when I go there to take care of them.”
In the next clip, she pans across the same room. There were still toys on the floor and more mess, she wrote in a text overlay, “The way they looked when they got home.”
She made her point in the caption, writing: “Parents who hire nannies, you don’t need to have your house spotless when you have your nanny over. But you also shouldn’t expect your nanny to be spotless before they arrive. Clean up the big mess that happened.
“Also, a reminder, the internet is not real. This video is a public service announcement because no, you shouldn’t expect your nanny to clean up your mess of the day, but life happens. This family never said they Wish I had cleaned everything and the only reason I didn’t is because we weren’t even ready for all the kids to go to bed when they got home 🙂 ”
Reactions in Maiya’s comments section were mixed.
One user wrote: “I’m a nanny, not a cleaner.”
Another wrote: “Why do people think cleaning is part of being a nanny? Cleaning after the kids yes but not the house? Pay more if you want it? Is everyone okay?
“Let the kids clean up their own mess!” one user suggested.
OP replied: “Of course! We always play a game to see who can pick up the most toys, or who can find the most green, blue, etc. toys, haha.”
Another nanny warned: “Just a reminder!!!! Once you do something, people expect you to always do it, and when you don’t, people get mad! (If you always Keep them spotless and they’ll look forward to it even if you don’t have time)!
As a parent, I wouldn’t expect a nanny to clean up any mess they make before they arrive. A nanny is not a housekeeper!
