Parents Let Young Daughter Do Whatever She Wanted, So Nanny Decided it Was Easier To Follow Their Lead And Let The Kid Act Awfully

Matthew Gilligan

9 months ago

Source: Reddit/AITA/@DrBubblesPhD

First of all, let’s tip our hats to all the nannies out there…because they have to put up with a lot of nonsense.

And the nanny you’re about to hear from decided to teach some parents a huge lesson.

Check out what she did!

The Tale of The Maliciously Compliant Nanny.

“I’ve been working in childcare for a long time. 20 years to be exact.

She’s done it all.

In that time, I’ve been a babysitter, a nanny, a preschool teacher, and mother’s helper for dozens of families. I have many certifications and great references that always tell my prospective families I know what I’m doing and should be listened to.

Well, I was job hunting again, and found a family a bit outside my area but they were willing to pay be pretty nicely (still well below what I’m worth, but times are tough and I’m understanding.)

She was up for the challenge.

They said their daughter had been pulled from school due to health issues and needed some discipline. So I decided to put on my SuperNanny hat and take on the challenge. I love to turn nasty toddlers into lovely kids. It’s my specialty. So I start day 1 with this little girl and hooooooo boy. I had my work cut out for me.

I was given 3 objectives. Make sure she potties (her health issues were kidney related so this was super important), make sure she washed her hands (due to her compromised immune system), and make sure she picks up her toys.

Easy enough, right?

Absolutely not.

So I’m at her house a grand total of 1 hour and it’s time to potty. I ask her first, “Can you go potty?” Met with a resounding NO. Ok new approach, “You need to go potty.” Cue the waterworks. Screaming. Crying. Fighting me.

This wasn’t going well…

Well, I’m trying to talk her through how we can do whatever she wants if she just goes potty. Well, while I’m making progress, Dad comes downstairs from his office to console her and tell her she doesn’t need to do it.

Ok fine. Well it’s time for lunch, and she needs to wash her hands. Cue second freakout of the day. I am trying to explain to her why we need to wash our hands and that she’ll eat as soon as she’s done it.

We went back and forth for about 10 minutes before Mom comes out and hand feeds her so she doesn’t have to touch the food. Anytime a parent comes out, the kiddo starts bossing them around and getting her way.

After lunch she becomes inconsolable. I ask her when her nap is. They tell me she sleeps from 4-6 PM and doesn’t sleep until midnight and is up by 8. I’m sitting here going, “Um a toddler needs way more sleep than that.” I try to reason with them that she’s not an adult and cannot make it through a whole workday without sleep. They push back.

It went on and on…

So we have 2 more days of this. Screaming. Fighting. Undermining by mom and dad. So on day 3 I have a talk with them. A come to Jesus moment.

“Hey, I can’t change anything if y’all are walking back everything I try to do.” and they hit me with, “Well you should try to get her to like you first then she’ll listen to you.” And I REALLY wanted to say, “Like she listens to y’all????” But I bit my tongue.

They told me point blank to just do what she wants until she likes me and then start enforcing boundaries. I tried one last plea to tell them that’s enforcing the behavior we’re trying to correct and it’ll take longer to right the ship. Nope, do what she wants.

OK LETS GO

They asked for it…

Day 1 of Malicious Compliance.

Dad has an important meeting and needs to not be disturbed. Toddler decides she wants Papa, so I go “Let’s go get him! He said you can do whatever you want today! I’ll race you up the stairs!” So we run up the stairs and she bursts into his office while he’s on a client call.

Toddler decides she wants Mama, so we go burst into her office and drag her into the room to play. They are now both being forced to play by this little tyrant. And every time she tells me to leave, I do. They keep trying to call me in and distract her, but she keeps saying go away and I go, “It’s what she wants, I gotta do it.”

They are getting visibly annoyed. So now this child has gotten everything she could ever want, and once again, immediately after lunch goes into thermonuclear meltdown. I say offhandedly, “I bet she’s tired.”

This kid was a nightmare…and so were the parents.

They fight me and try to tell me she’s just upset by change. She screams FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF. Mom tries to prep her a snack because they’re convinced she’s hungry. I’m telling them she’s tired. There’s a very certain tone to an overtired cry and 20 years of experience has gotten me to the point of knowing exactly what that sounds like.

Dad scoops the toddler up and takes me outside to have a talking to. So while this guy is explaining to me how to do my job, I just sit there and shake my head. He tries to tell me he knows his daughter better than me and he’d know if she was tired. I just smile and look at him right in the face, and go, “Oh yeah? She’s asleep on your shoulder. She must have been tired, if only there was someone who knew that.”

When he realized the crying had stopped and she was passed out on his shoulder, the look of most utter defeat was on his face. He tried to walk it back and tried to find ways I wasn’t right. Couldn’t find it. Funny, it’s like I know kids or something.

I spent 3 more days in my vicious malicious compliance. The parents were haggard. I thought we were going to get somewhere. Then when she hit that overtired time after lunch, they tried to send me to the library to get the screaming child out of the house.

Enough of this!

In the same breath as telling me to make sure I sanitize every surface she touches, they tell me they DONT BUCKLE HER INTO HER CARSEAT BECAUSE SHE DOESNT LIKE IT. I quit on the spot.

Then immediately reported them to the service I worked with. I do believe they’ve been fired as clients and CPS might have gotten involved.

But all I know is they had 4 work days they had to make up at night once she fell asleep, which remind you, was AT MIDNIGHT. So I feel like I got my perfect revenge.”

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