MollyH's Reviews

Wonderful, caring nanny

Molly worked for our family in London for two years as a live-in nanny looking after our two girls 2&5 at the time she joined. From day one she built a wonderful bond with our children. Molly is able to set clear boundaries, whilst also being their friend, playing and having fun together.

Molly was proactive at organising playdates and ensuring the girls were well socialised, which was really important to us. This wasn't always easy as some of her time with us overlapped Covid period. When in person meet ups weren't possible, she found creative ways the girls were able to keep in touch with their friends, like zoom playdates, sending letters / drawings to one another, once permitted, meeting in the park. Molly could always be trusted to keep our children safe whilst taking them around London for various playdates, clubs and after school activities. She would take kids on walks with their scooters or bikes and was able to implement good road safety protocols with them.

Molly helped our oldest with her homework and was really patient and disciplined with it. Molly would find new and innovative activities to stimulate and entertain the girls at home (baking, reading, creative play, arts and crafts) without ever resorting to TV or screen time for entertainment.

Molly cooked daily healthy, nutritious meals for the girls at home + prepared interesting and varied packed lunches for the oldest to take to school.

It's been nearly two years since Molly left to move outside London and we still see each other regularly and the girls always ask after her and look forward to seeing her. She was a pleasure to have as part of our family for two years and we miss her dearly.

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by SantaG about MollyH on 22/07/2023

Bad experience

We recently hired Molly as our Nanny unfortunately it was a bad experience.
I’m writing this review as I feel Molly’s explanation for her behaviour whilst caring for our child contains several inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the situation.

As the toddler's father, I believe it is important to address each point and present a clear picture of what actually transpired during your time Molly, as a nanny for our daughter.

Firstly, it is crucial to mention that we were understanding of your scheduling conflicts and accommodated your requests regarding interview times and the need to start an hour later for the first three weeks. We were flexible and patient, taking into consideration your other nanny positions and appointments, as well as your upcoming holiday. We even welcomed your child, allowed you to bring a puppy, and provided access to food and a cot in our daughter's bedroom.

Regarding the food provided to our daughter, we left a detailed list of the foods she typically eats, but we discovered that you only fed her veggie straws upon arrival and a cheese sandwich towards the end of the five-hour shift. This was not in line with our expectations or the guidelines we had discussed. We had hoped for a more balanced and nutritious meal plan for our 2-year-old, and it is unfortunate that you did not make more effort in this regard.

Furthermore, we have evidence that you left our daughter unsupervised outside the house, where there were potential hazards such as bikes, weights, toolboxes, and washing detergents. Simultaneously, you left your own 1-year-old son unsupervised on multiple occasions. When we addressed this concern with you, your response questioning if we watched our daughter while she slept was not only evasive but deeply concerning. Neglecting the safety and well-being of our child is unacceptable.

We also have clear audio recordings from the baby monitors of you speaking to our daughter in a hurtful and belittling manner. You repeatedly told her to stop crying, using phrases like "stop that silly crying now" and "are you a big girl or a baby?" This goes against our parenting philosophy, which encourages the healthy expression of emotions and acknowledges the importance of validating our daughter's feelings. Your approach contradicted our values and caused distress to our daughter during her first time being away from her mother. The behaviour you expressed towards our daughter was the polar opposite to the techniques and morals you claimed to have in the interviews.

You took responsibility for not changing our daughters nappy during the 5 hours until you were asked to do so, as you were preparing to leave early. Her nappy was wet and you also took responsibility for not using wet wipes when changing our daughters nappy justifying that you don’t always use them on your son.

Regarding payment, we had agreed during the second interview that you would complete the trial week and be paid for the trial week and any other hours you completed at the end of each month. Yet, after receiving feedback, you suddenly demanded immediate payment on July 4th, despite the agreed-upon date being July 31st. You insisted on cash in hand and refused to provide us with the necessary details for payment. Your behavior during this discussion, including swearing at my wife and becoming irate, was highly unprofessional and unacceptable.

Additionally, we attempted to verify your OFSTED registration and discovered that you are on the voluntary register, which does not apply to nannies or children under the age of 8, unless it involves fewer than 14 days per year or less than 4 hours a day at a crèche. It would have been more transparent of you to communicate this properly.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that we monitored the baby monitors, as they were clearly visible and prominently placed. We did so because you mentioned our daughter becoming "very upset." Contrary to your claims, the hugs you offered were coupled with phrases like "if you don't stop your silly crying now, I won't give you a cuddle" and "stop now, or I won't pick you up." We witnessed over 20 minutes of our daughter crying while you continuously told her to stop crying because you didn't like it. You even chastised her for "scaring your son" due to her crying, neglecting her distress and favoring attention to your own child. This behavior is deeply concerning and not in line with our expectations or the principles we discussed during the interview.

In conclusion, Molly, your review contains several misleading statements and omits crucial details about your actions and conduct during your time as our nanny. We had high hopes and provided you with flexibility, trust, and access to our home allowing you to eat what you want- which you did, allowing you to use our daughters bedroom and equipment for your son, we gave you gifts and were very flexible and understanding with the requests you made but unfortunately, you failed to meet our expectations in multiple aspects of caregiving, including safety, hygiene, nutrition, and emotional support for our daughter. Your unprofessional behavior during payment discussions, as well as your inappropriate language and neglectful actions, further solidify our decision not to continue our working relationship.

We feel it is important to share our experiences with other families seeking childcare services, as transparency and honesty are paramount when it comes to the well-being of our children. We wish you the best in your future endeavors, but we cannot recommend your services based on our personal experience.

If any families require references regarding our account of the events, we are more than willing to provide them upon request.

Sincerely,

Ramon (Toddler's Father)

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by Ramon about MollyH on 05/07/2023

Terrible experience

We were very flexible allowing Molly to be late, bring her son and puppy but Unfortunately Molly’s care was very questionable, she didn’t change my daughters nappy for 5 hours until asked, didn’t use wipes, only fed my daughter a packet of crisps and a sandwich in 5 hours, left her unattended in our laundry room on several occasions for minutes at a time and told my infant to stop crying because she didn’t like it. When I provided feedback, she was very sarcastic and rude and informed me the next day before I started work that she wouldn’t be returning. I accepted this and offered to pay her at the end of the month as previously agreed she then began to harass me turning up at my house to speak to me and constantly calling me to argue and demand the payment, even telling me that I have no money and can’t afford to pay her. Very immature and unprofessional steer clear. Also she is not Ofsted registered to look after children under 8 which she was dishonest about.

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by Lauren about MollyH on 04/07/2023

Response by MollyH on 05/07/2023:

After being a nanny for nearly 10 years now and I’m proud to have never had a bad reference, I’d like to let other families know that this review is not genuine and unfortunately a lie.
We had an interview on Saturday and you expected me to start work on the Monday, as I advised you, I have other nanny positions and in respect to them families, I would have liked to give them notice. I would never let a family down as I’m fully aware childcare is very important so we agreed together for me to start one hour later than you wanted for 3 weeks, due to handing my notice to other families. As it clearly states on my profile, I would only be accepting jobs that allow me to bring my son along.
As you have reviewed your CCTV, which I was not advised you had in your house, I checked your daughters nappy a few times and as she had not soiled or wet her nappy, I did not feel the need to change her. If you had made it aware you wanted me to change her a certain amount of times during my shift whether wet or not, I would have definitely done this.
Your daughter was fed veggie straws and a sandwich for her lunch and was offered snacks throughout my shift, as your daughter declined this, I will not forced a child to eat. If you had made it aware to me you would have liked your daughter to eat a specific amount of food each day, I would have tried my best to get your daughter to eat what was required.
As a need of everyone’s, I am entitled to get a drink and go to the toilet during my shift. Unfortunately, as this was my first time working for you, I didn’t feel comfortable taking your daughter to the toilet with me. If you had made me aware you take your daughter everywhere including the toilet, I would have not accepted the position as this doesn’t make me feel very comfortable.
As your toddler (2.5 year old), was crying, I offered her cuddles to try and calm her down and advised her I don’t like crying as I don’t like to see children upset. This was never in a nasty way towards your daughter but in my eyes, to let your daughter know I don’t like crying encourages her to be more positive.
As it clearly states in writing through message, I thanked you for the feedback but unfortunately after finding out you had cameras and reviewed the whole of my shift without letting me know, I was not going to be returning as it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. After I let you know I wouldn’t be returning, all of the positive feedback you gave me (reading to your daughter, phonics cards, limiting iPad time, no TV time) then was forgotten about and you became very patronising towards me.
In our interview, I was advised I would be paid after my trial week and if I was successful from then, I would be paid at the end of every month. I therefore asked if you could please pay me for the one trial day I completed.
I came to your house as agreed via message to collect my belongings as I am entitled to have my possessions back. I called you ONCE to discuss your texts as I find it easier to talk over the phone / in person rather than texting as things can get taken the wrong way.
I have paid to become an Ofsted registered voluntary nanny and I have no age restrictions with my application.
I would like to finalise this by saying I am not ashamed by your review as if you think it’s acceptable to not be genuine, try and ruin someone’s career I am glad this didn’t work out. You have unfortunately been untruthful and a very unprofessional employer.
If any families require any references, I am able to provide this upon request.