It's a privilege to have a nanny come and look after your kids.
But just like the kids are expected to be on the best behavior, so should the parents.
That's because nannies have been privy to some messed-up situations over the years. Affairs, fights, even neglectful parents.
Here, nannies share their strangest and most uncomfortable stories.
While most nannies are treated like they are part of the family, one nanny was treated like a servant.
When she went to go eat lunch with the kids, she was told "the help" eats in the kitchen. "I quit soon after that."
"The woman played WOW all day and ate spaghetti-o's, the husband was always away, and she was never with her baby. Also, she had a surrogate with twins on the way! I never understood their family or why she wanted more kids." -Redditor hussy_trash
When the parents returned from a night out, the dad had to ask the nanny for help in carrying his "very intoxicated, passed out, dead-weight wife" inside.
At one point, her breasts came out of her dress, exposing herself. Yikes!
What innocently started as watching old baseball games turned into a horrifying situation.
The child a nanny sat for accidentally grabbed their parents, erm, "home" video. We can only imagine the therapy needed after that.
"Mom texted me by accident when it was meant for the dad at work. Lots of sexual innuendos for what was to come after the kids were asleep. Mom quickly apologized for her mistake but couldn't look me in the eye for quite some time after lol." - Redditor messymessy1
When someone has an affair, they usually try to hide it. But one woman would bring her lover to her house while the nanny was there. She could even joke about it, like it was their little secret!
"I had a woman's abusive ex husband call the house repeatedly (like she has a restraining order against him) and the kids were like 'dad always calls around this time, we're allowed to talk to him' but I was told not to pick up the phone especially if it's the dad, so I just let it ring." - Redditor Stephanblackhawk
"The little beast kept throwing her toys on the floor and telling me to pick them up. She would say 'oops' every time she 'accidentally dropped the same doll. I quit that same day while her mum begged me not to quit." - Redditor watashiwahitodesu
It's not unusual for nannies to go out to eat with the families. So when the dad took the kids out for dinner, this nanny tagged along.
At dinner, the five-year-old loudly yelled, "daddy can sit by Ms. Cocoferetti so they can have some romance." Awkward!
"There have been many times my fiance has woken the kids up and is getting them ready to have one of the dad's many random one night stands stumble out of the bed room and attempt to sneak out." - Redditor DatMatt316
One nanny witnessed the aftermath of the dad she nannied for hitting the wife in the car. "It was so awkward, and I was young and didn't know what to do," the Redditor wrote, adding that they kept the secret for years.
"Like the husband doesn't change diapers, wants to wait until she's older to give her attention so all her care is on the mom. Enter me, a two to three times a week babysitter and sometimes a full time nanny when they need it." - Redditor crystalhorsess
"I was a nanny for a divorced guy, whose ex-wife tried to run off with all his money & credit cards," this Redditor wrote. When her sister and her kids later moved in and helped with chores, they got half her paycheck.
According to one nanny, the drama you see with nannies on TV is just like that in real life.
For instance, she said that the dad in the family she nannied for had a secret daughter and another family for five years.
"The younger one doesn't realize why it's inapproproate to joke about how much money she has stashed away for "chores." She doesn't realize that it's more than I earn in weeks, and that she didn't actually earn it." - Redditor 847362na
Nannies are witnesses to a lot of family drama. Especially fights. That's what this nanny witnessed when she was about to leave for the night and the husband screamed at the wife for their young child accidentally touching a hot burner.
One nanny had to quit her job after seeing how terrible they treated their child.
While they were buying themselves new things, the child had clothes that didn't fit, broken toys, and was still in diapers at six years old.
A lot of families who have a nanny are wealthy. This can mean they spend frivolously, like this nanny witnessed.
"A $500 rocking chair is the wrong shade of orange? Just throw it in the garbage and go buy a new one," they wrote.
