A Nanny Went Viral For Exposing Screenshots Of Parents’ Worst Messages

Finding a reliable and trustworthy nanny is no easy feat, but the same can be said from the other side of the coin. Nannies are also just as selective when searching for families to work with.

Professional nanny Sophia Pagliuca knows this struggle all too well and shared some of the worst texts she has received from entitled parents who are seemingly living in an alternate universe.

From absurdly low wages to strange comments about bedsheets, some of the parents who reached out to Sophia appear to believe that being a full-time nanny is not a real job worthy of a living wage, despite leaving their children in her care.

In the viral video, she shared screenshots, commenting on how absurd the messages were.

“What’s ur rate?? Need help with 4 kids like 60 hours a week — but some weeks will be like 10-15 hours. We’ve had trouble finding people who don’t want to be paid 60 hours even if we don’t work that…. Imk,” one parent said.

Sophia wrote in text overlay, “I wonder why they had trouble…”

Another parent sent a text that read:

“Heyyyy! Sliding up from your recent FB post, what’s ur rate? We have like $150-$200/week budgeted and we’d prefer to not have other kids there or combine like a nanny share or something. Oh also we need M-F, 7-6 or 7-7, whatever u can do. Also, just to be transparent, I call off a lot so we won’t need you sometimes but we don’t do guaranteed hours if that’s something ur looking for.”

Sophia relayed some advice to parents regarding this message, telling parents that they need to provide full-time nannies with “guaranteed hours,” or it’s a “goodbye.”

“Also I’m so sorry but the ‘ur’ and ‘u’ is such a red flag to me. Type words,” she said.

One parent tried to get Sophia to concede her Doordash meal for an extra hour of pay after they wanted to stay out later. She politely declined.

Another set of parents insisted on paying Sophia “under the table” so that she wouldn’t “have to pay taxes,” noting that if she wanted a W-2 for the job, she wouldn’t be able to get health insurance or PTO.

Other parents tried to work one over on the full-time nanny, pretending to be “confused” or wanting clarification on her wages and extra charges for things like overnights or driving. Thankfully, she has contracts in place so that she can’t get scammed.

One parent tried to rate shame her, accusing Sophia of not understanding because she wasn’t a mother herself.

“One day, you’ll be a mother and will understand this rate is crazy. While my kid will be sleeping the majority of the time you want me to pay you to just sit there and watch tv?? And also, yeah, my old sitter did only charge $7.25/hr... that’s almost $100 to sit there. Good luck to you lol,” the parent wrote.

Another parent wanted a Mary Poppins super nanny for basically pennies on the dollar.

“Hi Sophia ... Needing an experienced nanny to do childcare, laundry, carpooling, and other tasks as needed. Our top qualities are self-motivation (finding things to get done when done with all assigned duties), firmness, and discipline. A friend down the street sent us your resume,” the message begins.

“I saw your rates on page 2 but wondering if we can use the ‘nanny’ rate but just add a few things from under the ‘household manager’ tab for the same rate. Our last nanny had a little less experience but we paid her $18/hr under the table BUT we gave her $100 a month for gas etc which is basically $20/hr. I know that’s still below your rate so just let us know if that works.

“We also have extensive connections in the area ... we have many real estate and brokerage contacts which is a very great perk we offered our last nanny. Thanks for your promptness in response.”

Even with a laid-out list of her terms, conditions, duties, and packages that she can provide (child care or household duties or both), the parents still tried to figure out a way to get a cheaper deal, including offering her real estate connections. Weird.

Nannies are more than just a babysitter you hire for a one-off date night. They stay with the kids, entertain them, feed them, and drive them to activities and school.

As Pagliuca states in a separate video, a nanny might end up doing laundry, cleaning the home, or prepping dinner. However, some parents argue that the nanny isn’t doing anything half the time, as the kids are, for example, sleeping or at school.

While some TikTok users understood where Sophia came from, others weren’t so keen on her boundaries.

“Nanny acting like she should be paid CEO salary and treated like a queen. You have no f*cking clue how hard it is for people with kids to make ends meet,” one user wrote.

Another wrote, “I have never had a nanny but I am confused why you think you should make 28/hour? A bit ridiculous in most areas.”

Are times tough for parents? Absolutely. Day care costs are astronomical and parental leave policies are basically nonexistent. However, people who work hard, especially people who will be in charge of your flesh and blood, deserve living wages for the work they do. Having a nanny is a luxury.