Am I making a bad decision
I’m a live-in nanny since December and I’m really struggling and would appreciate some outside perspective from other nannies.
I work roughly 14 hour days (around 6am–8pm), get about 5/6 hours sleep a night and only have two days off every two weeks. The role ends in August as the family are moving country, but I honestly feel like I’m at breaking point and don’t know whether leaving early would be completely unprofessional.
The children are 3 and 5. The youngest especially is extremely dysregulated at home, constant screaming, hitting, kicking, pinching, refusing meals, huge tantrums, etc. I’ve been hit in the face hard enough to injure my nose and I’m covered in bruises most of the time. I’ve also hurt my knee/back from constantly carrying and physically managing tantrums.
The parents aren’t bad people, but the overall dynamic feels incredibly intense and I feel like I’m constantly “on.” There’s very little downtime or privacy as it’s live-in and I share a room with the youngest, and even when the children are asleep I often still have household tasks to do. I genuinely feel like I’ve lost myself a bit in this role.
I’ve already taken time off once a few months ago and within days of returning I felt miserable and trapped again, so I don’t think this is just temporary stress anymore.
What’s making this harder is:
I really like the agency I’m with and don’t want to ruin the relationship
I had another placement with them before this that ended during the trial period because it wasn’t the right fit.
I’m scared they’ll think I’m unreliable or not place me again
I feel guilty because the placement only has around 3 months left and I know leaving would affect the children/family
At the same time, I honestly dread being here every day now and feel mentally and physically exhausted.
Has anyone else left a placement early because of burnout? Did your agency still work with you afterwards?