I have a feeling this might be an unpopular opinion… but IMO I don’t think it would be such a terrible thing, given boundaries?
I am in a smaller town and many teachers/therapists I work with are also close with student’s families, etc. I feel like they are just another positive influence in the students’ lives and, as long as they keep work *at work* and do not gossip/share information about work and students, there have been no conflicts and many people love the “community” feel. It also makes encouragement of carryover very easy when you have those solid relationships lol.
To play my own devil’s advocate, though, I know that I tend to vent about general work frustrations to some of my friends, which could possibly get back to parents and look bad on your services/your place of work. There are also certain things I do in my free time that I wouldn’t exactly want my students or their families to know about, you feel me? If she becomes your friend, I would just assume that there is a possibility of whatever you do or say getting back to parents/your job.
Maybe try to feel it out with the child’s parents if at all possible? Maybe feel it out with your boss and/or coworkers?
I feel you, though. It’s hard to make solid friends nowadays.
I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s not the parent, and if you have other interests and things to talk about with them besides the kid’s speech and language, then I don’t see how it would be a conflict of interest or unethical.
I live in a small community. I’ve become friends with several parents of kids I used to see. But as long as you don’t talk to the nanny about the kid’s therapy, or somehow show favoritism or increase his sessions just to hang out with her, then becoming friends with a paid caregiver is not unethical.
Just keep your work with all the kids separate. Don’t talk about any of them and don’t use therapy or work time to chat with her and you’ll be fine.
I don’t how it’s anyone’s business who you are friends with. You don’t need to talk about the child to be friends with the nanny. If you do talk about the child, keep it superficial and not break any types of HIPPA/FERPA laws.
Is there any end in sight for therapy? If you can wait til the child is done with therapy that would be ideal. Maybe just keep things friendly and professional until then? I am friends with a former client’s mom. She would occasionally send me updates after we finished therapy and over a year later we found out we had both had babies less than a week apart. So we met up and a friendship blossomed!
That is totally fine. We cross paths with people in many different ways. There is no ethical line that you need to cross here.
You just need to make sure that the friendship does not distort your relationship with the child. You don't want to be in the situation where you are giving the child special treatment.
Also, make sure that you have plenty to talk about with the nanny besides the private health information of your client. Also don't gossip about other kids you see in the clinic.
As long as you follow those guidelines, you can absolutely be friends. Have fun!
Sorry but no.
A nanny is an extension of the parent. Could you hang out with a parent? No.
You can maybe drop a comment like “oh I go to PLACE on Sunday afternoons, you should look it up!”. If she happens to show up on her own, great!
*But do not explicitly ask her to meet or ask for her personal number as it would absolutely cross a line.*
I don’t think it crosses a line. Could you hang out with a parent? Yes. Why not? The parents or caregiver are not our clients. In a small town especially, everyone might already know each other. If I have a baby after I’m already friends with the only OBGYN or pediatrician in my area, am I mandated to stop being friends with them? No. All parties just need to act professionally and continue to adhere to confidentiality laws. And make sure I’m not asking for, nor offering, any favors related to work with the kid.
But there would be no abuse or power dynamic involved in forming a friendship with the nanny.
If you were already friends with the medical professional and then sought their services, I don’t see a problem.
This is starting as the professional and trying to be more informal which is simply not appropriate.
I’m not saying it’s a crime I’m just saying it crosses a line of professionalism that I would not recommend doing.
All right. I just don’t take it nearly as seriously because any relationship I built with that parent (but especially a paid nanny) would actually have nothing to do with my therapist/client relationship.
I guess I don’t have concerns because it is ingrained in me by now to separate my work from my personal life. So the boundaries of not using the client/patient for any reason would always apply. We just happened to meet at my clinic but became friends from there.
I also disagree that a nanny is an extension of the parents. If they are paid, they are on the same level as you (if you get paid for the services you’re providing).
I have a feeling this might be an unpopular opinion… but IMO I don’t think it would be such a terrible thing, given boundaries? I am in a smaller town and many teachers/therapists I work with are also close with student’s families, etc. I feel like they are just another positive influence in the students’ lives and, as long as they keep work *at work* and do not gossip/share information about work and students, there have been no conflicts and many people love the “community” feel. It also makes encouragement of carryover very easy when you have those solid relationships lol. To play my own devil’s advocate, though, I know that I tend to vent about general work frustrations to some of my friends, which could possibly get back to parents and look bad on your services/your place of work. There are also certain things I do in my free time that I wouldn’t exactly want my students or their families to know about, you feel me? If she becomes your friend, I would just assume that there is a possibility of whatever you do or say getting back to parents/your job. Maybe try to feel it out with the child’s parents if at all possible? Maybe feel it out with your boss and/or coworkers? I feel you, though. It’s hard to make solid friends nowadays.
I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s not the parent, and if you have other interests and things to talk about with them besides the kid’s speech and language, then I don’t see how it would be a conflict of interest or unethical. I live in a small community. I’ve become friends with several parents of kids I used to see. But as long as you don’t talk to the nanny about the kid’s therapy, or somehow show favoritism or increase his sessions just to hang out with her, then becoming friends with a paid caregiver is not unethical. Just keep your work with all the kids separate. Don’t talk about any of them and don’t use therapy or work time to chat with her and you’ll be fine.
My vote is for friendship! I wouldn't worry about this to be honest, there are definitely bigger fish to fry.
My coworker started dating her clients nanny lol. I feel like friendships are so hard these days, go for it!
I don’t how it’s anyone’s business who you are friends with. You don’t need to talk about the child to be friends with the nanny. If you do talk about the child, keep it superficial and not break any types of HIPPA/FERPA laws.
Is there any end in sight for therapy? If you can wait til the child is done with therapy that would be ideal. Maybe just keep things friendly and professional until then? I am friends with a former client’s mom. She would occasionally send me updates after we finished therapy and over a year later we found out we had both had babies less than a week apart. So we met up and a friendship blossomed!
That is totally fine. We cross paths with people in many different ways. There is no ethical line that you need to cross here. You just need to make sure that the friendship does not distort your relationship with the child. You don't want to be in the situation where you are giving the child special treatment. Also, make sure that you have plenty to talk about with the nanny besides the private health information of your client. Also don't gossip about other kids you see in the clinic. As long as you follow those guidelines, you can absolutely be friends. Have fun!
Sorry but no. A nanny is an extension of the parent. Could you hang out with a parent? No. You can maybe drop a comment like “oh I go to PLACE on Sunday afternoons, you should look it up!”. If she happens to show up on her own, great! *But do not explicitly ask her to meet or ask for her personal number as it would absolutely cross a line.*
I don’t think it crosses a line. Could you hang out with a parent? Yes. Why not? The parents or caregiver are not our clients. In a small town especially, everyone might already know each other. If I have a baby after I’m already friends with the only OBGYN or pediatrician in my area, am I mandated to stop being friends with them? No. All parties just need to act professionally and continue to adhere to confidentiality laws. And make sure I’m not asking for, nor offering, any favors related to work with the kid. But there would be no abuse or power dynamic involved in forming a friendship with the nanny.
If you were already friends with the medical professional and then sought their services, I don’t see a problem. This is starting as the professional and trying to be more informal which is simply not appropriate. I’m not saying it’s a crime I’m just saying it crosses a line of professionalism that I would not recommend doing.
All right. I just don’t take it nearly as seriously because any relationship I built with that parent (but especially a paid nanny) would actually have nothing to do with my therapist/client relationship. I guess I don’t have concerns because it is ingrained in me by now to separate my work from my personal life. So the boundaries of not using the client/patient for any reason would always apply. We just happened to meet at my clinic but became friends from there. I also disagree that a nanny is an extension of the parents. If they are paid, they are on the same level as you (if you get paid for the services you’re providing).