Stuck in my contract
Hello. I am a nanny from the US who just started her first position in Sweden. The situation has been rather chaotic with me applying to the position, doing an interview then a test day with only one child who was not part of the job. They denied me for the position initially but did not find a nanny to fill that position but opened up another position for later in the day that I was offered under a short time limit.
I decided to take the plunge and accept without getting another meeting with the parents to discuss the schedule, boundaries, and the children and without meeting the two children I'd primarily be working with. (The job market has not been kind to me and I had no time to think it over)
I signed a contract which gives them a two week notice to fire me but I must give a minimum of one month. After a few days I quickly understood that this is not going to be workable, firstly because the commute doubles at the later hours, but also because there are extreme disciplinary issues with the eldest.
He has shoved me while I was picking up his infant sister which almost caused me to drop her, he constantly screams in her face and his toddler brother's face and takes toys and does everything in his power to make my job harder. He has taken my phone and tried to throw it down the stairs and he has hurt me again and again which has left bruising and knots on my skin as well as absolutely crunching my toes enough so I can't walk on them. The mother does not care, I've tried to explain and she makes no effort to discipline and I may not discipline.
I'm also left in impossible situations which have me pushed beyond my limit wanting to literally just run away and not look back. I have asked one time for a five minute break and the mother was mad and did not let me take it.
But basically I'm stuck in this contract regardless for another month and I don't know how to cope. During this time I'm also grieving the loss of a very beloved family pet who had to be put down at midnight on my first day. My mental state is in the trash and I don't know how I'm going to keep going.
This isn't my first nanny job or my first job with children, but this is my first where there is no help from anyone involved and I'm physically being injured by the children over and over. And if I try to stay away from situations where I know it's likely, the mother will direct me into it regardless and my contract apparently says I need to follow whatever she asks of me regarding the care of the children.
Just anything you can offer to help me make it to the day I can finally be done would be much appreciated. I feel like I'm going insane.
Posted May 6, 2026, 11:21 PM UTC