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Review: Gonge River Stones

When you find a great product you want to share it with everyone. The Gonge river stones are one such product.

What are they?

A set of river stones includes 6 raised triangles of different coloured solid plastic, inspired by the shape of stepping stones across a river. You get 3 large stone and 3 small ones in each set. Each stone has a non-slip coating on the bottom and they stack for easy storage. They are part of a range of balancing equipment which includes hilltops, the mountain and the river which can be combined to create more challenging play situations.

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Christmas gifts for ex-charges and families

It’s that time of year when we’re making lists, just like Santa. Family, friends, employers, current charges…. The list for a nanny is long! We’re not going to come down one way or the other but here are some tips so you don’t get sucked into spending hundreds for all your ex-charges.

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Staying safe with children

The attacks on Paris have shocked everyone. Not only is it close to home, but it’s also the kind of random attack that strikes fear into your heart and has you looking over your shoulder at every turn. Following some simple safety precautions can help you avoid trouble and speed up getting help in an emergency.

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Paris Attacks

Our thoughts are with the people of Paris, particularly the families, nannies and agencies we work with in the city. Stay safe.

How to stop your nanny having an affair with your partner (or you)

Poor Gwen Stefani, betrayed by one of the people she should be most able to trust. Her nanny’s behaviour was by any standard unacceptable, and parents and nannies alike aren’t backward about coming forward to say so.

Let’s start by saying that this post has nothing to do with nannies for the most part. It’s got nothing to do with whether your nanny is tall, short, slim, plump, dark, fair, male, female, young or more mature. Very few parents set out to have an affair with their nanny. Preventing affairs has everything to do with relationships. To stop one kind of relationship (a romantic one) you need to keep an eye on three.

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3 ways to better manage behaviour

Observe

Obviously we’re always watching children but simply watching is very different to keenly observing with an objective in mind. If you’re notice a pattern of negative behaviour make a special effort to observe and find the triggers. Sometimes the incidents seem random but there may be a bigger pattern behind it – common causes are unexpected tiredness, over-stimulation, teeth coming through. Sometimes it’s linked to something that we’re doing, albeit unintentionally. A child who doesn’t know what is expected of them will lash out when confused. This is particularly noticeable when children are growing in independence and learning new skills, but at the same time the mistakes they make are behaviours we don’t want to encourage. It’s difficult to learn to drink from an open cup without spilling once or twice.

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Spotlight on: pay reviews and raises

September is a common start date for nannies, which means that many are coming up to their nanny-versary around now. We’ve already talked about job reviews in the newsletter but let’s tackle the thorny issue of pay. In this economic climate a raise should never be a given but many nannies do expect a pay rise year on year. A yearly review is a chance to look at a nanny’s role and see whether she has taken on more responsibility and how that can be compensated for. Even a small raise to cover the increased cost of living is appreciated but when a raise really is impossible a nanny still needs to know their hard work is appreciated so think about suggesting an extra day of holiday, a bonus or some other kind of gesture of recognition.

Spotlight on: providing food for nannies

Unlike most jobs, where you take your lunch or go out to grab a sandwich, nannies expect to eat their meals with their charges. This means as an employer you probably need to factor in the cost of providing at least lunch, and possibly breakfast and dinner for your nanny along with tea or coffee and snacks. While the law doesn’t require this it is customary and nannies will eat what the children eat, or if you have a baby then she is likely to eat a slightly more grown up (seasoned and unpureed) version of what she makes her little charge.

Although it might seem a daunting expense there are many benefits to nannies sharing meals with the children. It encourages good table manners, children are motivated to try new foods and it’s a time to share conversation.

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Spotlight on: interview no-nos

If you’re in the nanny interviewing nannies process as well as the questions you need to ask you should also familiarize yourself with the questions that you can’t ask. Nannies are also protected from discrimination by Equal Opportunities legislation and a good general rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t expect to be asked about it at interview then you shouldn’t be asking your nanny either. Age, race, gender, sexual orientation and disability are all areas where you need to tread very carefully.

Common pitfalls are asking whether your nanny is married, whether they have or are planning to have children, whether they have any health problems and their nationality. To find out more check out our blog post “Questions not to ask at interview”.