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The Pufflympics

Stuck for ideas? Why not try a themed activity week?! Nanny Claire has done weeks of activities centered around Princesses,  cars and space, and here she shares her Winter Olympic theme with a twist.

 

I’m a nanny and look after 3 children, two girls E 12 years old and AM 6 years old and one boy AC 9 years old. My job is usually part-time, I do the school run and then ferrying around various after school activities and playdates. However, there are times that those who look after children dread…the school holidays.

I had not given much thought as to what we were going to do all week, swimming, movies and playdates were confirmed but they don’t take up the whole week. On Monday the kids were having breakfast and it just so happened that the Winter Olympics were on, so especially with sports obsessed AC, we  were watching the curling. I’m usually quite strict on TV hours, switched off after breakfast until at least 4:30pm, but the Winter Olympics is not on every  week so it’s an exception to the rule.

As most of us who look after children know, it’s not long before we get the inevitable phrase “What are we going to do today?”, one of the kids said that curling looking fun so I said I bet we can find something to do curling with if you get washed and dressed, at which point they vanished like speedy ninjas.

So now I had to find something to play curling with, I wandered around looking at the various toys and then I saw the puffles…If anyone doesn’t know what a puffle is, they are pets for penguins on the popular Club Penguin game, they are basically small round, come in various colours and have fuzzy hair. There happen to be quite a few in the kids collection, kind of curling stone shaped and should slide across the floor quite nicely!

The weather outside was typically pouring down with rain, so I tested some chalk on the kitchen tiles just to make sure it would come off  later (not my floor after all!), no problem there so I sketched out some circles to represent the house in curling, got the brush out of the cupboard  and we were ready to go! There was soon puffles flying in all directions and much laughing, arguing and cheering. We decided that scoring would be whoever got their puffles closest to the middle on their turn, I didn’t expect the game to be such a big hit and the kids asked what other events we could do.

So we looked up the other Olympic sports there were, and I tried to work out how we could replicate them at home, a brief thought of kids  sliding down the stairs on trays entered my mind swiftly followed by thoughts of a trip to A & E. However bob sleigh could work, if we made them for the  puffles and not the kids. So at dinner I told the kids we were going to be making bob sleds for the puffles tomorrow.

On Tuesday morning I was greeted with much excitement, “Are we still making sleds for puffles today? After breakfast I raided my box collection, always have a variety of empty boxes for such rainy days, I cut down 3 boxes to the same size for each of them, out came the glue, and various arts and crafts paraphernalia. There was much discussion about what would make it slide better, runners on the bottom, aerodynamics, making it look pretty, etc.

 

I fashioned a slide out of some cardboard box strips and white bin liners, and put it on the stairs, we then timed each puffle and recorded the time. The kids spontaneously decided to create a team name and made-up country for their puffles, so we then had team Fermat for E, team Mouseling for AM and team I Don’t Know for AC, they created maps for their countries and an event chart went up on the wall, all their own ideas I’m proud to say.

 

 

The pressure was now on me to come up with the next day’s event, thinking of the events involved I decided that the Ski slalom was possible with a little help from a remote control car! This did involve tying the puffle to the car under the pretence of a seat belt, and the kids made crash helmets out of craft foam for them! The kids have a building set called Cranium which is a set of poles and cloths which can be constructed to create play houses, etc. and the poles turned out to be quite useful for slalom flags. We opted for the rule of having to go around 2 poles at least and not all of them, this way they all had a good chance to get around the course successfully. They had plenty of time to practice driving the car before we did individual times and recorded them on the event sheet, needless to say puffles and poles went flying in all directions!

I went home that night and dreamt of puffles, and how to do the next event! I decided that I could recycle the bob sled run into a ski jump  and use the remote control car again; we used a sun lounger cushion so we didn’t mangle the car. I admit the car was very slow but managed to construct  the jump so if you lined up well you could get the car to do a small jump off the end, sufficient enough to get a small measurement anyway. The kids all got  to practice again before we took some final measurements. This wrapped up the final event of the Pufflympics, the next day was Friday and the last day of the holidays.

We decided to host our own closing ceremony; a toy shopping trolley became a puffle parade float with a few adaptions of course. The kids designed their own part of the float to put their puffle on to reflect their team and country. Next was designing their own podium step, E helped me make some medals by gluing some sequins to stickers and then cutting them out. E made a party playlist on her iPod and wrote a speech, AC lined the parade route on the floor with string and AM helped me get some food ready. It was junk food heaven as I let them have full reign on what food they wanted, so we had hot dogs, pizza, chips, cheese sandwiches and squishy tomatoes (AM really really likes cherry tomatoes roasted until extremely squishy)!

So after a busy week hosting the Pufflympics the kids had been entertained all week when it was generally too rainy to go outside, and I hadn’t been driven mad by kids asking what they can do every 10 minutes. Most importantly we all learned a lot more about the winter Olympic sports, lots of fancy new words and rules and at a fraction of a cost compared to the real thing. I essentially used toys and things we had in the house, the kids had a blast and spontaneously  added lots of their own ideas of what they could do. If you fancy hosting your own event you don’t necessarily have to have puffles on hand, cars would also have made great competitors for the Carlympics or a variety of cuddly toys for the Cuddlympics? You don’t need to be confined indoors or to the Olympics either. Why not host the World Cup or the Commonwealth Games outside?

The less than perfect pram

Buying a pram is a huge decision for parents. In fact it’s probably the baby buy that they spend the most time on and among the most expensive items. Parents to be consider their comfort, what they will use the pram for and whether it will fit in their car….. but understandably they haven’t thought about their nanny.

 

Telling parents that you don’t like their pram is one of the most awkward things to do. You might be worried that you come across as petty or picky but a pram is an essential piece of equipment that you are likely to use every day and if you can’t push it comfortably, fold and unfold it, or fit it in your car then you need to tell them sooner rather than later. In a way it can feel like you’re questioning their parenting choices, because a pram is after all not just a mode of baby transport. It’s a very obvious signal to the rest of the world of the image that they want to project and their ideas may not mesh with what you know is comfortable for you. So how do you go about it?

In this case honestly is the best policy and make it clear that these are your personal feelings about an inanimate object, so rather than saying ‘your pram is really heavy’ try saying ‘I find the pram really heavy’. Offer workable solutions: ask them to teach you how to put it up and down, suggest that you take the bus instead of using your car or that they get a ‘car buggy’ for days out and you can use their pram when walking. If the handles are too high you can approach it in a joky manner, but don’t underestimate how serious a problem it is for you in the long term.

If you know of any affordable replacements then if they offer to get a new pram you can be ready with suggestions that will suit everyone. One of the biggest issues is height difference so if you’ve done some research don’t make the same mistake and forget about your very tall DadBoss!

Quick Mother’s Day Crafts

Need an idea for Mother’s Day idea in a hurry?

We’ve got you covered! Here are our 5 top picks:

 

Lollipop stick flowers

 

Butterfly Cupcakes

 

Handprint, footprint flowers

 

Button decorated flowerpot

 

Handprint, footprint ‘love’

 

 

REMEMBER: Families come in all shapes and sizes, and this includes families with two fathers or who sadly don’t have a mother or father because they have passed away or are no longer in contact. Mother’s Day can be a very sensitive time and if you are working with a child who, for whatever reason, doesn’t have a mother then help them to find a ‘motherly figure’ so they can join in.

The Trouble with Teens

The trouble with teens is they think they don’t need a nanny or au pair, especially if you’ve been with them since they were much younger. They might feel that they’ve outgrown you or be embarrassed that their friends don’t have someone looking after them. The truth is they don’t need you in the same way but that’s not to say they don’t need you at all.

They need a cook, chauffeur, laundry maid and friend – all of which are file in the dictionary of job descriptions under ‘nanny’. Parents who keep nannies on for older children often have busy lives, working long hours or traveling frequently and want someone else to take care of the day to day tasks so weekend time as a family can be maximized. So teens do still need someone to buy their supplies for school projects, someone to make sure they get some dinner and someone they trust who isn’t a parent or teacher to talk to. Next time they say they don’t need you then point out all the practical things you do.

The teenage years are a difficult time bringing lots of changes. If you’re young you might find it difficult to maintain your authority because they realise that firstly people have to earn respect and authority and secondly they’re not so much younger than you after all, which is often a problem for au pairs. If you’re more mature they might feel that you’re out of touch and don’t understand them.

Take time to connect with teens in your care. Fake an interest in the latest band/singer/soap if you have to because it’s important to them and it gives you something safe to talk about. Give them space and privacy with their friends and don’t push them for details of what’s going on at school unless there’s a problem.

Give them freedom, as long as your employers are happy, to manage their time or walk back from school/the bus by themselves. Learning independence is an important part of being a teen and it can be hard to resist the temptation as a nanny to ‘nanny’ them. Sometimes the very title nanny is a red flag to teens so have a chat with them and come up with a description you’re both happy with that they can use to other people. You can become their sibling’s nanny or a family assistant – your professional pride might take a hit but you can still list the job as nanny on your CV.

The hardest thing about nannying teens is leaning that you have to give a little on the boundaries. Consistency and structure are vital for toddler and younger school aged children but teens needs negotiation too. Get it right and you’ll have a treasured place in your teen charge’s heart, not that they’ll ever admit it!

Pancake races

Tomorrow is pancake day. Up and down the country people will be holding pancake races. To find out more about the origins of pancake day including how to make pancakes check out last Friday’s post. But what is a pancake race?

A pancake race is a running race where the runners have to carry a frying pan and flip a pancake while running. The most famous race is in Olney in Buckinghamshire but there are races all over the country.

So where did it come from? The story is that in the 1400s a woman was busy cooking pancakes on Shrove Tuesday when she heard the church bells ring to say it was time for church. She ran from her house to the church with her frying pan and pancake.

Today even politicians get involved with the annual Parliamentary Pancake Race in aid of the charity Rehab. Why not give it a go yourself?

First Aid for childcarers

One of the most common requirements for childcarers is a valid paediatric first aid certificate. All registered child minders have to hold this, as well as OFSTED registered nannies. Nurseries only have to have one member of staff trained but it’s good practice for most, if not all, staff to have done a course.

Accidents can happen at any time and frighteningly quickly. One of the biggest risks for small children is choking. The leading First Aid organizations in the UK have just published new guidance for managing choking in a baby. Instead of lying the baby along your arm and giving back slaps to dislodge the blockage they now recommend putting the child face down across your lap to administer back slaps. Changes like this are part of the reason a First Aid certificate should always be within date and fully renewed every 3 years.

It’s important to make sure the certificate specifically covers paediatric first aid as some treatment is different for children that won’t have been covered on an adult course.

Thorough First Aid training means a childcarer should feel confident about handling an incident and this will help them stay calm and remember what to do. A course should also involve hands on practice to ensure the techniques are correctly understood. No amount of reading can replace this practical component.

We urge parents to ensure their nannies and babysitters are trained in First Aid and support this petition to make it a legal requirement for all nursery worker to hold a First Aid certificate too. Please take a moment to read and sign.

First Aid courses are available through organisations such as the Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance, private providers and many nanny agencies.

Emergency planning

If you’re in the UK right now you won’t have been able to escape the weather forescats and the news reports of severe flooding, high winds and power outages, but how many nannies have an emergency plan agreed with the parents in case of disaster?

 

Imagine this:
Your workplace is on a flood plain and you start to notice water coming up through the drains. The river has flooded nearby fields and the road outside has started to flood. You start to worry that if you stay put you won’t be able to get your car out and will be trapped by the water. What do you do?

Or maybe you’ve been out for the day and as you return to your bosses’s house you find that the road is so flooded you can’t get by. Where do you go?

Obviously remaining in your charge’s home, where you employers expect you to be isn’t an option in either of those scenarios, but in the thick of an emergency situation it may be difficult to keep parents informed every step of the way. This is why a pre-agreed emergency plan that both nanny and parents are aware of is so important. Even if you don’t live on a flood plain you never know what might happen!

 

1. Agree a safe place, or two safe places in case one is also affected
If parents return home to find you gone and can’t get in touch with you they will know where to look. This might be your own home, your charge’s grandparents or a nanny friend’s. The idea is that you have somewhere to go away from the disaster, so the next street over probably won’t cut it. Make sure you know several alternative routes to get there too, and take natural obstacles like rivers into account.
 

2. Make a list of what to take with you

When you evacuate a house you need to assume that you won’t be back for a while. Some things, like a change of clothes and any special cuddly toys, you’ll take automatically, but your employer might want you to also take important documents with you too. Ask them if they have a file they would like you to grab on the way out, and if they don’t suggest they put one together.

 

3. Know how to secure the house before you leave

Obviously you and your charges are a priority but knowing how to switch the gas/electricity/water off (especially if it’s a gas leak or a plumbing disaster) could save time later.

 

4. Set an emergency contact

If you can’t check in with your employers for some reason, or they can’t reach you, designate a third party contact. That way if you have to leave your charge’s house and go to your agreed safe place you can leave a message with your employers and another person.

 

5. Have a waterproof emergency kit

Nannies nowadays usually have contact numbers on their mobile phone, and that’s fine until the network gets overloaded or your phone slips out of your pocket into the rising floodwaters. First item in your waterproof kit is laminated contact details for the parents and emergency contact. You should also laminate all your emergency information: your safe place, your ‘to-take’ list and instructions on how to secure the house. You should also have food and water, including baby milk if necessary (you can buy pre-sterilised, pre-made bottles), a first aid kit, and a torch and batteries.

 

It might seem extreme, and we hope you’ll never need to use it, but when it comes to you and your charge’s safety better safe than sorry!

Attachment childcare

Most people have heard of attachment parenting, if only in sensationalised form, also known as the Sears method. The idea is that an infant is kept as close its mother, or other caregiver, as possible by breastfeeding, using a sling, bed-sharing, responding sensitively to cries and, as the child grows, ensuring that any separation is child led as far as possible. It must be said that many parents follow some of these principles without defining themselves as attachment parents but when parents openly say they follow attachment parenting some childcarers start to panic.

 

There is no need to worry. Although the label might sound off-putting, by entering into a dialogue with parents about how they practice attachment parenting will help you understand and accommodate their child’s needs.

 

1. Breastfeeding

This is obviously a logistical problem when any breastfeeding mother goes back to work. Make sure you and your setting are supportive of continued breastfeeding; know the value of expressed breast milk and how to handle it, talk to the mother about feeding times and whether she would prefer you to feed the baby just before collection or her to feed on arrival/at home to fit in with her pumping schedule, and try attachment bottle feeding.

 

2. Using a sling

If a baby is accustomed to being held and soothed by their caregiver it’s very important to continue this in some way during the transition to childcare and the easiest way to do this is to use a sling. Slings are a very individual decision but try asking the parents for their input if you don’t have one of your own that fits you comfortably.

 

3. Bed-sharing

This is often the trickiest adjustment. It isn’t advised for anyone but breastfeeding mothers to bedshare with their infants so as a childcarer, potentially caring for other children at the same time, it’s not practical. Make the sleeping area as familiar as possible. Consider asking the parents to provide a pillowcase and blanket that they have slept with to provide a familiar smell and commit to stroking or patting the  baby to replace the comforting contact of their mother’s body or suggest naps in the sling. Above all don’t judge the parents for continuing to bedshare at home – it’s valuable time for them to reconnect and may allow the mother to rest while breastfeeding a baby who refuses milk during the day.

 

4. Responding to cries

One of the key principles of attachment parenting is a belief that cries are genuine attempts to communicate and should not be ignored. As any attachment parent of two or more will tell you this doesn’t mean running at the first whimper if you have another child to attend to, but
it does mean responding and trying to figure out what is wrong rather than leaving a baby to cry it out, or seeing whether he will settle after a few minutes crying by himself.

 

5. Child-led separation

Attachment parents may request a longer settling in period to gradually accustom their child to you and your setting. Use this time to observe and learn how the parents and child interact so you can provide consistency. It doesn’t mean that they don’t trust you or are hanging around to be difficult!

Chickenpox

Springtime is often chickenpox time. This common childhood disease, usually found in children aged 4-10, causes itchy spots to appear all over the body and is highly contagious, but unfortunately has a 10-21 day incubation period and a 1-2 day period where there are no symtoms, meaning it spreads very easily. The virus can be airborne, in droplets from coughs and sneezes, and found in the liquid that fills the blisters of the characteristic rash. Signs usually appear 10 days after exposure but it can be as long as 3 weeks.

 

Children may feel unwell or irritable, have a fever or achy muscles and lose their appetite. The rash usually appears first on the inside of the mouth and at the back of the throat before covering the head and body. It starts as small red pinpicks which turn to fluid filled blisters within 10-12 hours. The itchy blisters then scab over but more may appear for up to 5 days.

 

There is no cure for chickenpox, although there is a vaccine available, but most parents prefer to let their children catch it. The only thing you can do is try to relieve itching and prevent complications such as infection that come from scratching. The most common remedy is calamine lotion which is applied to the spots. It’s a good idea to cut nails short or wear gloves to make it difficult to scratch. Other remedies are filling a sock or pair of tights with porridge oats and putting it in the bath or adding sodium bicarbonate to the bathwater. If the rash doesn’t heal after a week or some spots appear to be growing an infection may have set in such as impetigo. Children often don’t feel like eating or drinking because the inside of their mouth is sore so offer plain or fruit ice lollies to soothe and combat dehydration.

 

It’s unusual for adults to catch chicken pox as most people have had it in childhood, but the virus can cause shingles so good hygiene is vital. Wash your hands frequently and bleach surfaces

 

The frustrating thing about chickenpox is often being cooped up indoors. It is very contagious and although often mild in children it can be serious in pregnant women and the elderly so going out and about is not advised. Children often feel perfectly well apart from the itching and find being kept inside frustrating. Sensory play can be a great way to distract children from the itching and incorporate treatment. Why not try body art with calamine lotion or water play in a soothing bath? Keeping hands busy gives them less chance to scratch and as it’s springtime get a head start on Easter with 9 nifty Easter activities or check out some previous suggestions for rainy day play.

Smart socialising for nannies

One of the biggest concerns for nannies and parents alike is that nannying can be isolating for both nanny and child. Social contact is important for all human beings and as well as giving children the opportunity to play with others, going to groups and setting up playdates also gives nannies the opportunity to model social skills and how to form healthy relationships. But if you’re new to having a nanny or new to an area, how do you get started?

 

Have clear expectations

Whether you’re a parent or a nanny the interview process is the time to test out the other party’s take on socialising. It’s a question that might throw first-time employers but it can be helpful to remember that nannies don’t have coworkers and benefit from some kind of adult contact during the day so although it might feel like they’re asking to have their friends over to drink your coffee that’s not really the case, they just happen to have a network of ‘colleagues’ that they can take from job to job. There are no hard and fast rules , the most important thing is that both sides are happy with what is agreed.

 

Nannies don’t just have to see nannies

Sometimes new nannies can get hung up on only soicalising with other nannies and miss out on all the other social possibilities out there. While it can be great to meet up with someone who understands where you’re coming from, parents and childminders at groups with similar aged children can also enrich your social circle and at the end of the day playdates should be for children.

 

Be pro-active

Although there is a lot to get to grips with when you start a new job, be pro-active about finding social opportunities. Posting on the Nannyjob Meet Other Nannies messageboard or joining our social club for nannies can help you find nannies working near you and the Places to Go section will help you find activities in your area. Searching for groups and

 

Different social circles or friends in common?

This is probably one of the trickiest social situations to navigate. Are you happy to meet up with your boss’s NCT group and are they comfortable with that? Would you prefer that your nanny only meets up with people you know during work hours? What about playdates for school aged children? What about nannies who only work part-time? Again there are no hard and fast rules but communication is key to finding something that works for both of you!