Category: childcare

Is breastfeeding best for you?

It’s an age-old debate, and one that has caused many a stir amongst new mums regarding what they feel is best for baby. With so many Women being the main breadwinners now or needing to return to work more quickly for financial reasons is breast really the best way for everyone?

It’s an age-old debate, and one that has caused many a stir amongst new mums regarding what they feel is best for baby. With so many Women being the main breadwinners now or needing to return to work more quickly for financial reasons is breast really the best way for everyone?

Gone are the days when it was a given that all new mums would breast feed, with few alternatives being promoted at all. Babies were simply expected to ‘latch on’ with no problems (or none which were discussed openly by midwives or our own mums!). In reality, most of us know that this does not always run as swimmingly as the way we plan it whilst pregnant. In fact, it can sometimes be a source of great pain both physically and emotionally to many mums who innocently expect a stress-free start to baby’s feeding.

Mums can also feel a fair amount of pressure from others to breastfeed, making this very personal choice a tricky one. Whether the breast or formula choice is made before or after baby arrives, it is certainly a decision that you need to feel happy with, in a time when emotions are heightened and doing ‘the right thing’ by baby is the only thing in mind. Here is our simple guide to the benefits and possible drawbacks of each:

Some benefits of breastfeeding:

  • Nutrition – Colostrum, which is the milk produced at the end of pregnancy and the early part of breastfeeding, is high in concentrated nutrition for newborns, and has a laxative effect on baby.
  • Protection in childhood – In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness.
  • Protection into adulthood – Breastfeeding’s protection against illness lasts beyond your baby’s breastfeeding stage. Antibodies in breast milk may give a baby’s immune system a boost, and can protect from childhood and adult illnesses, including diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
  • Bonding – A strong physical and emotional bond can be formed between mother and baby.
  • No cost – Breastfeeding is free, and available whenever baby needs a feed.
  • Good for mum – The NHS states that there are health benefits to mum as well, including up to 500 calories being used per day, and the risk of breast and ovarian cancer being reduced.

What they don’t always tell you about breastfeeding:

  • Pain – Breastfeeding can be physically painful for mums, lead to sore or even bleeding nipples.
  • Attaching – Many new mums find that baby doesn’t attach or ‘latch on’ as naturally as they’d expect, which can lead to a feeling of rejection or failure for mum. Patience and persistence are key.
  • Thrush – this can occur and pass between you and baby’s mouth. If nipples become sore or pink after breastfeeding without problems, this may be a sign of thrush.
  • Tongue-tie – Some babies are born with ‘tongue-tie’ where the skin between the underneath of the tongue and the bottom of the mouth is tight, making it difficult for baby to attach. If you experience any of the above and want to continue breastfeeding, don’t panic as help is at hand from GPs, health advisors and midwives.

In contrast, here are some benefits of formula feeding:

  • Nutrients – Commercially prepared infant formulas are still full of nutrients, and can even contain some vitamins & nutrients that breastfed babies need to get from supplements.
  • Convenience – Formula feeding is convenient, and feeding can be shared between both parents enabling mums to do other things, and dads to feel the bond that comes with feeding their baby.
  • Back to normal – ‘Normal’ life can resume more quickly, including returning to work, and taking birth control or other medication.
  • Sleeping – Baby may sleep for longer in between feeds, giving you more chance to sleep for longer too.
  • Quantities – You know exactly how much milk baby has had when formula-feeding.

What they don’t always tell you about formula feeding:

  • Getting it right – It’s easy to make the mixture too strong, weak or hot.
  • Illness – the NHS states that formula fed babies are more likely to get diarrhoea, chest, ear or urine infections.
  • Expense – it is estimated to cost at least £700 per year to formula feed.
  • Sterilising – there is a lot of work involved in thoroughly sterilising all the equipment required to formula-feed.
  • Mixing it up – if you decide to combine bottle feeding with breastfeeding, you should not introduce bottle feeding during the first six weeks of life, because the difference between nipples can confuse the baby, cause feeding problems, and it can interfere with the establishment of breastfeeding.

If you’re still not sure whether breast or formula feeding is best for you, speak to your midwife or health visitor for information and support, or call the National Breastfeeding helpline on 0300 100 0212.

Keeping A Good Nanny

Parents … how many of your friends with nannies seem to have had an enviously easy ride, with seemingly no problems and happy children, in what looks to you like a Mary Poppins style montage?! So, if your situation doesn’t always seem to run as smoothly as your lucky mates, are you doing something to make your nannies want to leave? Or are you just not choosing the ones with staying power in the first place? If you have ever wondered this, it may be time to stop and think about whether or not there is more you can do to keep your nanny happy, or to simply keep your nanny! Once you think you’ve found the right person, you want to make sure she or he will stick around. Here are our top tips on keeping good nannies:

– Respect

It may sound like a simple employer/employee dynamic, but respecting the person who you choose to look after your most important assets makes obvious sense, but doesn’t always come easily to some parents. Make sure you discuss any issues you may have immediately with your nanny, and make her feel like you value her opinion on your children (after all she will be getting to know them very well). Remember that even though you are the parent, your nanny is the expert in child care, so admit if you think she is right and you aren’t about something!

– Keep the green-eyed monster at bay!

It is only natural that you may feel some pangs of jealousy that your nanny is spending time with your children and seeing them do things whilst you’re at work. Good nannies are well aware of this and will do their best not to make you feel like you’re missing out. If you start to feel jealous that your child is enjoying his or her time with nanny, or even preferring spending time with them, remember that this is just a sign that your nanny is doing a very good job. Wouldn’t you rather have a happy child, even if it does mean swallowing that green-eyed monster feeling for the time being?!

– Trust

Much like respecting your nanny, she will do a better job and feel more comfortable if you trust her. Of course, this may take a little bit of time to build up naturally, but the sooner you can make her feel as though she is in charge and running her position, the sooner she will come into her own, resulting in your child feeling more at ease and happy with the nanny and the situation. On the flip side, if you really do think there is a trust issue then speak to her straight away to keep things as open, and honest, as possible.

– Keep it real!

Like any job, make sure you have a realistic job description for your nanny right from the off, so that you both know- and are happy with – what is realistic. It’s true that no two days are generally the same in child care, but this doesn’t give you an excuse to expect her to work longer hours than agreed in the beginning, or to do household jobs that were not clear at the start. This is one of the quickest ways of de-motivating any employee, so if there is anything that you think you’d like to add to your nanny’s duties, make sure you ask her thoughts first.

– Realistic pay rises

Again, just like any other position, a good nanny should expect to be rewarded appropriately financially, and you should consider annual pay rises as a part of this. The standard annual rise is around 5-10%, but if you are unsure, ask other families in your area what they offer. Of course, pay is just one part of the reward that a good nanny gets from her job, but it is likely she will know other nannies and if she isn’t getting a similar financial reward to her peers, a good nanny can move on very easily.

 The most important thing for you as a parent is to make sure your children have a happy and consistent care routine, and for this, holding on to a good nanny is key.

Have we missed anything? Leave a comment with your thoughts, or stop by our Facebook page to tell us what you think!

 

Nannies and Disabled Parents: It’s a Winning Combination

Parenting is one of the most challenging things you’ll ever do. Raising a baby through childhood isn’t easy, and it’s even harder for disabled parents. Especially those without a solid support system.

Disabled parents often have a harder time admitting when they need help. Every parent has days where they feel overwhelmed and in desperate need of respite, but disabled parents don’t always have the courage to stand up and ask for the help they need for fear of negativity from others like being seen as unfit to parent or unable to cope.

By welcoming a nanny into your family, you can gain the help you need without worrying about negativity – after all, it’s not like nannies are unheard of!

Here are our top reasons why a nanny is a perfect choice for disabled parents: Continue reading “Nannies and Disabled Parents: It’s a Winning Combination”

Can starting a blog be good for children?

It might seem like a strange question, especially with all the warnings about children and screen time that are constantly in the news, but can blogging actually be beneficial for children?

According to online safety charity WiredSafety, in 2017, there were over 6 million children around the world, regularly writing blogs and whilst there are a number of dangers revolving around children and the internet, there are also a number of benefits to blogging.

Continue reading “Can starting a blog be good for children?”

Talking tantrums

Parents and childcarers – nannies, childminders, aupairs or nursery staff – are almost all familiar with the tantrums, but there can be differences of opinion on how to deal with them.

As a childcarer it’s difficult to bring up a sensitive subject. Tantrums are an entirely normal phase of development, coming from a child’s desire to show their independence and assert themselves or an inability to communicate, and intellectually parents know that but no-one likes to hear that their child has been ‘misbehaving’.

Parents may not share details of the behaviours with childcarers, perhaps feeling that it’s a reflection on their parenting skills, or perceived lack thereof. Children do often save their worst behaviour for their parents but it is not a sign of weakness to make others aware of facts.

It’s important that neither party shies away from discussing the issue. The best way to deal with tantrums is a consistent approach from everyone involved. That way a child quickly learns what the limits are and that having a paddy isn’t an effective way of getting what they want. Communicating also allows parents and childcarers to share tips and tricks. Parents may know what frustrates their child and be adept at handling it so sharing that information with their child’s carer is vital to help prevent tantrums. Childcarers may be able to offer strategies that have worked with other children or reassure parents that their child is indeed learning to deal with frustration and that the tantrums will soon decrease.

Toddlers especially need to make sense of the world. It’s reassuring for them to have a set of consistent rules and boundaries, consistent positive attention for good behaviour and a consistent response to a tantrum. It’s especially important that everyone is on the same page when it comes to safety. Communicating about expectations and accommodating each other’s practices where possible makes the transition as easy as possible for children and avoids unnecessary tantrums.

Children also need autonomy. Some adults are inclined to say ‘no’ to anything out of the ordinary, even when it’s perfectly possible to accommodate a request, and others will bend over backwards to comply. Obviously in group childcare settings it’s more difficult to deal with individual whims, and it doesn’t do any good to spoil children by giving in to them all the time, but by working together parents and carers can agree what will or won’t be accommodated.

Finally, while it’s important to communicate between adults it’s also important not to let what happens when you aren’t there affect your relationship with a child. Sharing information should help you understand and deal with tantrums, but it needs to be done sensitively and with respect.

Online Safety Tips for Nannies

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a significant rise in internet fraud, phishing scams and other ‘traps’ that aim to trick victims into handing over money, providing sensitive information or even putting themselves in physical danger.

To help you stay safe when applying for your next nanny job, we’ve put together our top online safety tips for nannies:

Continue reading “Online Safety Tips for Nannies”

How to Become a Childminder

Why Become a Childminder?

Becoming a childminder has been a popular career choice in recent years.  Many stay-at-home parents choose to become registered childminders because it gives them the flexibility of being able to work from home, during hours that suit, and still being able to look after their own children.

 

Some people believe that childminding is just a pocket-money job for stay at home parents, but this is not the case.  Childminders are professional childcare providers who have undergone a registration process, which ensures that they are suitable for caring for other peoples’ children.

 

Registration

 

  • In order to become a registered childminder, you will need to attend a pre-registration session at which you will receive all the information you’ll need, plus an application pack and information about the Early Years Foundation Stage.  To find out when and where the next pre-registration session will be, contact your local authority.  They will also be able to provide information on the availability of childminder start-up grants that may be available to you.  Like any new business, there is an initial investment.
  • If you decide to go ahead with your application to be a registered childminder, you will need to submit your application along with your registration fee.
  • Next, you will need to have a CRB check – Ofsted will advise you on how to go about this.  Additionally, anybody over the age of 16 who is regularly in your home will need to have a CRB check.  You will also need to be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)
  • You will then be subject to an inspection by Ofsted, where you will need to prove that you meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
  • Before you are registered, you will have to attend a paediatric first aid course. Within 6 months of your registration, you will also be required to complete a childcare course.

 

Your Home

 

Contrary to what you might believe, you don’t need a big house and garden to be a childminder.  You don’t need to own your home either.  However, your home should be safe and suitable for children of all ages.  You will need to invest in safety gates in order to stop small children attempting to climb stairs unassisted, and you may need to get some cupboard locks for your kitchen cupboards.

 

You will need to have toys and books for the children but these needn’t cost the earth – excellent quality toys and books can be picked up second hand for very good prices at car boot sales, charity shops and in local classifieds.

 

An outside space is a bonus, and some parents may prefer their children to have the option of playing outside whilst with their childminder, but if you don’t have a garden there’s no need to worry.  The first priority of most parents is not the garden space of their children’s prospective childminder – their ability to lovingly care for their children is far more important.

New Year Resolutions for Parents and Childcare Professionals

How many New Year’s resolutions have you seen or heard from your family, friends and co-workers so far? How many of those were about weight, smoking, drinking, or travel? How many of those were about parenting or childcare? I’m guessing the latter was a significantly smaller number than the former.

This New Year, wouldn’t it be nice for us to make a New Year’s resolution that will not only benefit ourselves but our children and the rest of our family? That’s why we’ve put together a list of areas that we can all try to improve upon in the New Year when it comes to caring for our children.

Continue reading “New Year Resolutions for Parents and Childcare Professionals”

Fun Elf on the Shelf Ideas!

How are you getting on with that mischievous little man (or woman) known as Elf on the Shelf. It can be difficult to think of new mischief for your elf to get up to, especially if this isn’t the first year he’s come to stay.

That’s why we’ve put together plenty of new Elf on the Shelf ideas to help delight children of all ages this Christmas!

Continue reading “Fun Elf on the Shelf Ideas!”