Category: childcare

Should you ask your nanny to get vaccinated?

The subject of vaccinations is a tricky one, with everyone having their own opinion on whether or not they wish to vaccinate their children.

However, in recent years it’s become common for employers to require that a nanny or other childcare provider has received their vaccinations. In particular, vaccinations for the flu, measles and whooping cough.

The reason for this is that even healthy people can contract any of these three illnesses, all of which are contagious and all of which can cause severe complications in young children.

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Why Nannies Should Include Volunteer Work on Their Resume

When applying for your first job as a nanny, whether you’re a student, a graduate or if you’re moving from another field of work, it’s guaranteed that you won’t be the only one submitting an application.

What makes you stand out from the hundreds of other nanny applicants trying to get the same position?

We’ve put together this quick article to show you how volunteering can help you stand out from the crowd.

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Online Learning Resources for Older Children and Teenagers

At some point during your career as a nanny you’ll probably be asked by one of the children in your care for help, whether it’s with homework, a school project or a personal interest or hobby.

We’ve put together a list of online resources that you and your children might find useful and are perfect for helping children and teenagers to learn online either with help or independently.

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A Guide to Keeping Children Safe Online

Gone are the days when children needed to ask parent’s permission to use the family computer to access the internet. The internet is now easily accessible to most children. With tablets, smartphones, laptops and games consoles, it can be hard to keep track of what children are doing and if they’re being safe online.

The internet isn’t all bad. It’s actually pretty amazing. The variety of websites, apps and other tools available allow children to play, learn and connect. To help encourage learning new skills, whilst also putting your mind at ease, we’ve put together this short guide to help keep children safe online.

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Au Pair or Nanny – What’s the difference?

What’s the difference between a nanny and an au pair? It’s a question we hear from a lot of parents looking for childcare.

Nannies and au pairs are both extremely different and it’s important that you understand the differences and exactly what you’re looking for from a childcare provider, before you make any decisions. Which is why we’ve put together this article to help you.

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How to make activity a part of daily life

How active are your children? Did you know that only 10% of under-five year olds are meeting NHS guidelines for daily activity?

The NHS recommend that children are active for at least three hours per day to encourage physical and mental health and wellbeing, which is why we’ve put together our top suggestions to help get your children up and active each and every day, even in winter.

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Celebrities, the media and you

Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale and their nanny. You’ve never met them, but you’ve probably heard of one of them if not all three. And right now they’re having a big impact on anyone connected to the nanny industry, and that means you.

The private lives of celebrities don’t stay private for long. The media make sure of that, and so do consumers who keep clamouring for more. A rumour goes around, something is leaked, someone else confirms it and the whole story is out there in the open in all its grisly glory, but it’s not just their reputations which are damaged in the process. It’s not just anyone he had an affair with, it was their nanny so it’s not the person who becomes the focus, it’s the post.

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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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Why children act up for their parents

‘They never behave like this with me’. ‘The minute the mother walks in the door all hell breaks loose’. ‘The house is like a zoo when I get home’.

It’s a common complaint on both sides. Why do children act up when both nanny and parents are present? Here are 3 possible explanations:

They’re playing ‘power struggle’. Kids know that there’s a sense of hierarchy and they’re trying to navigate the complicated world of human relationships. When two people who are in charge of them are together, who is the one who has the ultimate power? The surest way for them to test this is to behave badly and see who tells them off, and whether the other person can over-rule any consequences.

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Child abuse – what is it and how do you recognise it

Every nanny and childcare professional should know what child abuse is and how to spot the signs. You will be probably be tested on this knowledge during an OFSTED inspection.

Child abuse is causing harm to a child, whether intentionally or unintentionally. There are four types of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.

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