Category: nannies

Car safety in snow

With bad weather hitting Britain’s roads, here are some quick tips for staying safe in the snow

With bad weather hitting Britain’s roads, here are some quick tips for staying safe in the snow

  • Make sure you charge your phone before you set off and tell someone what time you expect to be at your destination
  • Never get in the car without a coat, but take it off while driving so you get the benefit when you’re outside
  • Have blankets, water and energy snacks in the boot just in case you break down
  • Take a bag of salt or sand in case you get stuck – it may get you past a tricky bit
  • Take major roads even if it means going the long way round. They’re more likely to be gritted.
  • Take it slow. Accidents happen when you lose traction which is much less likely if you’re driving at a low speed.
  • Remember to steer INTO a skid if you find yourself sliding
  • If in doubt, don’t go out!

Nanny Jobs – Beating the Competition

Families will quite rightly be picky when choosing a nanny for their children – after all, the nanny will be spending a great deal of time with their children and may even be living in their home. So how can you give yourself the edge over other applicants?

Nanny jobs are desirable to many. They are the most well-paying of childcare professions (although this is no surprise, considering that they are usually the most physically and emotionally taxing, too), and offer a lot of perks.

We often talk about the importance of a family finding the right nanny, but it is equally important for the nanny to find the right family.

Families will quite rightly be picky when choosing a nanny for their children – after all, the nanny will be spending a great deal of time with their children and may even be living in their home. So how can you give yourself the edge over other applicants?

Formal Qualifications

Although formal qualifications are not legally required to work as a nanny, most families will be interested in any qualifications you do have. You need to be able to prove your skills and your ability to not only keep their children safe, but to facilitate their learning and stimulate them. If you don’t have very many formal qualifications, you should think about changing that and ‘skilling up.’  There is a vast array of courses available in childcare, early years education and paediatric first aid, which are the kind of qualification the family will be looking for. (Check out our website for some great offers on courses)

Good References

As previously mentioned, it is not legally required for nannies to possess any formal qualifications. In fact, some of the most well-paid and sought-after nannies are older women who have very few qualifications, but experience and great references from other families. If you are just starting out as a nanny, you’ll need to have previous experience of childcare to demonstrate that you can carry out the tasks required. You might consider doing some voluntary work in a child-orientated setting before starting to apply for nanny jobs.

A Driving License

Being able to drive the family car (or your own car) to ferry children around to school and various extra-curricular activities will most definitely give you an advantage over other applicants. Of course, depending on where the family lives, using public transport may be easier in certain situations but the freedom of being able to drive a private vehicle will not just make your life easier – it will make you more attractive as an employee.

Professional Attitude

Professional nannies are well-prepared for their interviews and well-prepared to be hired. Be sure to have any paperwork ready for the family to see should they wish to (proof of qualifications and DBS documents are important ones) and have a contract of employment prepared.

Love Your Work

Primarily, the family are going to want to see that you genuinely love children and have a passion for your work. As the saying goes, “if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Allow the family to see just how much your work means to you.

Father Christmas: Keeping the Magic Alive

Father Christmas can be one of the most magical parts of Christmas celebrations.
Most families choose to encourage a belief of Father Christmas in their children to
help make the world seem a more magical place for them.

So, how can families who keep Father Christmas real in their household keep the
magic alive for their children? Here are some ideas for indulging that childhood
innocence at Christmas time.

A Snack for Santa
You can’t beat traditional activities like this one. Most of us remember how magical
it was when, as a child, we left a mince pie and a glass of sherry out for Father
Christmas (and a carrot for Rudolph, of course) and found the plates and glass empty
the following morning, with crumbs scattered close by.

A Telltale Trail
A messy, but magical way to show your children that Father Christmas has been is to
scatter some glitter on the carpet near the Christmas tree, wet the bottom of a pair of
(clean!) boots and take a few steps through the glitter. If you’re lucky enough to have
snow at Christmas time, you could even leave some footprints on the path outside
(great for families without a chimney!).

A Thoughtful Letter
This could be a great activity for nannies, childminders or other childcare providers
to facilitate. Children could write and decorate thoughtful thank-you notes to Father
Christmas, to leave alongside the midnight snack they will leave out for him.

Attention to Detail
Remember that children notice far more than we give them credit for. Familiar
wrapping paper or a forgotten price tag could be the telltale signs that give the game
away.

Some children, especially younger ones, can find the idea of Father Christmas to be
very frightening. It is understandable – after all, who likes the idea of strange men
creeping around the house at night, even if they do come bearing gifts? There’s no
need to push the myth if you don’t want to. Many families choose to forego Father
Christmas altogether and their Christmases are no less magical for it. If you choose
to keep Father Christmas, and your child is concerned, there are some ways to help.
Many parents find it helpful to tell the child that they will tell Father Christmas to
come to the door and give the presents to the parents, therefore not coming into the
house at all.

It is also worth considering that the traditional “bribe” of the Father Christmas threat
(“If you’re not good, you won’t get any presents”) could pile a lot of pressure on
children who, when young, have little to no impulse control. Christmas time is
supposed to be fun and enjoyable – not full of worry and stress, least of all for the
little ones.

And when the time comes that the children are old enough to start figuring out that
Father Christmas cannot exist, many parents simply tell them that the spirit and magic
of Father Christmas lives in the hearts of all of us – the spirit of giving to others at
Christmas time.

…And there’s definitely truth in that.

Your Nanny: How to Balance Christmas Time Off with Childcare Needs

Your nanny’s annual leave can sometimes be difficult to negotiate, especially at Christmas time.   When making your own plans for work and time off over the Christmas season, you will need to take your nanny’s plans and needs into account as well.

So, how can you strike a balance between your childcare needs, and your nanny’s need for time off over Christmas? How can you keep your nanny happy without leaving yourself in a tricky situation?

Fairly negotiate holiday entitlements

If your nanny is full time, and is given the minimum 4 weeks of paid annual leave each year, a good compromise can be that she chooses when to take two weeks of her holiday, and you choose the other two weeks.  This is to prevent situations such as you choosing to go on holiday, leaving her with no work to do and (quite rightly) expecting payment.  You will likely both have to compromise a little but this is much fairer than things going in just one party’s favour.  Make sure that these arrangements are put in writing and signed by both parties, to ensure that nobody will be surprised or let down later on.  Most nannies will have terms in their contracts that cover issues surrounding annual leave, so you both ought to know where you stand from the beginning.

Plan in advance

Christmas may seem a whole world away earlier in the year, but it is worth discussing in advance what your plans are for the Christmas period, and what your nanny wants to do.  She may have quite specific days that she wishes to be off, or she may be quite happy to be flexible.  If she has her own family, it is pretty safe to say that she will want a decent amount of time off over Christmas.  Agreeing these things in advance, and then putting them in writing, will hopefully avoid disagreements later down the line.  If you know that your nanny would like some time off over Christmas and New Year, you will have plenty of time to organise things at your workplace so that you can be home, or so that you can make alternative arrangements for the care of your children.

Offer benefits – especially at Christmas

Remember, your nanny is your employee.  If she doesn’t feel appreciated, she may well look elsewhere for work.  You may wish to give her some extra holiday on full pay over Christmas as a thank you for her hard work throughout the year, or a monetary bonus of some kind.  Although unsociable hours can sometimes be a part of a nanny’s job description, those hours should always be agreed in advance and not dropped on her suddenly – especially not over Christmas and New Year when she may have her own special arrangements.

Remember, although you are your nanny’s employer, she is a special part of your family.  The relationship should be kept warm yet professional.  As long as everybody is honest and upfront early about their needs and wishes over the festive season, there should be no reason for any aggravation.

World nursery rhyme week

Hands up if you love nursery rhymes? Then World Nursery Rhyme Week, 10th-14th November 2014, is made for you. Sadly 1 in 4 adults in the UK can’t remember a single, whole nursery rhyme, which means lots of children are missing out on fun.

Nursery rhymes are important for children’s development in lots of different ways. Reciting nursery rhymes helps develop memory and cognitive skills, sequencing events, speech and language, and an understanding of the world. The rhythm of speech patterns used in nursery rhymes is ideal for helping children pick up the number of syllables in each word, and words often important sounds and identify those that rhyme.

Many nursery rhymes help with mathematical development because they involve counting forwards (‘one, two, three, four, five once I caught a fish alive) and backwards (ten green bottles….nine green bottles…eight green bottles…) and stretch children’s imagination.

You can use nursery rhymes in many different ways, not just singing! Encourage children to clap along either to the beat or to the rhythm of the syllables, make up actions, paint or do crafts using images and ideas from the rhymes, create a bag or box of props to illustrate rhymes, get finger puppets…the possibilities are endless.

The 5 rhymes for World Nursery Rhyme Week 2022 are:

Oranges and Lemons
Old King Cole
Five Currant Buns
Hey Diddle Diddle
I hear Thunder

What will you do?

Spooky Fun This Halloween!

Autumn is well and truly here in all it’s rainy finest! To many of us this may induce a collective ‘sigh’ as the nights draw in and we begin to dig out last year’s coats and SADS lamps (or maybe just us here at Nannyjob?!), but for others it means one thing – Halloween fun is just around the corner!

Scary outfits, parties, trick or treating, face painting, spooky decorations and pumpkins all spring to mind, so we’ve got some fantabulous ideas for you and your little ones to make this Halloween the most ghoulish yet!

Party fun

Staying at home and having a party is arguably safer than being out trick or treating, and is also a great chance to get little buddies round to play.

Decorate the house with streamers and props of skeletons and spiders, our favourites are from http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/occasion/halloween/decor.html.

As well as rocking their very own home made outfits (more on that in a minute!), you can get the kids involved in some spooky games, including:

  • Apple bobbing
  • Wink murder
  • Making mummies (remember to stock up on loo roll for this one! Prizes go to the quickest or best attempt!)
  • Pin the tail on the witch’s cat
  • Halloween treasure hunt in the house or garden
  • Pass the pumpkin (fill an empty pumpkin with treats and play this in the same way as pass the parcel, each time the music stops the winner takes a goody out of the pumpkin, treats getting bigger towards the end!).

Face painting and costume making

Whether your little one wants to be a ghoulish ghost, a wicked witch, a scary skeleton or something entirely different, there are hours of fun to be had designing and making the costumes with them, and going to town with face painting. Here are some fabulous costume ideas from one of our favourite sites, Netmums:

Scary Spider

This an easy costume that’s really effective. Dress your child as a ‘scary spider’ using a black hoodie, black trousers, and black shoes. Make four more legs using two pairs of child’s tights and stuffing them with old stuffing from a pillow.

Grim Reaper

See if you can track down a cheap black hooded cloak from the supermarket to go over the body. Gather up the hair in a white swimming cap. Using face paints,cover your child’s face in white, rimming the eyes black. The final addition is a long stick (perhaps an old walking stick or a broom handle?) onto which you stick a cardboard ‘scythe’ – an easy take on the Grim Reaper!

Walking dead

A nice easy one, adaptable for both boys and girls! Simply get some old clothes and tear holes and rips in them. Cover exposed skin in fake blood. You could also buy some fabric bandaging to wrap around hands and heads (splatter with fake blood for extra effect)! Faces should be daubed in white face paint and powder, with a smattering of blood here and there!

Trick or Treating

Last but not least, classic Halloween fun usually involves traipsing the local neighbourhood and picking up some treats! In these strange times, this is probably something that many of us can’t do or don’t want to do but if you are planning on going out please do so safely and follow the guidance for your Tier. If you’re worried about safety, make sure you or another adult accompany the kids (standing a few feet away of course, so as not to cramp their spooky style!).

A word of advice when out trick or treating – make sure the children understand not to be too serious about the whole ‘trick’ part of this. There are a lot of people who really do get intimidated at Halloween and won’t answer their door, so encourage the children to understand this, and swiftly move on to the next house with no tricks in store!

Make sure you don’t forget to take a fun kitty bag to put all the treats in – decorate yours by sticking on home made pictures of bats, pumpkins and witches!

Have fun and stay spookily safe this Happy Halloween!

Why not share your plans for Halloween on our Nannyjob Facebook page….

Resetting The Body-Clock With Autumn Time Change

When the clocks go back in October, it can be a real nightmare for some families as it can take several weeks or even months to get their children back to sleeping to a civilised hour! Some parents never really manage it resign themselves to being woken early until the clocks change again in spring.

But don’t worry, there is a fun and simple solution to this problem and it takes just one weekend!

Be aware that if your child has a habit of early rising before the clocks change, this may not work. You may need to make additional changes.

The idea is to get your child so exhausted that you break their current habit of waking at a particular time. You can then reset their body-clock based on how much sleep they need each night and putting them to bed at the right according to this.

Friday Night – Bedtime 2-3 hours later than usual

Instead of giving your child dinner at dinner time, give them a snack then give them a bath. Get them dressed then go out for dinner. Take plenty of toys/games and keep them entertained by bringing the different toys/games out one at a time. Travel home with the windows down in the car and the music up or walk home so that they don’t fall asleep on the way. When you get home, do the usual bath (yes, two baths! The first was to wake them up a bit) and bedtime routine and put them to bed 2-3 hours later than usual. The older they are, generally, the later you will need to keep them up.

Don’t expect them to sleep any later the next morning, but do expect them to be a bit over-tired and grumpy by the afternoon. If your child usually has a nap, limit it to 50% of their usual nap time.

Saturday Night – Bedtime 1.5-2.5 hours later than usual

This similar to the first night, so have a snack instead of dinner, then go out to play! Take the torches to the park and have some fun. When you get home, sit down to a nice family meal (you may need to keep the heating down low to keep them awake). Afterwards give them a really long bath (keep adding hot water), and get ready for bed as usual. Put them to bed 1.5-2.5 hours later than usual depending on their age.

Again, your child probably won’t sleep any later their usual wake up time, which will be an hour earlier as the clocks will have gone back at 2am! Limit any naps to 50% of the usual time.

Sunday Night – Bedtime 1-1.5 hours later than usual

Do the usual bedtime routine, just slightly later than usual. Your child should be absolutely exhausted by now and by the third morning they will sleep later. Their body clock has now been reset! Hooray!

For the next few days, maintain a bedtime 30-45 minutes later than you would normally and then on Wednesday or Thursday, go back to their usual bedtime. This helps to stop them falling back to their spring/summer wake-up time.

Most children between the ages of 3 and 8 years need 11-12 hours’ sleep in every 24 hours. 8-11 year-olds generally need 10-11 hours’ sleep.

Set each child’s bedtime based on how many hours’ sleep that individual child needs, and work backwards from when you want them to wake in the morning.  This can sometimes mean that younger children go to bed a little later than older children, but it is worth it if it means that everybody wakes around the same time and nobody is over-tired as a result of being woken by the one little person who doesn’t need as much sleep.

Enjoy resetting your children’s body-clocks, it is fun!!! Spread the word and the parks will be filled with children and torches on one Saturday night in October each year!

Nanny or Nanny-housekeeper?

The rise of the nanny-housekeeper has been pretty universal. All over the country nannies are reporting that new jobs come with more household duties than they used to, and bosses are increasingly asking nannies to take on jobs around the house when charges move on to school or nursery.

It used to be said that you could either have a good cleaner or a good nanny. To a certain extent this holds – nannies become nannies, and train to become nannies, because they want to work with children. Most training courses don’t cover household duties, and placements in nurseries are more likely to be cleaning on a large scale using specially designed products and very resistant furniture. While nannies are usually happy to clear up after themselves and take on nursery duties such as children’s laundry, their focus will always be on the children and that may mean the housekeeping just doesn’t get done.

Cleaners are often great cleaners because of their attention to detail and their love of making things sparkle. That may mean their attention to the children suffers and their own feelings of frustration mount when things don’t stay clean and tidy for long.

So what can you reasonably expect someone to do when providing dedicated care for your children? The answer is it depends what you’re prepared to compromise on. If you’re modifying a job it’s important to discuss with your nanny what they feel capable or comfortable doing. A nanny who is also an excellent cook may not object to cooking a family meal for the evening and filling the freezer. A nanny who doesn’t mind ironing may be prepared to do yours alongside the children’s. Asking them if they would mind running the hoover round the rest of the house while they do the children’s bedrooms may also be possible, but do bear in mind the logistical problems this might bring if there are children at home full-time anfd the fact that nanny needs a break during the day!

A nanny-housekeeper, however, is employed to fulfill both roles and probably has experience of balancing the two. They are prepared to take on more cleaning than a dedicated nanny, will often shop and cook for the family and can work particularly well with school aged children. One of the most attractive features is how long-lived the role can be. Parents who are prepared to commit to employing a nanny-housekeeper from the start with more focus on childcare in the early years and on the household later will often find the same person will stay in the role, providing stability and continuity of care.

Is Childcare Harmful for my Child?

Leaving baby
Most of us know what it’s like to be a first-time Mum going back to work after a period of maternity leave. We consider our childcare options: day nursery or nanny or childminder? Which is best for my child? Can I afford what I want? Will it be ok to leave my baby in the care of someone else?

You wonder (or worry!) how your child will get on with the new minder(s); whether you’re doing the right thing in going back to work and leaving your child with – as is the case most of the time – a complete stranger. And many of us will feel a certain amount of joy, a freedom, a sense of “getting back to normal”, a reclaiming of our identity, in getting back to work.

The naysayers
Then we hear so-called experts such as the psychologist and broadcaster Oliver James claim that mothers of toddlers should avoid working outside the home and leaving young children in the care of others for long periods. In his 2010 book “How Not to F*** Them Up” James wrote that mothers who go out to work and leave their toddlers in day care are to blame for their child’s bad behaviour. James’s views are controversial to say the least.

The best of both worlds?
Is it unnatural to leave your child with someone else while you go out to do a day’s work in order to pay the bills or to further your career or simply to do a job you enjoy? Of course, there are women (and some men) who prefer to stay at home to raise their children but they have to be able to afford to do so. Can working parents have the best of both worlds? Is it possible to go out to work and be confident that the childcare you have chosen is “good enough” for your child?

The data
Recent studies show that childcare is not in fact harmful for children, once it is consistent, i.e. children are not given to one person one day and left with another on another day in a haphazard way, and once it is of a high standard. In other words if you can’t be the one to look after your child you want “second best” to be the very best. This is where careful consideration of your childcare options comes in. One of our previous blog articles, “Choosing Childcare That’s Right for You” is worth a read for more information on making this decision.

The reality
Nowadays most women have no choice but to work and their attitude is usually “I am doing my best”. Working motherhood is a reality so it’s crucial that you find childcare that’s right for you. Rather than assuming you won’t be able to afford a nanny, take a look at the NannyJob website. If you have more than one child, you may find that sending them to a childminder or a nursery can often work out nearly or as expensive. The advantage with a nanny too is that your children will be cared for in their own home by just one person. Alternatively, if you have just one child and wish to reduce your childcare costs, a nannyshare might be worth looking into. Visit our parents section at nannyjob.co.uk to begin your search.