Back to school is often a nightmarish time for working parents. At a time of year where colds, illness, and head lice are rife, not to mention tantrums and an unwillingness to go back to school, it’s a time where your nanny can make the difference between a bad day and a great day.
We’ve put together our top tips for both nannies and parents to help with the back-to-school transition.
Tips for Nannies:
- Not all children are excited to start, or return to, school. Even generally well-behaved children can have crying fits and temper tantrums at the prospect of going back to school. To help make them feel calm try taking their mind off things by giving them activities to do to keep them occupied.
- Don’t get frustrated with their tantrums, stay calm and talk to them about their worries or concerns.
- Try not to take on too much when the children get home from school, take time to listen to them about their day.
- Use time the children are at school for tasks you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do like cleaning, tidying and food shopping – if that’s part of your contract. It’s also time that’s wisely spent preparing the evening meal, you could even bulk prepare and freeze meals to save time on busier days.
- Consider investing in your own learning and skills. Perhaps your first aid skills need brushing up or if there’s a new baby on the way, you could train as a lactating specialist or practice baby massage. Speak to your employer and suggest that you spend your less-busy time learning something new.
Tips for Parents:
- Ask your nanny to create a household planner that you can both use to keep track of things like dentist and doctor appointments, after-school activities and homework. This will help to keep the whole family on task.
- If your child’s school is some distance from home, perhaps consider asking your nanny to focus on jobs that need to be done away from the home such as food shopping or buying new craft supplies.
- Keep up clear communication with your nanny so that you know what she’s doing whilst the children are at school whether it’s preparing meals, cleaning up or planning new activities for when the children get home.
Do you have any back-to-school tips and advice for other nannies or parents? Let us know in the comments!