With the school summer holidays almost upon us, it’s the time of year where most children are desperate to play outside in the sun. It’s also the time of year where parents and nannies need to pay extra care and attention in order to prevent things like:
To help put your mind at ease and to give your children a fun and safe summer, we’ve put together this guide to help you keep your kids safe in the sun.
Building a bond with a new baby in your nanny family might sound easy enough. What’s not to love after all? From a sweet coo to their first smile, you’ll be smitten in no time. But, when there are older children around, it can sometimes be difficult to create a lasting bond that will have a nurturing effect on both you as the nanny and the new baby.
That’s why we’ve put together our top tips to help you!
Continue reading “Tips for Nannies: How to Bond with a New Baby”
Are you struggling with a toddler who won’t sleep through the night? Sleeping can be hard for parents, and live-in nannies too, if you have a toddler who keeps waking up in the middle of the night.
If it occurs regularly, this pattern can leave everyone feeling drained and unhappy. That’s why we’ve put together some advice to help you, help your toddler sleep through the night, every night.
Continue reading “Tips to Help Toddlers Sleep Through the Night”
When looking for your next nanny job, it’s important to thoroughly read through the nanny job listing and to be on the lookout for any warning signs that could spell trouble in the future.
The first step is to remember that not everyone knows exactly what a nanny is or what duties fall under the job title. First-time parents, especially can be slightly confused about what they can and can’t ask a nanny to do and so it’s important that you take the time to read through each listing and note down any questions that need clarifying by the employer during the interview or before-hand over the phone.
Top Tip: If possible, try to contact the employer over the phone as this will give you a better feel for who they are and what they want than communicating via email. It’s also a great way to make yourself stand out from the competition as they’ll be able to start getting to know you before you even set foot in the interview.
To help you identify the good listings from the bad, we’ve made a list of the most important red-flags that you should lookout for in a nanny job listing and interview.
Continue reading “What Should You Watch Out for in Nanny Job Listings?”
Last week, we began discussing the importance of being a positive role model for the children in your life and gave you 5 tips to help you on your way to being a better role model for your nanny children. If you missed last week’s posts How to Be a Good Role Model for Your Nanny Children – Part One, be sure to check it out.
Since this is such an important topic and we couldn’t fit everything into just one post, we decided to carry it over to this week to give you another 5 tips:
Continue reading “How to Be a Good Role Model for Your Nanny Children – Part Two”
Children, no matter their age, need as many positive role models in their life as possible, which makes your job as their nanny even more important.
Children, particularly young children, can often be found mimicking the behaviours of those around them, especially those that they see and interact with on a regular basis. This can be as simple as mimicking your actions, to copying your eating habits. That’s why we’ve put together our tips on how to be a good role model and set the right example for your nanny children.
Continue reading “How to Be a Good Role Model for Your Nanny Children – Part One”
Nannies, much like parents, are only human when it comes to things like the common cold or flu and whilst you may be worried about leaving your employer without childcare, it’s important that you let them know if you’re too sick to work. Better that, than have the whole family come down with the same illness.
However, if you only have a slight headache or something minor that allows you to function normally, it’s always best to head into work as usual. This way, you’ll show your employer that you have a great work ethic and they’ll come to know that you’re responsible and reliable.
Continue reading “Nannies – Knowing When to Take a Sick Day”
There might be moments in your career when self-doubt starts to creep in and you find yourself wondering if you’re doing your job well enough. What you need to remember is that nobody is perfect and that every nanny, au-pair, childminder or babysitter will do things differently.
There is no one-method-suits-all when it comes to childcare, because no two children are the same and so we’ve put together a list of the most important skills and qualities that you need to be a good nanny.
Do you want to improve your CV and get ahead in your career? Courses can be a fantastic way to do this or simply to explore new subjects but there’s a bewildering array out there. Here’s how to narrow it down.
What do you want the course to do?
If you’re hoping that it will lead to a new career you need to make sure that the course is recognised by potential employers. If you just want a bit more information then accreditation and recognition is less important but you still want to be confident that the course content is accurate. Deals through sites like Wowcher and Groupon may look great but they don’t lead to recognised qualifications and you may end up paying money, and putting time in, for nothing.
It’s a fact of life that people get ill, and those in contact with small children more often than most. One of the advantages of a nanny is that they will care for poorly children, but an oft cited disadvantage is that you rely on one person for your childcare, as you do with a childminder, and if they are sick you have no childcare. The sooner everyone knows about any sickness, the easier it is to deal with the disruption.
Tips for parents:
Sick children: As we said a nanny will normally care for sick children as part of their job, but it’s always good to give your nanny a heads up before they arrive. If your nanny is female and your children have an illness which could be dangerous in pregnancy you should warn your nanny in case they are in the early stages and haven’t told you.
Sick parents: There’s no reason your nanny shouldn’t come to work but they might need to adjust their plans slightly to give you the peace and quiet you need to recuperate.
Sick nannies: Before employing a nanny it’s a good idea to have a backup plan in place. Local nanny agencies should have temporary nannies available to work in your area or your employer may offer emergency childcare solutions. Most nannies will only take time off when they’re absolutely incapable of coming to work so even if it’s a day when you have a really important meeting try not to make them feel worse than they already do.
Tips for nannies:
Sick children: Your charges may want Mummy or Daddy, and many more cuddles than usual. Make sure your employers understand that your priority is your poorly charge and the usual jobs might not get done.
Sick parents: It can be hard having parents at home, especially when the children don’t understand that they need to rest. Don’t feel too awkward though – chances are they’re too busy feeling rubbish to listen to your out of tune renditions of head, shoulders, knees and toes at nappy change time.
Sick nannies: Call, rather than text, if you know the night before that you won’t be in the next day. Send a text between 10pm and 6am and follow it up with a phone call to make sure your employers know you won’t be in. If you can suggest any nanny friends who might be happy to cover all or part of the day, and it’s a good idea to have a list in the nanny diary at your boss’s house, then your employers will probably be very grateful.
