April 2021 – Nannyjob blog

How to Find a Job on Nannyjob.co.uk – A Guide for Nannies

Whether you’ve recently finished your last childcare position, or you’re just getting started as a Nanny, Nannyjob.co.uk makes it simple and easy to find new work that’s ideal for you.

It’s easy to get started and completely free! Simply register and build your free profile! Be sure to include a headshot image, details of your experience, your location, your availability and much more.

Once your profile is created it will be viewable by 127 top nanny agencies as well as thousands of parents.

You’ll also be able to search our database of over 1500 current job listings and apply directly to parents/agencies.

As new jobs are listed on our site every single day, we’ll even email you with new jobs that come available that suit you!

What are you waiting for? Register for free and find your next nanny job today!

Extra-curricular Activities – How Much Is Too Much?

There now seems to be an after school or weekend club for anything you can think of, from foreign languages for kids as young as 3 years old, to learning how to fathom out the latest dance routines or synchronised swimming moves seen on TV talent shows. Gone are the days when kids would be happy just attending Cubs or Brownies one night a week, and maybe an hour of football or dancing on a Saturday. Parents and nannies are now literally shuttling from group to club almost every evening. With a world full of new concepts, and more and more parents quietly competing for their child to be the best at everything, it brings about the question – just how much extra learning and activity is good for a child, and how can we make sure they don’t get overwhelmed?

Of course, if your child seems to be happy with their activities, and is keeping up with their homework, then there may not be any need to think that they are being over-extended. The learning curves which come from such activities can be really valuable, and kids attending these groups are far less likely to spend hours on computer games or in front of the TV. Extra curricular activities can promote:

initiative
team work
self esteem and confidence
a sense of belonging
fair play with others
a boost in academic achievement

Of course, striking the right balance is key, and making sure that your kids are enjoying themselves, also having enough ‘down time’ where they can just chill out at home, and are eating and sleeping properly, and that the groups they attend are through their choice and not yours, are all really important.

Tips to make sure your child doesn’t get overwhelmed by extra curricular activity:

Clear boundaries – when the new term comes, set boundaries on the amount of activities that your child is allowed to participate in, and stick to them!
Family matters – realise the importance of family time, and never let this take a backseat to extra curricular activities. You want your child to have great, memorable family experiences, even if it means missing their club once in a while.
School comes first – ensure that your child understands that school takes priority over activities – even most of the best athletes and musicians had to take their GCSEs! Unless your child is training to be a professional, and as such is being educated outside of school, never let them miss school to do their activities.
Homework – make sure you factor in set times for your child to do homework, or encourage them to plan and manage their own time to do this.
Communicate – is your child really happy with all of the groups he or she attends? You never know, he could be attending one or more of them because he thinks you want him to. It’s key that these groups are enjoyed – otherwise what is the point?
It’s for them, not you! Did you want to be a professional ballerina or actor as a child, and never felt you had the chance?! Don’t let this be a reason for you to push your child into a certain activity. Remember that not all kids are cut out for all activities, so make sure your child is doing something because they actually want to, and if they tell you they don’t like it, listen to them!

So if you stick to the above, you never know – you might have the next David Beckham or Jessica Ennis on your hands, without the petrol bills of carting him or her to every single group under the sun in the mean time!

Do you agree that our kids may be in danger of activity overload? Or is the opposite true?! Tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment on the blog or on our Facebook page….

Top Tips from Nannies

When you have a child, no one teaches you how to parent, you might be lucky and have family and friends with children or you may have read books on parenting tips, but it can still be a minefield of trial and error! One of the great things if you employ a nanny is that they have years of practice and are experts in childcare. They have tried and tested methods to help establish positive behaviour, excellent manners, and good routines.

We asked some of our nannies what their top tips were to help parents from those early years:

It’s okay to let your baby cry.

If you are a first-time parent you can feel anxious and unsure when your baby cries. Particularly in the early days when you aren’t sure why they are crying, and you are tired and feeling out of your depth. But a crying baby is normal, they are also feeling anxious and unsure, and a lot of the time just want to be held close and feel safe. Nannies recommend you trust your instinct, if you feel they need feeding, changing, cuddling, or rocking to sleep go with it, you will soon learn, it just takes a little while.

You Don’t Need to Buy All of the Baby Products

You’ve just found out you are expecting, you are excited and the first thing you want to do is rush out and buy every baby product you can from Activity mats to Cuddly Zebras! All and hug expense and often just left to be forgotten in a cupboard somewhere. Stick to the basics, if you have friends or family who have had children see what they might be getting rid of and ask them what their must have item was and what was a waste of money. In the first few months your baby really will sleep and feed, so they don’t need much!

What happens when it comes to weaning?

When your baby is ready to wean you need to give them a varied, healthy diet. Just because they don’t like bananas on the first try doesn’t mean they won’t like it on the second or third try. As their taste buds develop and change they will almost certainly learn to love foods they initially rejected.

When you have been out at work all day and you and your child are tired, mealtimes can become a bit of a battle ground and are often rushed to get bath and bedtimes out of the way. However, this doesn’t give a healthy message around food and it’s important that children learn to sit the table and enjoy their meal and allow them time to relax and digest it before they must get on with the next activity. Think about when you most enjoy food, it almost certainly is when you are relaxed and able to really think about what you are eating and not when you are rushing about and eating on the go.

Routines

Routines don’t need to be regimented and should have some flexibility in them. Children need some guidance and structure to their day as it provides security and a good foundation for them to build on, but it doesn’t need to be so strict that there isn’t room for fun, or changes to help an exhausted parent or child feel life is a drag!

Talk and Listen to each other

This applies to parents as well as children. As we have said before, life can be busy and them seems little time to sit and chat or really listen to what the other person is saying. How often are you multi-tasking as your child tells you about their day or an issue they are having? You might miss something important that they are saying. Find time to sit down and really talk to them and if you find yourself have a shouting match with your child or partner, stop, take time out and then return to the conversation when you are both calm and can have a constructive conversation.

Don’t jump through hoops to make you child happy.

Parental Guilt is rife, many parents work long hours to pay the bills and keep a roof over their family’s head and they feel guilty because they can’t always be there for their children so they shower them with gifts and agree to things (like getting a dog!) when it’s not really what they can afford or cope with. It’s important for children to learn early on that No means No and that throwing a tantrum and being rude will not get them any further. Establishing the difference between a child’s needs and a child’s wants is hugely important and will help teach your child the difference top. Also picking up after your child because it’s easier and quicker and saves an argument does not help them develop and grow. They need to learn to be independent and do things for themselves as they reach the appropriate stages/.

Parenting is tough, whether you are a staying at home parent or go out to work, it comes with its challenges. No two families are the same and what is important to one may be less important to another. Following your instincts, doing what works for your family and your household is the most important thing and trusting your ability as a parent and if all else fails ask the Nanny!

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?

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!