With holidays soon to be allowed and the summer, not far behind, many nannies might be preparing for a trip with their nanny family.
Whilst a sunny break away from everyday life might sound like a fantastic escape, it’s important to remember that you’ll still be working and that your job might become a bit more difficult when faced with new challenges and unfamiliar surroundings.
We’ve put together our top tips to help you make a success of any trip with your nanny family:
If you’re nanny to a new-born baby or infant who’s still being breastfed, you can help make things much easier for mum, especially if she’s already started back at work and needs to continue breastfeeding.
To help both mum and baby, follow these simple tips:
Continue reading “How Can Nannies Help Breastfeeding Mothers”
A typical aspect of being a nanny involves driving the children you care for to and from activities, appointments, grocery shopping etc.
As a child-carer, your job involves catering to the well-being of the child in your charge. You need to have certain safety measures in place to ensure that everyone makes it from point A to point B safely.
It’s the Christmas comedown, winter blues, that time of the year when you feel generally sorry for yourself, and you need a bit of TLC.
Taking time to look after yourself and recharge is super-important for nannies. You can’t nurture your charges and be infinitely patient if you’re feeling down in the dumps. Try a few of these to put a spring in your step and show yourself some love.
When the weather outside is frightful…it’s time for Christmas crafts!
Dust off that craft box and try these fun Christmas craft ideas – get messy, create something new and have fun!
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Organising your time and your working environment effectively means you will feel less stressed, more in control and able to focus on the things you love rather than chores you hate.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Organising your time and your working environment effectively means you will feel less stressed, more in control and able to focus on the things you love rather than chores you hate.
Have a diary
If you and your nanny family don’t already have a diary, ideally a page per day, then invest in one. Write down your menu plans, shopping lists, any appointments, groups, playdates or changes to the usual routine. Remind your bosses to fill things in as well and check a couple of weeks ahead or before planning anything on a specific date in case there’s something already there. Don’t be afraid to put your plans in, particularly if they involve you leaving right on time or mean you’re unable to babysit. Don’t like a paper diary? Share a Google calendar with your boss!
One of our lovely nannies recently got married and she has kindly passed on some hints and tips to any nannies or employers in a similar situation.
One of our lovely nannies recently got married and she has kindly passed on some hints and tips to any nannies or employers in a similar situation.
Right from the start my employers were thrilled for me and very supportive. They bought me a lovely congratulations card and invited my fiancé over one evening for champagne. In case that sounds strange they’ve known him as long as I’ve been working for them and they’re happy for him to come over in the evening if I’m babysitting because he’s my lift home. My nanny family really do feel like another part of my family so them being happy for me was a big deal.
I waited to check with them before setting the date. We wanted to get married in June 2022 which was 15 months away at the time of our engagement and we wanted to go on a 2-week honeymoon. I also wanted a couple of days before the wedding which meant 2 and a half weeks off in term time – not the most convenient thing for my bosses. I offered to take it as unpaid holiday so they could afford a temp nanny, and so I could keep my holiday allowance for the year, but they said it would be my main wedding present to have it as paid leave and they would manage. I know this was a massive deal for them and it made a big difference. I think if they’d been difficult about the date, it would have made me feel like getting married was an inconvenience.
They stayed interested, particularly the girls I look after, the whole time and although I know I was probably a very enthusiastic bride they never once made me feel like I was boring them. In fact, they were understanding to the point of my dad boss listening to me weep about table plans one Monday in the run up. Obviously, I didn’t let wedding planning take over my life, and it stayed out of work hours most of the time, but employers who show an interest in the biggest thing that’s going on in your life are appreciated.
Next, I had the dilemma of whether I invited them to the wedding or not, even more complicated because the children were desperate to be attendants. I didn’t want my charges as bridesmaids, but I did want them to share part of my special day, so I invited them to the church service and the evening on the condition that they had a big nap in the afternoon. That way they missed all the embarrassing bits about me in the speeches! I also bought them special matching outfits that fitted with my colour scheme but weren’t the same as my adult bridesmaids and gave them special jobs to do like distributing the confetti after the service. I could focus on the ceremony without being a nanny to my charges (because we never really stop) and they felt part of it – win-win!
I also had a special picture of us taken on the day, and it will definitely be going in the album.
After so much excitement and a wonderful honeymoon I felt a bit deflated coming back to work, but they made a special banner to say, ‘welcome back Mrs xxxxx’ and that made me smile all day.
How many times have you picked your little one up from school, watched them wave goodbye to their teachers and friends with happy, smiling faces, only to turn to you with furrowed brows, crossed arms and a sullen temper?
If this is you, you’re not alone.
“What are reasonable duties for a nanny when children are nursery/school?” This is a question which comes up quite a lot, and as some nannies will be finding themselves with some free time as of this week, we thought we’d look.
“What are reasonable duties for a nanny when children are nursery/school?” This is a question which comes up quite a lot, and as some nannies will be finding themselves with some free time as of this week, we thought we’d take a look.
Looking after other children
If there are younger children in the family, it’s a no brainer. A nanny’s wages won’t go down because they only have 1 child during these hours, and they’re still on call for any illness or closures, plus school holidays. If there aren’t younger children it’s possible to set up a nanny share, and this kind of arrangement can work well – Family A get to keep their nanny and reduce their costs, Family B get some solo time and reduced costs too. Bear in mind that any such arrangement needs to be formalised, and a nanny should never be offered as a free babysitter to another family without checking first.
Nursery duties
Most nannies will do nursery duties anyway, but usually while children nap. As a child going to nursery won’t be napping any longer (although some do) and a child at school won’t, so a nanny can use child-free hours to do laundry, ironing, batch-cooking (especially useful for school holidays), cleaning children’s bedrooms and bathrooms and so on.
PA duties
One big advantage of nanny is having someone at home to receive urgent parcels and let in workmen. With a little negotiation a nanny may take on some PA duties for the whole family, such as shopping for birthday presents and other specific items (or doing research online), ordering and receiving a weekly internet shop, dropping off dry cleaning, going to the Post Office and a hundred and one organisational duties around the house.
Light housekeeping duties
Nannies go into childcare to look after children, rather than clean, but adding a little light housekeeping such as hoovering, family cooking or family ironing. Most won’t clean parent’s bedrooms or bathrooms or do family laundry (especially if it involves underwear). For that you would need to find a nanny-housekeeper.
When you start a job everything seems great. Your charges are great. Your bosses are great. The area is great. The new routine is great.
Then reality hits, and at the end of the second week you wonder whether you really made the right choice after all. Are these hours as convenient as they seem? Is their behaviour getting worse? Are your bosses really pleased with what you’ve been doing? Maybe they’re re-evaluating their decision, just like you’re re-evaluating yours? Maybe this job is doomed? Is it worth the money to be unhappy? Are you even really unhappy?
When you start a job everything seems great. Your charges are great. Your bosses are great. The area is great. The new routine is great.
Then reality hits, and at the end of the second week you wonder whether you really made the right choice after all. Are these hours as convenient as they seem? Is their behaviour getting worse? Are your bosses really pleased with what you’ve been doing? Maybe they’re re-evaluating their decision, just like you’re re-evaluating yours? Maybe this job is doomed? Is it worth the money to be unhappy? Are you even really unhappy?
Recognise this feeling for what it is and you’ll feel better. It’s a natural instinct to take stock once the initial excitement of a new job has worn off, especially if your previous job was a good fit and you felt very comfortable. Building up trust with a new family is a relatively slow process and things won’t feel the same for a while. It’s a good idea to persevere until the end of the probationary period so you know you’ve given it a good shot, and things will probably improve past the 2 week point anyway.
Addressing any niggles you have at this stage is vital to prevent potentially difficult situations from escalating. Hearing positive feedback will boost your self-esteem and your employers will be reassured that you’re making an effort to fit in with their needs and wants rather than powering ahead with the way you’ve always done things. It also gives your bosses a safe space to raise anything they aren’t happy about. Everyone makes mistakes and it’s almost inevitable that you’ll have done something differently to how they would do it but rather than letting it build up you should clear the air and find out what they want you to do in future, or explain why you’ve chosen to do something differently.
Isolation can be a big factor if you’ve just moved to a new area or your nanny friends have charges of a different age. Be proactive about going out and finding new friends or tapping into contacts your bosses have already made, and don’t lose touch with your old friends. Nannies need peer support just as much as anyone else and your previous nanny network can help you through a tough time even if you don’t see them as often as you used to. If you’re new to nannying then try to buddy up with an experienced nanny to mentor you through the transition.
Give yourself positive things to look forward to over the next week at work and out of work too – introduce your charges to your favourite activities or plan a fun outing and treat yourself to something midweek as a little pick-me-up. The more positive memories and feelings you have about a new job, the more relaxed and confident you’ll feel, and everyone will pick up on it.
If nothing seems to be working give yourself a timeframe where you’ll give it your best, and if you don’t feel any different make the decision to move on. There’s no shame in accepting that you and the family aren’t a good match and you’ll soon find a job that’s perfect for you.
