How to be a good nanny part 4: Empowermment

I remember when I was growing up, I always felt able to do something that I wanted to do. I never felt ugly, clumsy or stupid and I think that the main reason for that was that my parents, and in particular my father, spent time making sure I felt empowered.

The words ‘you can do anything you want to’ really mean a lot to a child. As a nanny I have definitely put this into practice.These words empower a child whether they are 2 or 15 years old to make decisions for themselves and recognise that other people find their choices important and note worthy.

Giving praise when praise is due is so important. I worked in a lovely household where my one issue was the stress that the daughter was under at school. If she got her report and it had 7A*s and 3As, she wouldn’t be congratulated on her achievement by her parents. They would say, ‘mmm  what are those 3 As about, you’ll have to pick up the pace next term if you want to go to university.’ There was no mention of how absolutely, fantastic the results actually were. This led to this girl feeling useless. She felt like she was working hard and what was the point? Nobody seemed to notice at home. I chose to speak to the parents about this, and although I wasn’t criticising their parenting technique, it was so important for me to know that the child was feeling good about herself and the work she was doing. Luckily for me the parents admitted they were freaking out about tough university entrance requirements and recognised that they had not been praising their daughter’s efforts.

As a nanny it comes naturally to me to empower the children I look after. If a child is loving painting I want to tell him how good he is at it. If another child is struggling with her music practice, I want to tell her she is doing so well and it is sounding better each day. Empowerment and encouragement go hand in hand and both lead to a more confident child, which in today’s competitive society is more important that ever, not only for results in later life, but for the child’s happiness and state of mind.

What Makes A Good Nanny? Part 3: Safety First

Perhaps the most important thing that a nanny needs to be is safety conscious. Without a nanny being aware of the safety of a child in their care, where on earth is a parent going to be able to find any trust?

Nannies beware! If you are not thinking about a child’s safety you can prepare yourself for an accident! An important point to make is that you are responsible for the children you look after, not the children that other nannies take care of. I have seen a toddler under the care of a nanny fall off the top of a slide on to their head because she was chatting to her nanny friend. I wish I could have stopped it, but what was I doing? Yep, watching the two children in my care.

Often with safety comes a bit of strictness. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. In this case its much better to be the firm nanny, than the cool, relaxed one! Being adamant about a child holding your hand when you are walking near a road, laying down ground rules for roadside behaviour and getting very serious word with a child who is messing around near a road should be something nannies are comfortable with. I don’t like to be strict at all with children under my care but with things like road safety I make sure I lay down the law straight away! Any messing around with me and after one warning we’re going straight home.

We can be as safety conscious as we like and accidents still happen. This is why all nannies should be first aid competent. It enables us to look out for symptoms of injury and illness and decide what medicine a child needs, or if they need further care. As scary as it can often feel, we need to tell the parent about any injury or illness that has happened and if possible log it in a diary. Pretending nothing has happened can lead to further problems down the line. Imagine, a child under your care bumps their head and seems fine, you don’t tell the mother and go home. Later on the child starts feeling dizzy and throwing up – with the knowledge of what has happened, the mother can make a decision herself as to what to do next, without it, she will be perplexed and unsure about what to do next.

I guess it is safe to say that being safety conscious goes hand in hand with honesty, yet another important quality of what makes a good nanny.

Kim

What Makes A Good Nanny? Part 2: Being A Role Model

Children, toddlers and babies spend a lot of time with their nanny, often more time than they do with their mother or father. It is vital therefore that a nanny is a good role model for the children under her care.

Perhaps the best way that anyone can be a good role model, is to do as you say when possible. If it is dinner time and you are looking after a child who is rather fussy eating their greens, eating the same thing with them at the same time can really work. Children respect and often love their nanny, and want to be grown up like them! Standing over a child and repeatedly saying ‘eat your broccoli’ can become an exhausting battle of wills. Sitting down and eating with the child in your care and talking about how delicious the broccoli is, or discussing the shape (mini-trees anyone), can get a child interested in food. Commenting on the benefits of eating good food (it makes you strong!), also seems to work very well.

Being polite in front of children in your care is very important. All children need to be reminded to say their please and thank yous, but if they are used to hearing it they are much more likely to use it without prompting, or when prompted use it immediately without any questions. The same goes for swearing – if a child hears their nanny swearing they are going to pick up on it and use it (in this case the more you protest for them not to use it, the more they will, no doubt with a cheeky grin!). As funny as it can be, no parent wants to hear their two year old using bad language.

Set a good example with children when asking them to tidy up. Help them do it so they don’t see it as a punishment and also let them see you keeping things neat and tidy so they get accustomed to a clean environment.

Encouraging children to be kind and accept when they have made a mistake can be difficult at times. All children make mistakes for example drawing on a wall. Sometimes these are more serious such as hitting another child. If a child has seen you apologise when you have made a mistake, they are more likely to accept that they need to apologise in such situations though you will probably need to ask them! When they refuse, this needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible.

Sometimes a child feels cheated and angry and needs to cool off before the apology will come. This will improve with time. A child who refuses to apologise absolutely though needs to learn that this is unacceptable and a nanny can do this by telling the child that they can’t leave their room/the naughty step until they are ready to apologise.

Being honest in front of a child in certain circumstances can show them not only that nobody is perfect, but also that they are not being treated unfairly deliberately. Showing children that adults make mistakes too will help them to acknowledge their own mistakes and accept them much more readily.

though needs to learn that this is unacceptable and a nanny can do this by telling the child that they can’t leave their room/the naughty step until they are ready to apologise.

Being honest in front of a child in certain circumstances can show them not only that nobody is perfect, but also that they are not being treated unfairly deliberately. Showing children that adults make mistakes too will help them to acknowledge their own mistakes and accept them much more readily.

What Makes a Good Nanny? Part 1: Reliability

As part of our blog, we are going to start a mini-series called ‘What Makes a Good Nanny?’ Any comments and opinions will be warmly received!

Reliability has got to be one of the most important qualities that employers look for in a nanny. Being a nanny is not like an office job for example where if someone doesn’t show up, they can usually manage without you or have someone who can cover for you. If you have a nanny who doesn’t turn up on time or constantly calls in sick, where does this leave working families?

Some parents I have spoken to told me they had nannies who were twenty minutes late on a daily basis, some would call in sick half an hour before they were due to arrive at the house, or frequently asked to go home because of a minor headache during the day. An unreliable nanny makes their working parent employers look unreliable too.

We all get sick or have instances where we have a personal emergency or appointment which we just have to deal with and nannies are no exception. Signs your nanny is reliable in this case is that she gives you plenty of warning if she is unavailable to work (due to an appointment etc), and also offers to help you find a substitute nanny. If your nanny is ill, she should let you know in the first instance and keep you updated. If necessary she should provide a doctor’s note.

When a nanny is unreliable it can cause a strain on a family emotionally and financially. The child can become confused over who is caring for them and become anxious about their nanny returning. Parents can suffer financially because they may have to stay home from work to take care of their little one, missing a day or more of work. This can lead to stress at home which is just no good!

Of course there are times when a nanny is not able to work for extremely valid reasons; an injured back, a virus or a death in the family are just a few examples. For illnesses often they are able to provide evidence, but it is also important that a family dealswith their nanny in a respectful way during such times.Treating your nanny disrespectfully during such times will lead to a breakdown in relations between you and it is unlikely that the working relationship will last much longer.

The Creation of NannyCover

Working as a nanny in London for over seven years, I met and worked for families and stayed in close contact with them over time. Further down the line, I often saw these families face problems with their current nannies whom were not compatible to their needs. On other occasions, I saw families stuck when a nanny called in sick. Other working parents had no support when their child at nursery or school was ill and needed to be taken care of. This led to parents having to stay at home because of the impossibility of finding immediate and reliable childcare.

Parents need to have complete trust and confidence in their childcare provider. As a very family orientated person myself, and having seen childcare issues first hand, inspired me to start my own business that provides seamless and continuous childcare. With the encouragement of previous employers, colleagues, family and friends, NannyCover was born. Our priority is taking care of each family’s individual needs and tailoring our service to meet their requirements. All of our specially selected nannies have a minimum of four years nanny experience. They are first aid trained and DBS cleared. Our nannies are loyal, discreet and completely competent in order to blend into your family life with no disruption.

At NannyCover we take absolute pride and in finding you your perfect childcare solution. In 2015 NannyCover evolved and now provides permanent, temporary and emergency nannies.

http://www.nannycover.com

By Magdalena Burrage