Respecting Time for Nannies

Professional Boundaries for Nannies and Parents

Although working (and living) in someone’s home can be an informal working situation, parents and nannies must always remember they are in a working relationship and are not family. Here are some ways nannies can respect time in their jobs and with their employers.

Arrive to Work on Time: To respect the parents as employers, nannies must always arrive to work on time.

Make Personal Appointments on Personal Time: Nannies should also try to make doctor and personal appointments on their time-off when possible.

Give Plenty of Notice: To respect busy parents time, it’s best that caregivers give parents as much time as possible when asking for personal time or vacation time-off from work. When leaving a job try to give the parents four-weeks notice.

Get (and Keep) Kids on a Schedule: One of the most important roles of a great nanny is creating a schedule for the kids. Babies and toddlers often create their own schedules — you feed them, change their diapers, and let them sleep when they want to. But preschoolers and older children need structured days.

Balance Activities: You reduce stress for the kids and yourself if you can balance the daily schedule with active and quiet activities, indoor and outdoor activities, and free choice and adult directed activities.

Use Time Blocks: When working as a nanny with small children try using time blocks to plan the day. To use time blocks, rather than following a strict time table with toddlers, schedule the same activity following the one before, in the same order daily. For example, if lunch is followed by a nap, then it must follow that schedule each day. This helps them feel more secure. They develop trust in the adults who care for them.

Allow Plenty of Time Getting Things Done with Kids: When caring for children you need to always allow more time than you think you will need to eat, get dressed, and get ready to go places.

Allow the Parents Free-Time to be a Couple: Anything nannies can do to help the parents have more free time to nurture their own relationship makes the nanny priceless to the parents.