Making “Egg Pie”

Easy Recipe for Quiche Lorraine The children I care for love anything that they can call pie. So as a yummy lunch, dinner, or treat I often make them Quiche Lorraine, but I tell the kids I am serving them “Egg Pie.” Here’s an easy recipe for Quiche Lorraine / Egg Pie I found at […]

At What Age Should You Stop Letting Kids Win at Every Game?

Teaching Kids to Lose Gracefully The 13-year-old I care for has been complaining about another friend who is a terrible poor-sport. When the teen I care for was moved up in rank at soccer camp his “friend” jealousy gossiped to others that my charge isn’t a good enough player that didn’t deserve to be moved […]

Service as a Profession: Standards for Household Managers

A Household Manager Understands Service as an Expertise For many years I have been saying (and writing) that nannies are in a service industry. As children grow and family needs change some nannies are willing to adapt their job duties as childcare provider to become household managers. In Mary Starkey’s Original Guide to Household Management: […]

How the Immigration Bill Affects Au Pairs

Au Pair Agency Hires Two Lobbyists to Sway Lawmakers on the Immigration Bill We all know that immigration reform will affect the nanny industry in America because a large number of nannies working in America are illegal immigrants. But immigration reform will also affect the au pair cultural exchange program.    Most au pair agencies […]

Nannies Don’t Want to be Caught in the Middle

Respecting Professional Boundaries for Nannies and Parents: Do Not Take Sides with Either Parent Nannies don’t want to be put into the uncomfortable position of having to listen to deeply to personal details of her bosses’ lives. Some parents make sarcastic comments about their spouses to their nannies, putting employees in a terrible position. During […]

Save Time Taking Inventory: Making a Grocery List

It is typically a nanny’s responsibility to help keep an ongoing inventory list of all the food and hygiene items her employer’s family needs. The trick is to save time by having the list in the order you normally shop in at your favorite store. Bring a pen and a notepad with you to the […]

Treat Your Boss’s Home Better Than Your Own

Respecting Professional Boundaries for Nannies and Parents Plenty of live-out nannies leave for their jobs each morning without making their beds or washing all the dirty dishes in their kitchen sinks. But, at work, they have higher standards and nannies make beds and clean up dishes at work. While nannies might not make their own […]

What to Do with Kids for Flag Day

What Are You Doing for Flag Day? Flag Day recognizes the June day in 1777 when the “Stars and Stripes” was adopted as the official flag of the United States. To this day, 13 stripes still commemorate the original colonies. Instead of thirteen stars, today the number of stars on the US flag has grown […]

Respecting a Nanny’s Time-Off

Respecting Professional Boundaries for Nannies and Parents When caregivers live under the same roof as the family that employs them children and parents often unintentionally forget to respect their nanny’s time-off. It is common for children to want to play with their caregiver on the weekends. Parents often rationalize since their employee is home anyway […]

What is the Hardest Topic to Discuss with Kids?

When I first became a nanny I thought the most difficult question a child could ask me was “Where do babies come from?” But, after working as a nanny for 20-years I realize that telling the kids about the birds and the bees is one of the easier topics to discuss with the children left […]