Nanny Confessions: Starting a New Job is Difficult The first days and weeks of a new nanny job can be fun and exciting, but it is also stressful. Nannies have so much to learn about the parents, kids, and the home that they need the parents and the kids to be patient with them. What […]
[Continue reading...]Don’t Cross the Line: Don’t Snoop
July 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
Respecting Professional Boundaries for Nannies Nannies and au pairs work in the homes of their employers giving them access to nearly all the family’s intimate belongings and personal information. It may be tempting to look at a bill or financial statement left out on a desk or counter, but in-home caregivers must resist the temptation […]
[Continue reading...]Summer Learning with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
July 20, 2013 Leave a Comment
Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs Read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. This story describes a day in which everything goes wrong for a boy named Alexander. When Alexander got up in the morning, he found gum in his hair, tripped on his skateboard, and accidentally […]
[Continue reading...]Making “Egg Pie”
July 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
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 […]
[Continue reading...]At What Age Should You Stop Letting Kids Win at Every Game?
July 18, 2013 1 Comment
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 […]
[Continue reading...]Nanny Confessions: Don’t be Shy About Telling People Not to Smoke In Front of Your Charges
July 16, 2013 1 Comment
How to Ask People Not to Smoke When Caring for Kids Everyone knows that secondhand smoke is harmful to children. But it’s also hard to confront people. Although I used to try to hold my breath and ignore it when someone smoked because I didn’t want to be rude, I am now convinced it’s okay […]
[Continue reading...]Service as a Profession: Standards for Household Managers
July 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
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: […]
[Continue reading...]LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
July 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
Use Filtered Water: Bottled Water Doesn’t Make the Grade In 2011 the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a bottled water scorecard. The highest grade they gave was an A and only type of water to get the highest grade is filtered water. Bottled water did not get a high grade. Click here to see dangers […]
[Continue reading...]Summer Learning: Africa, Anansi the Spider and the Ashanti
July 13, 2013 2 Comments
Weekly Trip to the Library I care for three kids all of different ages. The three-year-old girl I care for was frightened of spiders so I borrowed the following books from the library to help her face her fear and now she loves spiders. Her 10-year-old brother is obsessed with the rain forest, while their teen brother loves […]
[Continue reading...]Making Pizza Bagels with Kids
July 12, 2013 1 Comment
Cooking for Kids What kid doesn’t love pizza? Who doesn’t love bagels? Kids love making pizza bagels as much as eating them. Below we describe how to make a basic pizza bagel but nannies can mix it up and use other ingredients to make other types of pizza bagels as well. For example, to make a barbecue chicken […]
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