I need an income. What are people not understanding about that? In late March into early April, 2020, How to Be the Best Nanny Blog asked 256 nannies about their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. We learned there is a lot of fear and confusion for many nannies experiencing shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders during the […]
Apologizing to Children We all make mistakes — plenty of them. As nannies we are important role models for the children in our care. It’s important for us to confess and to apologize to children when we make mistakes. Doing so teaches children to do the same. It’s not enough to just say we are […]
There seems to be no more hotly debated topic in America at this moment than gun control. No matter a nanny’s opinion on the topic, the reality is that an estimated one-third to one-half of American homes with children have firearms in them. It is a real safety issue for children. All nannies should be […]
Don’t Allow Kids to Negotiate In the book, Ignore It!: How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction author Catherine Pearlman explains that giving attention to children doesn’t necessarily mean happier and healthier kids. Selective ignoring bad, attention seeking behaviors helps minimize or eliminate the unwanted behaviors and increases […]
“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” — Harvey MacKay After working as a nanny for 25 years I know all to well that much of our society does not value nannies. As with most jobs in childcare in the United States, nannies are often undervalued. The […]
Being Open and Honest is Essential to Being Hired and Maintaining Nanny Jobs Of course everyone tells white lies and withholds information at times. There is no point in being brutally honest with people if it will ruin relationships or hurt their feelings. But, being open and honest is essential when job searching and to […]
Respecting Professional Boundaries Being flexible and having an attitude of helpfulness is essential to being a successful nanny. But, when pitching-in becomes expected and nannies do more and more chores increasing their job duties, without extra compensation, they often burn-out and become resentful. When employers commonly require increasing amounts of work, relative to the normal […]
Nannies Help Reduce Parental and Child Stress When adults are stressed-out, the kids in their care get stressed-out. Raising a family is stressful. When nannies help parents, they help reduce both their employer’s and their charges’ stress levels. Stress in children can be detrimental to a child’s health and development. The body reacts to stressful […]
