A nanny is a person who takes care of your children. Child care is given within the children’s house. Throughout history, nannies were servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern nannies may live in or out of the house, like other domestic workers, depending on their circumstances and those of their employers. Many nanny-providing agencies specialize in childcare. Many nannies also become a part of their family’s household. Today’s demand has made nannies a popular and valued addition to the lives of the family.
Nannies differ slightly from child care providers. A childminder works out of their home and operates a small business. The childminders are advertised as a daycare. Depending on the country, the government registration for childminder or day-care may or may not be required. Within the UK, the childminder should be registered, hold a current pediatric first aid qualification, public liability insurance, and follow the EYFS. A mother’s helper is someone who may live in or out of the household, and assists the person of the house with general chores as well as caring for the children. The term au pair refers to a young person, who comes from abroad to live with their family and learn the local culture and language while helping care for the children. A governess concentrates on educating children inside their own home, and a kindergarten or schoolteacher does the same, but in a school environment.
There are no legal requirements to be considered a nanny, some families may require a background check or a CPR certification. Some families may look for other special skills in a nanny, such as being bilingual or having early childhood development coursework done. Nannies help in playing a key role in a child’s development by providing care for them.
An international nanny takes care of children abroad. The international nanny stays with the client in their home and provides care for their children.
Who does a Nanny work with?
A Nanny takes care of one or multiple children in the parents’ home, and they may work directly with the children’s teachers if they help with homework. These nannies are responsible for completing household chores, preparing meals, and transporting kids to school. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details on our service.
Qualifications of a nanny:
In the United Kingdom, there are no formal qualifications required to be a nanny. Some parents sometimes prefer to require their nanny to have a CPR and/or first aid certification. Many
Nannies have childhood education credits or degrees, though these are usually not required.
DUTIES OF A NANNY:
Creating a safe and healthy environment for the children
Bathing and dressing the children
Changing diapers and potty-training the children, if age-appropriate
Children’s laundry
Planning meals, preparing food, and/or feeding the children
Arranging playdates and outings
Indoor & outdoor play
Educational activities & crafts
Carpooling or driving the children to school or playdates
Reading to the children
Help with homework
Organizing bedrooms/toys
Administering medicine with parents’ consent, if necessary
Maintaining the logs for the parents
Light housekeeping
Responsibilities of a nanny:
Organize creative activities and educational games like drawing, crafting and puppet games, etc.,
Prepare meals and feed the children (including bottle-feeding for babies)
Change diapers and bath the infants
Help older children wash up & take baths
Schedule nap times for them
Teach children appropriate social behaviors like being respectful to each other and helping out with chores
Transport children to and from school and extracurricular activities
Clean up play areas and children’s rooms
Assist young students with their homework
Ensure children’s safety during indoors & outdoors activities
Take care of children in case of injury and illness
Perform housekeeping tasks as needed
Work with parents to ensure children’s growth and social development
Requirements and skills
Previous work experience as a Nanny or Babysitter
Excellent understanding of child development in different stages of growth
Ability to come up with creative ideas to educate and engage the children
Multitasking skills
A pleasant & patient personality
Availability to work in shifts like during weekends, in the evenings, and occasionally full days
A clean driving license
High school diploma; further training in child development is a plus
First aid certification is a plus.
NANNY DIARY:
One common way for nannies to communicate on the job is by keeping a nanny journal and they often wonder what type of journal to keep and what information to log. Some examples of what you can do with a nanny journal are:
A simple spiral notebook is enough to log foods eaten, the mood of the child, bathroom habits, and notes to parents.
Logs are useful when children are on medication that requires consistency and regularity. The nanny can log dosages during the day, and parents review when they are home so they come to know when dosages were given and the next one due. Parents should also log on during the weekend, so the nanny is prepared for Monday.
A three-ring binder can handle the loose-leaf paper to log foods eaten, the mood of the child, bathroom habits, and notes to parents. The three-ring binder can also hold a calendar to note appointments. The nanny can add pocket pages to hold notes from school, reminders, coupons, tickets, and more.
The nanny can add organization that can be used to hold emergency numbers, household information, emergency release forms, and more making it command central for the home.
The nanny has to make sure all parties are writing in the log. The nanny should also encourage parents to read it each night to find out about the day and keep up to date with notes from the nanny.
The log will be especially useful if a nanny is working for a single mom who travels. The daily writings will enable the single mom to know what happened during the day or week, and she can keep those logs long after the children grew out of the logbook routine. The nanny would ask each child what the best part of their day was and write that in the log. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details on our service.
If the nanny notices anything of extreme importance, she should bring it to the attention of the parents immediately.
The nanny should ask the parents what they want to see in the log and also knowing what their child ate is more important than knowing how many times they peed on the potty.
Logs are important when going through transitions for your nanny and are great for all sorts of information. The nanny should not be afraid to write something down, even a small
Nanny Daily Log Sheets:
Professional Nannies Log Their Day for the Parents.Each day upon the parent’s return, the nanny should inform the parents of how the children ate, slept, and what they did during the day. Sometimes the parents are either too busy or too tired to ask and so by keeping a daily log the nanny can inform the parents of the habits and behaviors of their children. The parents will get a clear idea of how their children spend their time, providing an opportunity to evaluate the quality of time they have spent with their nanny.
The parents will feel more knowledgeable about their children since detailed information is available.
Without the daily log important information might be missed or forgotten. The daily log gives an idea of what areas nannies must observe. This can be accomplished by using a notebook kept in diary style with entries made daily. It should be left in a common area where both the nanny and parents can have easy access to it.
Basics of a Daily Log Include:
activity or exercise
appetite or diet
elimination
growth or development
When commenting on these areas, the nanny should do so in a narrative style. The nanny should make it as interesting as possible. The nanny should remark on the child’s mood and activity level. For example, the nanny might write:
The child refused to sit on the potty so I used diapers instead today.
The child has been taking a longer nap in the afternoon and not as long in the morning. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details on our service.
A day with a Nanny X:
Ever wondered what the work of a nanny is for the day? We share the day in the life of a professional nanny. Their daily routine is impressive and they make time for the most special moments and teaching times with the children. Most nannies work during the day. There are types of nannies, live-in nannies, night nannies, or newborn care specialists who work through the night or even in 24-hour shifts. A day in the life of a nanny involves many interesting tasks. Let us meet our nanny X and spend a day with her.
Morning Routine:
When Nanny X arrives at the family’s home at 7:30, she immediately starts the morning by getting the young boy (7 years old) ready for school. She gets him up, has his clothes laid out, and gets him downstairs ready to eat breakfast. Then she lets the little girl (3 years old) wake up on her own but if she’s not up by the time to leave for school, Nanny X will grab her out of bed and move along. Nanny X also packs the boy’s lunch and has his bookbag ready to go and drop him off at school in the care provided by the family. Nanny X then returns to the family’s home to fix the toddler’s (3-year-old girl) breakfast and start a few morning chores.
The morning chores of Nanny X consist of making up beds, cleaning up kids’ rooms, tidying up the playroom, unloading & loading the dishwasher, and putting in a load of the kids’ clothes in the wash.
Then they both play and love doing arts and crafts and will usually make something with moon sand, or do some type of coloring or painting. After a couple of hours of playtime, arts and crafts, or baking, Nanny X finishes up the laundry and starts prepping for lunch.
Mid-Day Routine:
After cleaning up lunch, the little girl will watch TV while enjoying some milk. Nanny X then put her in her bed for a nap. During nap time, she finishes up laundry and any other housework that needs to be done and some cleaning. This is a time when Nanny X also has some free time and can sit back and relax for a few short minutes.
Afternoon Routine:
After nap time is over, the little girl is refreshed and ready to go and pick up the little boy from school. After pickup, Nanny X usually takes them to the local playground/park for them to play for some time or will go home and play ball outside and then return to the house where Nanny X helps the young boy with his homework and play with them some more. The mother is finished with work and relieves Nanny X so she can go home. Nanny X has now finished her workday and will return to her home.
Nanny X’s Perspective:
Nanny X honestly loves what she does. Her daily routine as a nanny is a part of her everyday life now. Nanny X gets to be a part of the family and help them with their two children. The children are very receptive to her and love her. She has even heard the parents say they miss her on the weekends. Nanny X loves working for this family too as they allow her to take the kids to fun places and they will provide the funds to do so. They have a lot of fun going to fairs, playgrounds, indoor play arenas, movies, malls, and libraries. This job is rewarding and pays well. Nanny X also loves the hours as she still gets the weekends off to see family and friends and has some time to relax and get ready for the next busy week!
How to Find the Perfect Nanny for You?
Helping nannies and families find each other is part of what a reputable nanny agency does. Nanny agencies work with the best nannies and the most esteemed families around the country. They are experts at not only identifying the qualities a family is seeking in a childcare professional but also connecting that family with the perfect nanny for their needs. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details on our service.
