Eight Ways a Nanny Can Help Her Charges Say Good-Bye

Leaving a nanny job is never easy because it always mean leaving a child you love and care for. Even when it’s a natural and healthy transition, it’s hard for the nanny to say goodbye, and usually for the child too. Here are some ways a nanny can help her charge deal with the change.

1. Let her know the job is ending but the love is forever. It’s sometimes hard for a child to understand the difference between the job and the relationship. As children get older, they are better able to grasp the subtleties of the situation. However even from a young age, a child can understand that even though she won’t see her nanny as often, her nanny will continue to love and care about her.
2. Be honest. It’s often easier to put off difficult conversations or act like a tough situation isn’t really that bad. However having a beloved nanny leave can be very difficult for a child, and although it’s important to be reassuring, it’s equally important to be honest about what’s really happening. If you’re leaving your job because you’re moving out of state, don’t promise to come see the child every week. If you’re taking a new job down the street, don’t promise to never take care of another child. Being honest, no matter how hard it is, will help the child know she can rely on you and trust what you say and do.
3. Let her have whatever feelings she’s going to have. Some children get sad when their nanny leaves. Others get angry or withdrawn. How your charge reacts to the news of you leaving depends on your relationship with her, her temperament, and how the adults around her react. There’s no right or wrong reaction. Let her know that whatever she’s feeling, it’s OK. Help her recognize that her feelings are a natural part of the good-bye process and that she will feel better in time. Also be OK with your charge not being sad or upset. Some children naturally take things in stride and don’t have the negative reactions we often expect them to have. A nonchalant attitude doesn’t mean you’re not an important person in her life. It simply means she’s handling the transition well.
4. Let her know you’re sad too. Leaving isn’t just a big transition for your charge, it’s a big change for you too. Let your charge know how much you’re going to miss her and miss spending time together.
5. Make a memory craft together. Use pictures of some of the favorite things you did and favorite places you visited along with other memorabilia to create a scrapbook or other keepsake collection. It will be a visual reminder to the child of the special times she shared with you. These reminders are important transitional items and can help children create a bridge between the past and the future.
6. Welcome the new nanny. If your employers are hiring a new nanny, make sure you fully support her as she steps into your job. This is the new person who will be taking care of your charge, and your support will help the child know it’s OK to connect and bond with the new nanny. If the child believes that you disapprove of the new nanny, it may make their new relationship difficult.
7. Make plans to see each other. Just because you’re leaving your job doesn’t mean you won’t get to see your charge anymore. Before your last day, make definite plans to spend time together. It could be an afternoon at the park, a dinner out together, or anything else you enjoy doing together. If the parents agree, consider becoming a regular babysitter. This is often a great opportunity for the parents to spend time out together and for you get to spend some quality time with your former charge. Many caregivers often go from being the nanny to being the babysitter.
8. Find other ways to stay in touch. With all the technology available today, it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with the people you love. Sit down with your charge and come up with fun ways to connect. Some of those ways may become your new rituals. Try postcards, funny notes through snail mail, email, Facebook, or video chat. How often you connect with each other will depend on the child’s age, your schedules, and the parents’ willingness to support your relationship. Even if you don’t connect often, make sure to touch base on a regular basis.

Leaving a nanny job can be sad for everyone. However nannies can help children say good-bye in healthy ways and make the transition to the new relationship easier.

 P.S. This post was  proposed to me for publication by Isabella Harris. I'm therefore publishing it by her invitation and under her permission. See also the link below fore more information:

http://www.nannyjobs.net/blog/eight-ways-a-nanny-can-help-her-charges-say-good-bye/ 

How Parents Can Attract the Right Nanny for Their Family

Because the quest for finding an ideal nanny can be a long and arduous one, few families are anxious to repeat the task any more often than is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, impatience with the process can lead some families to hire a private childcare provider that isn’t the best fit for their children, which ultimately leads to higher turnover and the need to go through interviewing and hiring all over again. Rather than going through a series of less-than-ideal nannies, causing stress and anxiety for your children and yourself, it’s best to make a strong effort to choose the best possible candidate from the onset. With these tips, you can boost your chances of attracting and securing the right nanny to fulfill the needs of your individual family.

• Know What Your Needs Are – In order to find a nanny that fits well with your family and is able to attend to all of your needs, you must first have a good idea of what those needs are. While this may sound simple, it’s actually a bit more difficult than you might think. Take time to consider the things that you liked about previous nannies, the things that you did not like about their habits and methods, and how your family has changed or grown since you last hired a childcare provider. Children that were just entering kindergarten or first grade when you conducted your last interview will have different needs if they’re elementary age or are now approaching middle school; if you’ve added a new baby, you’ll need to look for someone with infant experience as well as a background in caring for older kids and tweens.
• Craft Your Ad Carefully – The first impression that you’ll make on the sea of candidates that will eventually respond to you is the advertisement you place, either on an online job listings board, with a nanny agency, or in a print-medium newspaper. The tone of your ad and the information that it contains can help to weed out undesirable candidates immediately, but can also be attractive to the very candidates you’re seeking, provided that the advertisement is worded in the proper way. Relevant information about the number of children that you have and their ages should always be included so that nannies that have specializations in inapplicable areas or a lack of experience in others aren’t motivated to respond.
• Be Open and Honest from the Onset – Some families require their nannies to provide additional services than those related solely to childcare, which can be a deal breaker for many candidates. If you need a nanny that can care for the children, prepare meals for the whole family, and perform light housekeeping chores, you’ll need to let applicants know from the very beginning. Ideally you should place this information in your ad; however, space constraints can make such an action infeasible. When you aren’t able to clue candidates in about your special requirements in the ad, be sure that you do so from the first communication with an applicant, whether that’s through email or over the phone. Similarly, families with a child that has special needs or behavioral problems should also let nanny candidates know up front, as some nannies have experience in such areas and even specialize in such care, but others may be loath to accept the post if they don’t feel qualified.
• Make Sure That Your Compensation Package is Fair – While you don’t have to break the bank and go into mountains of debt to pay your nanny, be sure that what you do offer is well-aligned with the services that you’ll expect her to provide and her personal experience level. Quality nannies aren’t likely to accept a salary far below what they’re worth, leaving you to choose from the pool of candidates that will, due to limited experience and prospects. When you do find a candidate that strikes your fancy, you should also be prepared for some salary negotiations.
• Use the Interview Process to Your Advantage – At no other time in your nanny’s career will you be able to ask her such pointed and direct questions without drawing scrutiny or causing suspicion. In order to ensure that a candidate who’s made it all the way to the interview round is actually a good fit, take advantage of the opportunity to ask her everything you want to know and discuss the particulars of the position openly. Be warned, however, that you cannot ask questions that violate any discrimination laws on a state or federal level.

Because discrimination laws specifically prohibit employers from asking questions or making hiring decisions based on marital status, nationality, or religion, it might be wise to tailor your interview approach with those laws. While you may not be able to ask “What is your native tongue?” you could ask “What languages to you read, speak, and write fluently?”

 P.S. This post was  proposed to me for publication by  Maureen Denard. I'm therefore publishing it by her invitation and under her permission. See also the link below fore more information:

 http://www.findananny.net/blog/how-parents-can-attract-the-right-nanny-for-their-family/

5 Ways to Make Your Own Bubble Solution

It’s no secret that little kids love blowing bubbles. But why would you buy the bubble solution from the store when you can make twice as much for half the price at home? Making your own bubble solution is a fun project to do with the kids and most of the products necessary are ones that you probably already have at home.  Each of the following solutions will yield a different quality and type of bubbles; try out all five recipes and see which you like best.

1. You probably have all of these ingredients at home.  This simple solution can be made at the spur of the moment for some bubble fun, and the recipe uses all household ingredients.  Just mix together ½ cup of dishwashing liquid (Dawn or Joy work best), 2 cups of water, and 2 teaspoons of sugar, then prepare to have hours of fun-filled family time spent blowing bubbles. 
2. Colorful homemade bubble solution can be yours.  Take 2/3 cup of Joy dishwashing liquid, 1 gallon of water, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of glycerin and mix it all together.  Leave the bubble solution uncovered overnight and it will be ready to use the next day.  The bubble solution will work the first day you make it, but it works a lot better when you let it set overnight. You can also divide the solution up into a couple of different bottles or trays and add food coloring to the solution to make multicolored bubbles.  For a fun party craft you can lay out sheets of white paper on the ground and blow colorful bubbles over the top of them.  The bubbles will land and pop on the paper, resulting in some amazing artwork.
3. This is one “sweet” recipe, but don’t drink it.  The secret ingredient to this bubble solution? Corn syrup. It may seem like a strange addition, but something in corn syrup helps this bubble mixture to last longer than others.  Mix together 6 cups of water, 2 cups of Joy dishwashing liquid, and ¾ cup of corn syrup.  It’s important to store this solution in a covered container so as to not attract bugs.  Make your own bubble wands using pipe cleaners, paper towel tubes, plastic lids with the center cut out, cookie cutters and even string.  Put the bubble solution into a shallow tray and dip the end of a paper towel tube into it, then blow.  Work quickly because the cardboard does get soggy after using it for a little while.  With the string you can form it into a loop by tying the ends together.  Spread the loop into a rough circle and dip it into the bubble solution.  While in the solution grab the edges and lift up.  The bubble should form right from the tray of bubble solution.
4. Bouncing bubbles can entertain your kids for hours.  This inexpensive bubble solution creates some tough bubbles.  Start this recipe the day before because it will have to sit over night to gain its strength.  Stir together 1 cup of distilled water (the purer the water the better the solution), 2 tablespoons of Dawn dishwashing liquid, and 1 tablespoon of glycerin.  Allow the solution to sit overnight.  The next day you will need a pipette and a pair of inexpensive gloves.  The pipette is the straight part of a bubble pipe.  If you don’t have a pipette you can use an eye dropper by cutting off the bulb part of the dropper, forming a makeshift pipette.  Dip the pipette into the solution and blow a bubble that is about the size of a baseball.  Release it from the pipette and you should be able to bounce it gently in your gloved hands.  You can even try bouncing it off your shirt. 
5. Make giant bubbles and enclose your kids inside of them.  This makes a great party activity.  The day before the party fill a plastic baby pool with 5 gallons of distilled water, 10 cups of Dawn dishwashing liquid, and 1 cup of glycerin (or corn syrup).  If you leave it outside to set you’ll need to loosely cover the baby pool to keep things from blowing into it. It will need 24 hours to fully set.  Now put a hula hoop into the baby pool.  Have the child step into the pool and stand inside the hula hoop.  Shake the hula hoop around a little and then slowly draw it up over the child.  The bubble will come up, encompassing the kids inside of it along the way. The kids will love this good, clean fun. 

P.S. This post was  proposed to me for publication by Paul Taylor,  I'm therefore publishing it by his invitation and under his permission. See also the link below fore more information:  
http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-your-own-bubble-solution/

5 Tips for Getting Stains Out of Baby Clothes

From spit up to spinach, there’s nothing less attractive than when your baby sports a sweater with a yellow stain running down her side. While stains from food and bodily fluids can be stubborn, they are not impossible to remove.
Here are 5 tips for removing stubborn stains from your baby’s clothes:
1. Use an enzyme detergent to remove protein based stains. By breaking down the proteins found in food, formula, and bodily fluids such as vomit and diarrhea, enzyme based detergents are powerful stain busters. Detergents like Wisk or Era Plus are formulated to eat away at protein based stains and can restore fabrics to their prior stain-free conditions.
2. Use cornstarch to remove oil and grease stains. By absorbing the oils left from diaper cream, petroleum jelly, or baby oil, cornstarch or talcum powder may lift off the stain. Apply cornstarch to the affected area and let it sit on the stain for about 20 minutes. Scrape off the cornstarch before laundering.
3. Use a paste made of club soda and baking powder. For stubborn, set-in stains, make a paste of club soda and baking powder. Put it on the stain and let it sit for a half hour before scraping it off and laundering as usual. You may need to use a gentle bristled brush to work out the stain.
4. Make a Biz bin. Combine ¼ cup Biz Stain fighter, ¼ cup clear liquid dish soap, and 1 ½ gallons of boiling water. Soak your item until the stain is removed and launder as usual.  If the water gets dirty, drain and repeat before laundering.
5. Pre-treat fruit, veggie, and berry stains with a solution of rubbing alcohol and water. After washing your baby’s clothing item in cold water, apply an equal solution of rubbing alcohol and water to the stain. If the stain does not come out, treat with a product such as Shout or Spray ‘n’ Wash.
As a general rule, always rinse off any solids and soak fresh stains in cold water prior to treating. This alone is often enough to lift a fresh stain or prevent it from setting. Before treating the stained spot it is a good idea to test treat the item of clothing. Pick a hidden spot, perhaps on the inside of a seam, to test your stain solution to ensure the material can handle the stain treatment you plan on using.
You’ll also always want to be sure to check to see if the stain was removed prior to putting your child’s clothing item into the dryer. Putting your baby’s clothes into the dryer before the stain is fully removed can cause it to set and make it more difficult to remove.
Since baby skin can be super sensitive, you’ll want to be sure to thoroughly rinse any baby clothing that has been treated for stains and launder all of those items in the detergent you typically launder it in prior to her wearing.
While trying all different combinations of products can be tempting to remove tough stains, don’t combine chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar. Doing so can be a toxic combination.

 P.S. This post was  proposed to me for publication by Roxanne Porter. I'm therefore publishing it by her invitation and under her permission. See also the link below fore more information:

 http://www.nannyjobs.org/blog/5-tips-for-getting-stains-out-of-baby-clothes/