How to decide whether hiring a Nanny is best for you and your child

When it comes to childcare, how do you decide if hiring a Nanny or using a daycare is the best option for your child/children? Suitcase Nanny tells all about the benefits of hiring a Nanny.

Nannies come with a wealth of information and will either have experience and/or qualifications that enable them to provide excellent care for your child. Some Nannies will have gained all their experience after working for many years with families first hand whereas other nannies may have studied or be new to Nanny life and taken courses to broaden their knowledge before taking that first position.

To list a few Nanny duties:

• Be aware of educational and development milestones for each child and ensure your child is properly stimulated throughout the day
• Nannies sometimes take on Nursery related duties (taking care of child’s clothes, meal prep, tidying of child’s spaces)
• Ensure the safety of your child at all times when on duty
• Work alongside other household staff members when needed including chefs/housekeepers/drivers
• Arrange playdates/educational classes and activities that will benefit your child
• Liaise with parents regularly to ensure everyone has the same common goals for the child

Benefits of hiring a Nanny

First of all, you get to know the Nanny as a person and in your own time which will enable you to build trust with this person. Having a Nanny in your home also allows you to keep an eye on her and your child. Some families choose to have Nanny cams fitted in their home so they can check up on their house while they are away or at work, this gives some parents peace of mind and sense of security when leaving someone alone with their child. When hiring a Nanny from an agency, in most cases you would not need to do background checks as the agency would have completed this all for you. Most Nannies that are found through an agency are required to have a minimum level of childcare experience, CRB check and first aid certificates. While having a Nanny and it being a professional role in some cases families do start to think of the Nanny as part of their family however you need to keep in mind that you are their employer and this is their job and so maintaining that balance of professional and personal boundaries is important to avoid conflict.

Key points of hiring a Nanny include:

• Solely focused care for your child/children, your Nanny can then focus on the exact needs of your child individually and attend to them efficiently and attentively
• Children will have a strong attachment to their Nanny and feel safe and secure with another person other than their parents, parents can feel reassured their child is being taken care by someone who loves them as much as they do
• Trust issues are higher due to that personal working relationship between Nanny and the family
• Routines can be tailored to each child being taken care of
• Nannies will try and make the child’s day as productive as possible
• Nannies can teach your child a language, many families now opt for a Nanny that speaks several languages
• Nannies sort schedules and routines for the child so parents can have peace of mind that their child is being fully stimulated throughout the day and is sleeping/eating correctly
• Nannies can create healthy meal plans for the child
• Due to the nature of Nannies working relationship with the family, they often help out and do extra hours when needed and can be on call for if emergencies arise subject to contract agreement
• Any issues or problems that arise with childcare can be discussed and amended quickly due to the personal relationship
• As the Nanny will be working in the family home parents have more opportunities to fit in seeing their child more often around their schedule. For example, if parents come home during lunch breaks they get to see their child, this is harder to do if the child is in a daycare centre.
• Having a Nanny will also help your child become familiar with other people. When your Nanny takes the child to classes and activities outside the home your child will be constantly interacting with other children/caregivers.

So, the only thing to do now if you are thinking of hiring a Nanny is finding the best one suitable for your family’s needs.

Register with Suitcase Nanny here and let us show you how we can help to find the best Nanny for your family. We have a guide specifically tailored to ‘hiring a Nanny’ which gives a lot of advice, guidance and information that will reassure you that choosing a Nanny is the right thing for your family.

Please note Suitcase Nanny will not find you a Nanny but will give you the guidance needed for finding the right one.

How to decide whether hosting an Aupair in best for your family

Many families choose to host Aupairs rather than hiring a Nanny because of the low cost.  Aupairs are seen as temporary family members who you pay a stipend for (pocket money) because they care for your child/children.

The pros of hosting an Aupair:

• Cultural exchange – Your family will get to know more about another country and other cultures, this also will benefit your child and raise their cultural awareness and tolerance.
• Low cost – Hosting an Aupair is more affordable than hiring a Nanny or paying for your child to attend Nursery.
• Flexible time – As the Aupair lives with your family you have the flexibility to assign childcare related tasks when you need them to fit around your schedule staying within the maximum allowed number of working hours.
• General duties – The Aupair can do light household chores and help around the house which enables you to spend more time with your children after a busy day at work.
• Another language – Many Aupairs come from other cultural backgrounds and speak other languages and so your family could have the chance to learn another language by hiring a native speaker.
• The length of time an Aupair can stay – Aupairs can stay for up to two years on an Aupair exchange program visa (this may vary based on location) which gives your child reassurance and a long enough time to create a bond with that person.

The cons of hosting an Aupair:

• Loss of privacy – An Aupair lives in your home and this will have an influence on your privacy, you definitely get to know each other quicker and have to be open-minded and understanding of someone else’s personal habits.
• Living costs – When you host an Aupair this means there is an extra person in your home and so you have to be prepared for your bills to increase such as phone, fuel, water, food, heating and electricity costs. Also, you would need to pay the Aupairs share if you go out for lunch, on activities or outings or on holiday.
• It’s not a professional childcare – The main aim of the Aupair program is the cultural exchange so many Aupairs don’t have professional experience or formal training of looking after children, they have usually just done some babysitting or helped other siblings.
• Cultural gap – It can take a while for Aupairs to get used to a difference in the country, rule change, a different environment, laws and cuisine. An Aupair can feel homesick also so you have to be understanding. It can take a while for your child/children to accept a new person in their life. Also, you could struggle with communication if your Aupair is not fluent in your native language.
• Other considerations – As a host family you will need to provide the correct documents to the Aupair agency, pay for visas, flights, boarding etc. and have a big enough house where you can accommodate an Aupair properly.

Register with Suitcase Nanny here and let us show you how we can help to find the best Aupair Agency for your family. We have a package specifically tailored to ‘hosting an Aupair’ which gives a lot of advice, guidance and information that will reassure you that choosing an Aupair is the right thing for your family.

Please note Suitcase Nanny will not find you an Aupair but it will give you the guidance needed to find the right one.

Communication between the family and Nanny is so important for the relationship to work and you should have this from the start. A good way to have this is to plan meetings or discussions regularly for you and the parents/guardians to sit down and discuss issues, personal subjects or child related subjects relating to their child/children. In doing this, it will create a strong relationship, gain trust in each other and everyone is then aware and on the same page.

It is important that families and Nannies go over all of their expectations and requirements from the beginning, that way all parties are aware of what is expected and a lot of problems will be avoided. When issues do arise, it is usually over little things and would be avoided if discussed upfront. When dealing with confrontation use ‘I’ instead of ‘you’. For example, ‘When you tell me I’m not doing something right in front of the children you make me feel embarrassed.’ Instead, you could say ‘I feel embarrassed when you discuss the things I do wrong in front of the children.’ This way you take away the blame off someone and make it personal and the opposing party will respect that making it an easier way to fix things.

As a parent, it is important to check in with your Nanny on a regular basis to make sure she is doing okay and is happy. In most cases Nannies leave their home country to come to work in your country to take care of your children. That Nanny has left family, friends, loved ones and has come alone and so making sure she feels welcome and you showing a caring nature towards her will make her feel more settled. When you get home from work ask ‘How are you?’ ‘How is it going?’ Usually 9 times out of 10 the Nanny will immediately tell you exactly how she feels because they will know then that is a good time to talk about anything they need/want to talk about.

In turn, when the parents and Nanny have excellent communication this will ultimately benefit the child/children.

As a Nanny myself I find this a touchy subject. Yes, this scenario is real and happens more often than not.

I can see where parents are coming from with this, they pay a lot of money for someone to come to their home and take care of their child but if the child is asleep… parents often tell themselves that their child’s caregiver isn’t really working and they won’t count it in the Nanny’s weekly hours.

Believe it or not parents, your Nanny/babysitter is not doing ‘nothing’, they are taking care of your child. Your child needs to be taken care of even when asleep otherwise you wouldn’t have hired someone in the first place. What if that child wakes up?  What if there is an emergency?  That is what your Nanny/babysitter is paid for.

If it is seen as doing ‘nothing’ then that Nanny/babysitter would be allowed to leave the child unattended to go and do her/his own thing.

To not count their working hours when your child is sleeping is insulting, considering the reason they are a part of your child’s life is that you need/want the extra help and that is their profession.  This also applies to night Nannies, when the Nanny is allowed to sleep while on night watch, particularly when a baby monitor is on this should also be counted as work.

Even though your Nanny and baby are sleeping, your Nanny still has a monitor on to enable them to hear and listen to the movement of your child during the night. I can assure you when this is the case your Nanny does not get a peaceful and completely rested night’s sleep whether your child slept through the entire night or didn’t. Your Nanny is still conscious and aware of her own sleep and of your baby whether the Nanny and baby sleep in the same room or separate rooms.

When you hand over the responsibility of your child, whether it is while they are awake or asleep and they are needed to watch a baby monitor or listen out of for your child, your Nanny/babysitter is on duty and supervising your child whether you like it or not.