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Nanny Guide > Before You Leave the New Nanny: Orientation
Families
find that a little preparation and a few hours of orientation
of the new nanny greatly improve the comfort level of
both the nanny and family.
- Experts
recommend that the parents (or at least one of you)
spend a minimum of 4 hours with the nanny
and the children in a typical day BEFORE leaving her
on her own. This gives the nanny the opportunity
to ask questions, become familiar with the routine,
and communicate concerns to the parent(s). Parents
can use this time to become comfortable with the nanny's
judgement and observe her interaction with the child(ren).
- Check
in a few times unexpectedly. This is not
a sign of distrust, but rather another opportunity
to observe the nanny's performance, unrehearsed. Take
a few minutes to "catch her being good" and acknowledge
it!
- Do
a home safety check with the nanny - again
before leaving her. Clearly spell out known hazards
(your 7 year old's Legos are a risk to your toddler)
and the storage of medicines and household chemicals.
Consider placing poisons in a locked cabinet, a good
idea anyway.
- Introduce
your nanny
to the operation of the home alarm system, washer
and dryer, pool filter, and any other mechanical
items they need to be familiar with. Don't
assume she knows how these things operate. Go over
the way your home "operates" - the lock on the back
door that sticks unless you remember to first lift
the latch, the housecleaning company that has a key
to your house and let themselves in each Monday morning,
etc.
General
Household Information Form
- Neighborhood
Introductions: Introduce the nanny to your
next door neighbors, building manager and other individuals
who the nanny may need to call upon in an emergency.
This is also helpful in establishing his/her ties
to your family/neighborhood - the nanny will begin
to feel part of your neighborhood/community when people
recognize them while they are with the children, etc.
and they won't feel as much like a stranger. Don't
be afraid to ask the neighbor for feedback - positive
and negative.
- Addressing
Emergency Procedures: Discuss, ahead of time,
how you want illnesses and emergencies handled. Do
you want to be contacted before the children's doctor
in the case of a medical emergency? If the nanny feels
your son's forehead and believing he is warm, takes
his temperature, do you want to be contacted before
any medication is dispensed? Are there standing orders
which you want the nanny to follow as to who to contact
first and if no answer, what or whom to contact next?
Make sure the nanny has an emergency contacts list,
and keep it up to date.
- Driving
Tour of Community: If the nanny is unfamiliar
with the surrounding area, spend a few hours during
your orientation time together, driving the nanny
around the area, pointing out your child's school
and doctor's office, the hospital, playgrounds, library,
grocery stores and drug stores, shopping areas and
any other areas you will expect her to be driving
with your child(ren). Let her drive, observe her driving
skills. If the nanny will have access to a vehicle,
you may want to give her the opportunity to take the
car out alone, in order to become familiar with the
vehicle before transporting your child somewhere.
Leave an area map booklet, the type that indexes all
streets and public places, in the auto for future
reference.
- Introduce
the nanny to public transit if applicable.
Give her a transit system map and make sure she knows
how fares are paid/collected.
- Review
safety procedures before leaving the nanny. Remember not all nannies are experienced living in
densely populated urban/suburban areas. Don't open
the door to strangers, keep doors/windows locked at
all times, tell callers the parents are 'unavailable',
not 'they aren't home", no bike riding/roller blading
without a helmet (and knee pads/elbow pads as appropriate),
always use seatbelts and car-seats are all typical
admonitions. Nannies should keep the children in sight
at all times when they are outside the home, and never
send them into public restrooms alone (young boys
CAN go in the ladies room with the nanny.) Make sure
she knows where first aid supplies are, bandaids and
first aid creme especially.
- Buy
a notebook and ask the nanny to keep a daily log.
This would include what was eaten at meals, napping
time, activities of the day, when medicines were administered,
and other items that occur during the day. Review
the log at night and ask any questions.
Checklist
of Items to Give the New Caregiver: The following
is a list of items which you may want to provide to
your nanny. Many find it helpful to assemble these items
into a binder that may be zipped up (trapper/keeper
type) so the nanny may carry with her.
- set
of keys to the house, the alarm (if applicable) and
keys for any/all cars which they will be expected
to drive. (If your car has a locking gas cap, don't
forget that key too!)
- instructions
for operating the alarm system and any other "keypad"
system in or around the home
- medical
treatment authorization form - it is recommended
that you confirm your children's doctor's and the
local hospital's willingness to accept this form prior
to the day when its use may be needed.
- copy
of your child's insurance card and prescription card
- copy
of any letters sent to child's school/camp authorizing
nanny to pickup the child.
- copy
of automobile insurance card for vehicle(s) nanny
will be driving
- list
of important phone numbers. The following is a
list of the most commonly needed numbers:
- parents'
work numbers
- parents'
beeper numbers
- any
car phone or portable/cellular numbers
- physician's
number (and address)
- hospital's
number
- close
friend or neighbor's number
- child's
school number
Make
Your Requirements Clear From The Beginning!
This cannot be stressed too much, but having stated
the obvious, the following chart may help place this
individual's new position in perspective.
| Reasonable
Requirements |
Unreasonable
Requirements |
| quality
childcare |
childcare
around the clock or whenever needed |
| a
smooth running household |
children
having authority over the caregiver |
| an
individual with the maturity to handle their
personal live in a responsible manner |
a
housekeeper or cleaning person in addition to
childcare giving |
Review
the Work Agreement: Sit down with your nanny and
review the work agreement, sentence by sentence. This
may seem redundant, (and it should be the second time,
at least) but is is always easier to discuss job requirements
when the relationship is just beginning, rather than
having to address a problem which the nanny or you "didn't
remember was in the contract." This is the time to discuss
the scheduling of any class (First
Aid, CPR, etc.) which you required in the Work Agreement
as a condition of continued employment. If you want
the nanny to arrange for and schedule the class(es),
make this clear and set a date for them to let you know
what plans they have made.
Miscellaneous
Information The older your child is (and in
some cases, the younger they are!) and the more children
you have, the more information you will be trying to
give the nanny during the orientation period. Each family
will determine to what degree of detail, information
will be presented to the nanny; however, most people
agree that after a certain point, all the information
starts to run together and it can become nearly impossible
to remember which child likes the yellow blanket at
naptime and which child only naps if the lullaby tape
is put into the tape recorder. One approach to addressing
this concern and increasing your level of confidence
as you walk out the door that first day, is to consider
putting most of this type of information in writing.
Again, many families and nannies report success when
this data is organized in a binder that may be transported
with the nanny the first few weeks. Some keep copies
of important authorizations in the glove box in the
vehicle for access in an emergency.
The
First Week: Look over the job responsibilities
and consider trimming out the nonessential duties for
the first week. If dinner preparation is part of their
responsibilities, consider bringing home pizza the first
night.
Give
your new employee the opportunity to acclimate him or
herself to your children and your home before inviting
neighborhood children over to play for the afternoon.
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