How To Be A Great Nanny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There's actually more than one of us exceptional nannies here.

But I'm guessing that our wages tend to be "exceptional" as well. (I know mine are.) Out of reach for your average family, who therefore must settle for an average nanny.

Such is life.

I am the OP and I don't consider my wages "exceptional". They are mid-range, I suppose - but the thread is not about our wages, it is about our JOB. And how to be great at our job.

[Anonymous]

A Great Nanny:

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

~Is an excellent communicator w/both the parents AND the child. She is also very approachable and makes the parents feel like they can talk to her about anything that may concern them. She understands how important communication is in this profession since a precious child is involved.

~Has integrity. Honesty is a very important quality to have as a working nanny because trust is the foundation to any type of relationship, working and personal. Nannies must remain completely honest w/the parents even if they feel like in doing so, it may not bode well for them.

~Lives a life w/good morals and ethics. Even when not working, a good nanny knows that the type of lifestyle she leads can affect the type of nanny that she is. She must be conscious of who she keeps company with as well as what types of extra-curricular activities she engages in. She must make sure she abides by the law at all times and remains a respected citizen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Great Nanny:

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

~Is an excellent communicator w/both the parents AND the child. She is also very approachable and makes the parents feel like they can talk to her about anything that may concern them. She understands how important communication is in this profession since a precious child is involved.

~Has integrity. Honesty is a very important quality to have as a working nanny because trust is the foundation to any type of relationship, working and personal. Nannies must remain completely honest w/the parents even if they feel like in doing so, it may not bode well for them.

~Lives a life w/good morals and ethics. Even when not working, a good nanny knows that the type of lifestyle she leads can affect the type of nanny that she is. She must be conscious of who she keeps company with as well as what types of extra-curricular activities she engages in. She must make sure she abides by the law at all times and remains a respected citizen.

This is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you.
Every family should prominently frame this,
as a daily reminder that each child DESERVES
the best possible care, 24/7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

Yeah, I know a nanny who just got fired for being honest with the parents. She was totally respectful and compassionate with her honesty. Looks like some parents don't really want, what they say they want. Typical. Sorry, but why is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

Yeah, I know a nanny who just got fired for being honest with the parents. She was totally respectful and compassionate with her honesty. Looks like some parents don't really want, what they say they want. Typical. Sorry, but why is that?

Obviously it depends on the parents but you can't really say that is typical because there are plenty of parents who do want honesty. It's hard to say without knowing the circumstances, maybe they are overly sensitive parents, maybe they are just bad employers, maybe your friend didn't tell you the story 100% accurately. It's too bad your friend was fired but there are certainly lots of good parents/employers out there. DCUM is not a good example of the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

Yeah, I know a nanny who just got fired for being honest with the parents. She was totally respectful and compassionate with her honesty. Looks like some parents don't really want, what they say they want. Typical. Sorry, but why is that?

Obviously it depends on the parents but you can't really say that is typical because there are plenty of parents who do want honesty. It's hard to say without knowing the circumstances, maybe they are overly sensitive parents, maybe they are just bad employers, maybe your friend didn't tell you the story 100% accurately. It's too bad your friend was fired but there are certainly lots of good parents/employers out there. DCUM is not a good example of the real world.

Um, how long have you been in this field of work?

[Anonymous]

Great list. #2 is a bit unrealistic if you're a nanny with young children of your own but I think we can all agree that we just shouldn't be on our phones excessively. How much is acceptable tends to vary and it's pretty easy to figure out if the parents you are working for are ok with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Great Nanny:

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

~Is an excellent communicator w/both the parents AND the child. She is also very approachable and makes the parents feel like they can talk to her about anything that may concern them. She understands how important communication is in this profession since a precious child is involved.

~Has integrity. Honesty is a very important quality to have as a working nanny because trust is the foundation to any type of relationship, working and personal. Nannies must remain completely honest w/the parents even if they feel like in doing so, it may not bode well for them.

~Lives a life w/good morals and ethics. Even when not working, a good nanny knows that the type of lifestyle she leads can affect the type of nanny that she is. She must be conscious of who she keeps company with as well as what types of extra-curricular activities she engages in. She must make sure she abides by the law at all times and remains a respected citizen.

No nanny is 100% honest with her employers.

MB: Did the baby miss me?
Nanny: (lying) Yes!

MB: Guess what? The baby took his first steps this weekend!!
(Nanny smiles and never mentions that the baby actually took his first steps with her last Thursday)
Nanny: That is so great!

MB: Isn't he the best looking child on the block?
Nanny: (lying) Absolutely!

MB: Do I look fat in these pants?
Nanny: (lying) No!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Great Nanny:

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

~Is an excellent communicator w/both the parents AND the child. She is also very approachable and makes the parents feel like they can talk to her about anything that may concern them. She understands how important communication is in this profession since a precious child is involved.

~Has integrity. Honesty is a very important quality to have as a working nanny because trust is the foundation to any type of relationship, working and personal. Nannies must remain completely honest w/the parents even if they feel like in doing so, it may not bode well for them.

~Lives a life w/good morals and ethics. Even when not working, a good nanny knows that the type of lifestyle she leads can affect the type of nanny that she is. She must be conscious of who she keeps company with as well as what types of extra-curricular activities she engages in. She must make sure she abides by the law at all times and remains a respected citizen.

No nanny is 100% honest with her employers.

MB: Did the baby miss me?
Nanny: (lying) Yes!

MB: Guess what? The baby took his first steps this weekend!!
(Nanny smiles and never mentions that the baby actually took his first steps with her last Thursday)
Nanny: That is so great!

MB: Isn't he the best looking child on the block?
Nanny: (lying) Absolutely!

MB: Do I look fat in these pants?
Nanny: (lying) No!

Yep. You're a nanny who's been around awhile and in-tune with reality.

[Anonymous]

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

This may be the sign of A great nanny, but its lack is not the sign of a bad nanny.

I was a nanny for a child a while back... started when he was a newborn and ended when Mom became a WOHM at the time he started preschool.

That was 8 years ago and I can't imagine still being involved in his life now that he is 11 years old. We both moved on a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Great Nanny:

~Truly CARES about the children she is assigned to care for on a daily basis. Meaning once her position ends, she will always be part of that child's life in some way as they grow up.

~Is an excellent communicator w/both the parents AND the child. She is also very approachable and makes the parents feel like they can talk to her about anything that may concern them. She understands how important communication is in this profession since a precious child is involved.

~Has integrity. Honesty is a very important quality to have as a working nanny because trust is the foundation to any type of relationship, working and personal. Nannies must remain completely honest w/the parents even if they feel like in doing so, it may not bode well for them.

~Lives a life w/good morals and ethics. Even when not working, a good nanny knows that the type of lifestyle she leads can affect the type of nanny that she is. She must be conscious of who she keeps company with as well as what types of extra-curricular activities she engages in. She must make sure she abides by the law at all times and remains a respected citizen.

No nanny is 100% honest with her employers.

MB: Did the baby miss me?
Nanny: (lying) Yes!

MB: Guess what? The baby took his first steps this weekend!!
(Nanny smiles and never mentions that the baby actually took his first steps with her last Thursday)
Nanny: That is so great!

MB: Isn't he the best looking child on the block?
Nanny: (lying) Absolutely!

MB: Do I look fat in these pants?
Nanny: (lying) No!

Yep. You're a nanny who's been around awhile and in-tune with reality.

Haha this makes me laugh. When DS was learning to crawl, he started doing the army crawl/lizard crawl on a day I was home and DH was at work. That weekend he saw DS doing it and was sooo happy that he got to see him crawling for the first time that I just smiled and said "I know!!!! How exciting !"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

Yeah, I know a nanny who just got fired for being honest with the parents. She was totally respectful and compassionate with her honesty. Looks like some parents don't really want, what they say they want. Typical. Sorry, but why is that?

Obviously it depends on the parents but you can't really say that is typical because there are plenty of parents who do want honesty. It's hard to say without knowing the circumstances, maybe they are overly sensitive parents, maybe they are just bad employers, maybe your friend didn't tell you the story 100% accurately. It's too bad your friend was fired but there are certainly lots of good parents/employers out there. DCUM is not a good example of the real world.

Um, how long have you been in this field of work?

So you think all employers are bad? That speaks more about you than about them if you keep working for bad employers. I'm sure we've all had an experience with a bad employer, but I've had enough experiences with good ones to believe the good actually outweigh the bad.

[Anonymous]

I don't think being a great nanny is about being perfect. I think it is more important to learn from mistakes and be able to handle constructive criticism gracefully. That comes from having made plenty of mistakes, even big ones, and learning that I can't be perfect at all times or for all people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would LOVE to find a nanny who believed and did these things. If you actually do these things you are truly a great nanny.

Me toooooooooooooooooooo.

Yeah, I know a nanny who just got fired for being honest with the parents. She was totally respectful and compassionate with her honesty. Looks like some parents don't really want, what they say they want. Typical. Sorry, but why is that?

Obviously it depends on the parents but you can't really say that is typical because there are plenty of parents who do want honesty. It's hard to say without knowing the circumstances, maybe they are overly sensitive parents, maybe they are just bad employers, maybe your friend didn't tell you the story 100% accurately. It's too bad your friend was fired but there are certainly lots of good parents/employers out there. DCUM is not a good example of the real world.

Um, how long have you been in this field of work?

So you think all employers are bad? That speaks more about you than about them if you keep working for bad employers. I'm sure we've all had an experience with a bad employer, but I've had enough experiences with good ones to believe the good actually outweigh the bad.

Pardon?