Select Page

Blog

How To Be A Truly Great Nanny

Working as a nanny can be very rewarding, and quite challenging I times! In addition to ensuring that your wards are well fed, clean and appropriately dressed, you must also keep them occupied and guide their personal growth.

What a huge responsibility!

To be a great nanny that the children love, you have to find a way to carefully blend a reasonable level of discipline with learning activities and fun games. The time you spend with the children should encourage their personal development and help them to grow into intellectually curious, creative, responsible and fun loving young adults.

Here are some simple tips for becoming the kind of nanny that will be in huge demand with parents and children alike!

#01 Make menial activities fun

One of the most difficult tasks for a nanny is getting children to perform tasks such as picking up their toys, completing homework or taking a bath, more willingly. Wherever possible, it helps if you can turn these kinds of activities into a fun game.

As a Nanny it pays to be creative, for example, at bath time, introduce toys and games. Perhaps have a rubber ducky armada that must float their way past the battleships! Turn clearing away the toys from a mundane task into a fun game where you race to pick up the most toys in a minute.

#02 Keep parents informed

Parents like to be kept informed about the personal development of their child. One way to do this is by keeping a journal of their children’s activities, which the parent has easy access to. Exciting milestones in development can be recorded along with any disciplinary issues that may be of concern.

#03 Encourage the children to try new things

Children love exploring the world and trying new things. A talented nanny will foster the curiosity of their wards by giving them access to new things. Get the kids involved with cooking meals, encourage them to take on new hobbies, and help them to discover what they enjoy.

#04 Be alert to safety issues

A great nanny will always be aware of any potential safety issues that affect the children and immediately make the parents aware of any potential safety problems inside or outside of the home. They will notice things like trip hazards, dangerous chemicals, slippery surfaces and dangerous furniture.

#05 Encourage development

Talented nannies will always consider how their actions affect the intellectual, emotional and physical development of their wards. After all, the nanny plays a critically important role in the shaping of a child’s mind, body and spirit. A great nanny will always look for ways to challenge and excite the children in their care, helping them to grow into well-rounded adults.

Encouraging development could involve playing sports, reading books, explaining how things work, teaching manners and much, much more. A great nanny will also be interested in learning more about the children; asking them questions and interacting with them on a daily basis.

Learn what they like and dislike, what they find funny, discover which foods they love, which sports they enjoy most and so on. This knowledge helps a nanny to guide each child’s development effectively.

#06 Form strong emotional bonds

A great nanny will come to understand the children in their care. Over time, they will form a strong emotional bond based on mutual respect and friendship. Children will come to see the nanny as a part of the family and someone they can come to with problems.

The best way to develop this kind of relationship with a child is by always being kind and respectful towards them.

#07 Make mealtimes a learning experience

Nannies often have to prepare meals for children or the entire family. Get the children involved in this process by encouraging them to help you. They can help you to peel vegetables, decorate cookies, create meal plans, menus and much more.

Most children will love getting involved and learning how to cook.

#08 Harness creativity

Great nannies will identify games and activities that harness a child’s creativity rather than settle for plopping the children in front of the television! Use creative games, challenges and hobbies.   Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Build an indoor mini-golf game
    Create the holes, obstacles and golf clubs from art supplies and household objects.
  • Create a pillow fort
    After creating a huge fort, encourage some role play or read a story.
  • Take up painting or drawing!
    Painting, drawing and experimenting with different materials will bring out each child’s creative side.
  • Make sculptures
    Use play-doh and plasticine for the younger children and explore the oven baked clays and Fimo for the older ones.

By getting to know the children in your care, looking out for them and helping them to develop, you will become a great nanny and a much-loved member of the household!

July 12, 2016

Blog General Home News

[ssba-buttons]