The little Survival Guide for Nannies

By Fiona Debarge Narelle Bitunjac

In this how-to book, authors Fiona Debarge and Narelle Bitunjac help you excel as a babysitter or nanny as they share their 30+ years experience working with children. The Little Survival Guide for Nannies has everything you need to know about being a nanny and is currently geared for Australian readers.

It cover topics including how to:
• create a resume
• find a job
• excel at the interview
• negotiate your duties

Then the authors walk you through the day to day elements of the job and give you advice about:

•safety
•daily routines
•setting boundaries with all family members
•developmental play activities
•nanny-friendly and child-friendly recipes.

As a supplement to this handy little book, the authors have a website where they share the latest tips and insights as well as answer readers individual nannying or babysitting questions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fiona Debarge Narelle Bitunjac
• Release date: Oct 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465743732

Fiona Debarge Narelle Bitunjac

Fiona and Narelle have more than 30 years nannying experiencing between them. In this how-to book, Fiona and Narelle set out a comprehensive guide to finding, securing and succeeding in a nanny job.

Book preview

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THE LITTLE SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR NANNIES

. . . because it’s a jungle out there

by

Narelle Bitunjac and Fiona Debarge

Published on Smashwords

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Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 978-1-4657-4373-2

Copyright © 2011 by Narelle Bitunjac and Fiona Debarge

Cover design: Lee Crichton

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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The information in this book does not replace medical or other professional advice you have which relates to your circumstances.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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In loving memory of Peta and Louise.

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Contents

1- Nannying Basics

What is a nanny?

Qualifications

Types of nanny roles

Rates of pay

Job descriptionConsiderations for short term live-in jobs

Considerations for live-in jobs

2 – Getting the Job

Where to find your job

Preparing for the interview

The interview

Confident and caring

Honest

Interested in their children

Likeable

Dependable

Special

Issues that may arise at the interview

What you should talk about at the interview

The live in position interview

Nanny insurance

Workers compensation

Superannuation

Sick leave

Holiday pay

Tax

3 – Keeping the Job

Positive role model

Living with boundaries

Achievable routines

You are the boss

General Safety

Safe Sleeping

Passenger in car

As a pedestrian

Poisoning

4 – Developmental Play

Fine and gross motor skills explained

Singing and dancing (gross motor)

Cutting and pasting (fine motor)

Water painting (fine and gross motor)

Fun dough (fine motor)

Concrete craft (fine and gross motor)

Self-portrait placemat (fine motor)

Height chart (gross motor)

Yummy body art (fine motor)

5 – Nanny-friendly Food

Childhood obesity

Hygiene

Misbehaving at mealtimes

Food for babies

Food for toddlers

Food for older children

Do’s & don’ts of cooking for kids

Recipes

Chicken kebabs

Tuna Mornay

Cheese and spinach pie

Ham, cheese and tomato pizza

Healthy hamburgers

Pop’s super simple vegetable soup

Fiona’s spaghetti bolognaise

Diana’s Chicken casserole

Cheese and tuna squares

Basic cheese sauce

Narelle’s vegetable patties

Shepherd’s pie

Miss Kasey’s Risotto

Sultana Cookies

Carrot Pancakes

Rock cakes

6 – Being a Green Nanny

Kitchen

Bathroom

Laundry tips

7 – Questions and Answers

8 – Final Thoughts

Networking

Recommended reading

The last word

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1

Nannying Basics

What is a nanny? Wikipedia defines a nanny as ‘a person who looks after the child or children of one family in the child’s home. Modern nannies may live in or out, depending on their circumstances and those of their employers.’

While this definition might reflect the current perception of a nanny, we don’t believe it accurately describes the full depth of the role. We define a nanny as: a highly skilled professional, responsible for the emotional, physical and social development of the children she cares for. A nanny manages all aspects of the home in the absence of the parents.

Qualifications

Essential:

Current First Aid Certificate

You need excellent first aid know-how when working with children as accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. This knowledge will allow you to know how to respond confidently, calmly and quickly to potentially life- threatening situations. We like the St Johns Ambulance course called for caring for kids.

Recommended:

Certificate III in Children’s Services (CHC30402)

As part of the Early Childhood Workforce Strategy, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has announced minimum qualification requirements. This means that by the end of 2013, all child care workers will have to be enrolled in or have completed the Certificate III in Children’s Services.

The course provides a great foundation for working with children and covers content which includes; child development, child health and safety, legal and ethics issues, and identifying and responding to children at risk of harm. The course is offered nationally by TAFE and private colleges.

Optional:

Nanny course at a private college

Diploma or a Certificate IV in Nursing

Whether or not you opt for one of these courses will depend on your personal interests, financial situation (private courses can be expensive) and your long term career goals.

Types of nanny roles

It’s important to remember that while these nanny roles are listed separately, the roles overlap sometimes.

Live-Out

As a live-out nanny, you will generally work for one family and be based in their home for specific hours and days as negotiated with your employer.

Live-In

Living in can mean moving in on a permanent basis or living in for several days or weeks at a time. We take a closer look at live-in positions in chapter 2.

Short-Term Live-In

At times you may be asked to move into the house and take over sole responsibility for the children and the house if the parents need to go away. We have a com- prehensive list of short term live-in considerations in Chapter 2.

Au Pair

The French term ‘au pair’ refers to a young woman who travels to a foreign country to experience a new culture. An au pair, who may not have previous child care ex- perience, lives and works with a host family. Her duties include looking after the children and doing housework. The host family provides accommodation, food and a small wage.

Manny

A manny is a male nanny and does the same job as a nanny. In the case of a single parent family where the mother has custody, a manny can be a positive male role model or when the father is away for work regularly.

Mother’s Help

Normally, a mother’s help has little or no previous experience of caring for children. For this reason, a mother’s help carries out her duties of childcare and house- keeping under the supervision of the parent.

Nanny Sharing

Nanny sharing is a relatively new trend within the industry. Nanny sharing can take a couple of different forms:

1. Sharing your days between two families

Sometimes a family who only needs a nanny a few days per week will get together with another family in a similar situation. They do this because they want the security of knowing they have a permanent professional nanny and because the arrangement can allow them some flexibility in terms of dividing up your time.

From the nanny’s point of view, the role is similar to a regular live-out nanny position. The difference is that you split your time between two families. In most cases, you’ll have a regular schedule. For example: The Brown family Monday, Thursday and Friday, and the Jones family Tuesday and Wednesday. However some families require more flexibility so your days will change on a weekly or monthly basis. If this is the case, you need to keep a diary noting your hours and days so that you can sort out your pay. This type of arrangement works best when the families know each other well and have a