preparing for a new daily nanny

[plumpjuicyraspberry]

My first ever nanny starts with me soon and I want to get ready for her...

there is so much I dont know about it- does anyone have any tips to get ready for her...

I was thinking of

• creating some cupboard space in kitchen for specific kids foods/
• same for shelf in fridge/ drawer in freezer
• creating a list of local activities with some things i want her to do each week.
• creating a day in the life of.... for each child. Including their likes/dislikes and a bit about both of them

I also want to request that a weekly meal and activity plan that I review in advance on last day of previous week. I can then do a food order and have food stuffs in for the following week.

Is that all reasonable- any more stuff i can do to prepare? make it as good as possible for her? What are common worries for new but experienced nannies?

How old will your DC(s) be?
Plenty of freezer containers for kids foods. I bought silicone muffin trays which are great for freezing large ice cube portions of bolognaise sauce etc. They can then go in the freezer in large labelled freezer bags.
Your list above and plan sounds good.
House rules re food - sends me completely interstellar to go to the store cupboard to find that items which I always bulk order like tinned tomatoes have been completely used because of a big batch cook, not added to a shopping list and I've missed out on the online shop.
I'd do some batch cooking myself to allow the nanny to settle in and get the kids into a routine without having to fill the freezer simultaneously. Any new job is exhausting when you start.
Emergency contacts - location of medicines, plasters etc (plus a set for the pram), red books, emergency £20 in an envelope for taxi to hospital.
Contact "policy" - what do you want to hear from her on and how frequently. If a lot, then do you expect her to pay for the texts/photo messages.
List of duties - don't rely on discussions you've had at interview. If you want their sheets changed once a week, write it down.

Emergency contact form for the nanny's family in case anything happens to her.
Start thinking about dates for Christmas already. If she's not a local, she'll be wanting to book trains and flights soonish. She'll be wondering how to broach the subject this early

thanks Oscar. Kids will be nearly 1 and 4.5.

Good point re xmas... will think about that so i can request my time off when i get to back to work

Watching with interest. We're in the same position and some good tips from Oscar. We're going to put a wipe clean monthly planner on the kitchen wall so we can keep up to date with appointments, activities etc. We also plan to use this to write notes for the nanny and vice versa. She will want to get away as soon as I come home and not spend 15 mins telling me how the youngest didn't eat lunch/napped for an hour etc so she can add this to the board and go.

The activity plan sounds a bit regimented to me and as a nanny would put me right off, ok for an inexperienced au pair, but not a nanny imo.

One of the benefits of having a nanny is that she can organise activities flexibly around your DC, what they want to, what the weather is like etc. Having it set down the week before is just a bit silly/pointless. What if there is some unexpected good weather on a day they plan an inside activity? Or bad weather on a day they plan to be outside? What if they plan to go to the park, but on the way bump into a friend who invites them for a play and the DC really want to go? Is the nanny supposed to say 'sorry that's not in this weeks schedule'?! What if the DC are playing really well at home, but a library visit is scheduled? What if they have a big day out planned, but DC has a bad night/is under the weather?

There are just too many ifs, ands and buts to schedule a week in advance. By all means ask at the end of the week 'any plans for next week?', but allow it to be fluid like 'we'll do the library one day and if the weather is good the farm one day' etc. You can ask each morning what the plans are for the day and ask the nanny to keep a diary of what they've done. You need to let go a bit.

You need to organise how you'll pay for things e.g. kitty/expenses at the end of the month.

It's standard to provide lunch for the nanny so make it clear what she can/can't have. Ask her if there is anything specific she wants.

Remember that her finish time is the time she leaves. If you want to be reviewing meal/activity plans make sure you're home in time to do that.

Remember that the nanny won't do things exactly as you would, but that's ok. She'll find her own rhythm and as long as the DC thrive, it's fine!

Mild I'd recommend a nanny diary for all that sort of stuff, good for planning things more than a month in advance e.g. holiday etc, a permanent record in case there are any disputes down the line, plus a nice memory for you/the DC about what they did/were doing at different times. I've been in my job 5 years+ and the parents have kept all the diaries, it's really nice to look back on and the kids love to know 'what was I doing this day last year?' or think its funny if it says they had a tantrum because some Shreddies are not perfect rectangles for example! They're much too grown up for tantrums now .

thanks outraged... i will skip the activity planner!. Will also unclench a bit.

What about the food / meal planner?

Outraged is right about the activities. Nonetheless, I think it is good to set a level of expectation about the nature and frequency of the activities and outings. If you find that DC always seem to be out of sorts and having a duvet day then I'd start to question.
Outraged - can you recommend a nanny diary? I've just googled it and found this www.thenannydiary.co.uk/

If you want a specific meal for the kids just tell her in the morning that you have left stuff in the fridge for a spaghetti Bol/fish pie, this is what my boss does. We also have a mileage and spends diary and kitty, this gets sorted at the end of the week. If there is a particular activity like tumble tots then fine but I tend to decide with the children on activities daily dependent on the weather/any special offers on etc

I give my nanny access to the online grocery shopping account and she adds in what she needs for DD and herself. It is then delivered early Monday morning and nanny puts it away.

We just use a normal diary Oscar. We have a page per day one. We use the year planner bit to keep track of holidays, we have everyone's details in the name/address bit (mine, both parents, grandparents, school, doctor, my next of kin/emergency contact, other nannies we see regularly).

Day to day I write down what we've done, where we've been and who with, any new words/developmental milestones, what they've eaten, how much they've slept, any medication that's been given (the time and dosage), any little funny things they've done/said and any expenses. Any accidents that require first aid are recorded with what happened and what first aid was given, the parents then sign this to indicate they've been informed. We also use this bit for upcoming events like playdates, school play, half day at school, doctor's appointments etc.

There is a little pocket at the back where we keep library cards, receipts etc.

Show her where fuse box, stop cock for water are just in case.

Decide on whether you will be leaving her a cash kitty for activities, odd grocery pickups, ask for receipts. Or if you want to pay her back at the end of the week/month. Most nannies would rather a cash kitty topped up when needed.

I used to give my boss a list of food to add to the shopping list for delivery on a Monday but not a list of meals planned as I would batch cook several meals from the same stuff ie mince but the children would only have one kind that week, so would make chilli and spag Bol but only give them say spag Bol all chilli would go in freezer.

Car seats will you need to swap them over all the time or do you have a set for her to keep in her car if she is happy to.

watching with interest and bumping!