list for new nanny - any ideas

[georgiebs]

Hi there, I am about to offer a job to a very good nanny ( I hope.) I wanted to give her quite a detailed description of her roles so that there's no confusion about what I would like her to do. Has anyone ever done this and what do you think could/should be included - if you are either an employer or a nanny. What would be helpful? Thanks very much, Georgie

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Hi there we have just employed someone who seems lovely and has great references. I have kept it to nursery duties in the contract (a standard contract-nannyjob etc-we got ours from nannytax should list these) and added 'see appendix 1' and then expanded on things I really feel strongly about like fresh air daily , physical activity, cooking variety of fresh and nutritious food(haven't put persuading DS to eat it-would try patience of saint) style of discipline, learning through play shapes letters counting (DS 2 ) encouraging socialising with playdates etc communicating through daily diary in the appendix.
It is much more detailed than with my first nanny because DS was just a baba then and also I had no clue and the nanny knew much more than I did about babies. Have also emphasised keeping communal areas tidy because we are moving and I will have a long commute and don't want to waste what remains of the evening tidying. I know she is experienced and will be fine but would rather have stuff in contract/appendix so we all know where we are. Also has helped me to clarify what i think I am looking for. i did discuss all this in her second interview and will give her time to have a detailed read and discuss prior to formalising

hmm if it ehlps here are some paragraphs from my previosue contracts:

Collect children from school at these times:

Prepare lunch and tea each day, when at school please either come to house briefly or plan a quick cook lunch so children can be eating by 12.30
tea time between 4.30 and 5
all snacks and food consumed at table
while dogs are in the dogroom

As a general rule all meals at home, exceptions being a sumemr picnic or meals out during occasional day trips

keep kids rooms and toy area and kitchen clean and tidy and ensure toys played with during day are put away at end of day

wash and iron childrens clothes / bed linen etc...

take children to any planned activities, swimming, library etc

Unless previously told never leave the children with any other person, however competant (exceptions, childrens dad and grandparents!)

by prior arrangement take to friends house for play etc, and either stay or collect later

by prior arrangement have there friends here to play

ensure a good balance of indoor / outdoor play

play with and entertain children at all times and encourage social and academic development, which in due course may include helping with home work

Report daily incidents / observations / concerns in a nanny diary. In emergancy you can call me on these numbers XXXXXXX ANY time

You are NOT expected to clean hosue or care for pets, but if you fancy a walk feel free to take the dogs with you!

(before the smoking ban: Never take the children into any smokey environment [i wouldnt even dream of it as i HATE smoke with a passion!])

please only EVER feed the children meat that is reared organicaly!

Children can play dressing up and face paint, etc but absolutely not with nail varnish or make up!

I think just a general list of things which you would do as a mum is helpful. For example: what time the children need to eat their meals, their likes/dislikes. Try and keep it all as positive as possible. There's nothing worse than being faced with a long list of 'negatives'. Encourage them to be social, joining some toddler/music groups etc. Keeping the house tidy should be encouraged as part of the daily routine! It would be nice to end the note with......above all, have a fun day

thanks so much, that is all REALLY helpful georgie

Try to avoid undermining the nanny. Once you have your list, ask yourself if you as a parent could comply with that list.
For example, looking at the list NannyL posted, one thing there which I thought would be tricky to comply with was never to leave the children with anyone else. If on a day trip the nanny needs to go to the toilet... is it better for nanny to take all the children into a cubicle or is it better for the children to be left for a short while with a close nanny/childminder friend (known well to the children) who was also on the day trip? Ideally I feel that you want the nanny to use common sense and do what is best given any particular situation.

Here's what we added as an appendix to our nanny contract, if it helps. Very long-winded I'm afraid. Stuff like leaving children in someone else's care/smoking/taking them to places where the primary purpose of going is not the children's interest (eg boyfriend's house) etc are included in our standard contract itself...

Things to do every day
 Dressed for school/nursery
 Breakfast for both children
 Make sure XX has gone to the loo before school
 Toothbrushing for XX
 Check school/nursery bags
 Make beds
 Off to school/nursery: XX drop off before 8.30, YY drop-off any time after 8.00
 If looking after YY all day, please try to arrange at least one activity away from the house each day.
 Pick-ups: 3.30 for XX, any time before 6 for YY
 Activity every day for XX before YY is collected
 Once both children home, prepare tea, make sure XX tidies away after eating.
 Toys etc tidied up
 XX to visit loo
 Clothes in childrens laundry basket
 Bath for both
 XX to clean teeth
 Stories in Bed and lights out
 After kids are down, tidy children?s stuff away if not done so earlier, make sure family bathroom in decent state, get clothes ready for morning and do childrens? laundry if necc.
 Check school/nursery bags are ready for following day
 Daily write-up: how much the kids ate, what activities they did, any nursery/school comments/ any concerns.
Things to do each week
 Need to keep on top of children?s laundry. Ironing to be done as and when necc (with a weekly catch-up to be done during weekly babysitting). Check-through of children?s toys ? set aside anything that needs to go through dishwasher/washing machine
 During weekly babysitting, maybe every couple of weeks: do a re-organisation of toys, put away stuff that isn?t getting used, bring out stuff to try to tempt them to do new things, rotate the books that are ?on display?, try to introduce a new ?good? toy each week (eg jigsaws, snap, counting games and so on)
 Weekly catch up chat with me over cup of coffee/glass of wine.
Things to do as and when/occasionally
 Keeping up to date with name tags in XX? school clothes
 Going through children?s clothes and sorting out those that no longer fit, folding them up and giving to me for storing
 Going through the childrens? clothes every 6 weeks or so and letting me know if it looks as if we are ?low? on something (eg not enough pullovers for winter). I try to keep on top of this myself but don?t want to have you washing the ?only pair of warm pyjamas? every day! Just keep track and let me know in case I?ve missed something. In XX?s case I am always caught out by sudden growth spurts which leave him unable to fit into his shoes/wellies.
 Please write down and let me know (or email me) if I am short of essentials such as wipes etc. Again, I will try to make sure this is a rarity
 So far I have always been able to do the childrens doctors appointments and so on, but there may be occasions when you will need to do this if I cannot get away (only if such an appointment falls within your normal hours of course)
Things that you definitely DO NOT have to do
 Tidying up after the adults (in any way, shape or format)
 Emptying the nappy bin
 The family bathroom gets properly cleaned each week; you don?t need to do this. Likewise only hoover the kids rooms/play areas if they have made a mess: we don?t expect you to do any ?housework?

Other ?stuff?
 You are welcome to make your own meals at our house during working hours, using any of our foodstuffs; please clean up after yourself. You will find plenty of stuff in fridge/freezer. Let us know if there are particular food things you want us to keep stocked
 We prefer that you do not use TV regularly with the kids but appreciate that two children can be demanding especially when trying to give baby bath for example?.TV is best restricted to the morning rush only, or when preparing tea (please limit to less than 30 mins morning/30 mins evening); please restrict channels to NickJunior, CBBC and similar
 Please try to instill good manners in XX at all times: eating at the table and clearing his plate away, waitng for everyone to finish before leaving the table, tidying toys away after using them, washing his hands after the loo and before eating, and so on. Feel free to offer/give reward stars on the chart by the kitchen door as an incentive.
 XX isn?t allowed crisps or sweets or chocolate or cakes etc (unless he has been given them at a party or something). He is allowed unlimited amounts of cheese, and fruit, which he is allowed to eat in the living room. He is also allowed an ice lolly each day (and this is always the best way to stop him crying if he hurts himself). If you are out with him during the day and stop for a coffee you can be a bit lax on what he is allowed to have, and if he is with playmates he is allowed to have whatever they eat/drink. We try to encourage him to drink water or milk in preference to ribena or apple juice, but he is allowed a glass or two of the latter each day ? but only after drinking a glass of milk/water first.
 Please never ever shout at the kids. If need be, put YY in her cot/playpen and put XX in front of the telly, and step outside the room for a minute or two if they push you to the edge. Feel free to call me or X or X if you need reassurance/assistance at any time.
 We make liberal use of the reward chart and we try to ignore bad bahaviour & praise good behaviour. We don?t use naughty steps or stuff like that. We?d prefer if you were consistent with us in all of this but if you have been taught different then let us know as we are flexible and happy to do what is best for the kids.

Suggested Activites
 XX loves swimming, going to the park, riding his scooter, jumping on trampolines, we would like you to try to take him at least once a week during the activity period between end of school at 3.30 and YY pick-up time at 6.
 The places XX loves to go to include XX YY and ZZ
 YY likes

We don't have a long list now, though we did the first time we employed a nanny.

Personally the most useful thing for me is the diary. In ours it details what was offered at meals, naps, playdates/ days out, when the shopping will arrive and calpol intake. Other notes at nanny's discretion (X ate no tea).

Babysitting requests/ days off also go here in case we forget to mention it in the excitement of handover each day - I have a live out nanny.

Then if I need to follow up on more organic meat and less chocolate ice cream I get the prompt. Also it means they don't get the same food 2 days in a row at weekends.

If she is good she might have her own ideas? Maybe you could swaps lists, or send her a draft. The discussion itself will probably be quite useful to clarify your thoughts and set things off on the right footing.