First day as a nanny - any tips?

[springbaker]

Hello, can I please have some tips on what I should do on my first day as a nanny and settling in session with the children?

It depends on various things - how old are the DC (and how many)? Are you’re going to have a handover session with your boss? As a former nanny employer, I’d expect to do this for the first part of the day ((I’d have taken a late start to facilitate this) but that won’t be possible for everyone. If not, I’d hope you’d ask about the DC’s routine beforehand so you can stick to it as closely as possible in the first few days to minimise disruption for them, and also about any food likes/dislikes, any fears/anxieties, what activities they like etc as well as the important medical questions of course. And how the parents approach discipline should it be required, so again you can be consistent. Then it would just be a question of following their normal routine, getting down on the floor to play etc so you engage them quickly and perhaps not being too ambitious with the outings etc until you feel you’re on top of everything!

Go with the flow. Do what the children want to do, within reason. Aim to go outside at some point - walk around the area. Depending on the age of the children, they may know the route to their favourite playground. Could go for a outing to see where the school is, where pre-school is, where church hall is or other venue for activities, get a feel for the area.

Go through safety things with the parent(s) such as making sure car seats fit in your car if you are using your car to transport children. Having a key to get in the home and what their usual procedure is for keeping the house secure.

Find out where things are... coats, gloves, hats, boots, waterproofs, school bag, clothing, nappies & associated things, food & cooking utensils, cleaning equipment. How to use the washing machine, dishwasher etc.

Spend time playing with the children to see what they like doing.

Definitely get time with parents to agree what's important to them and what are their dos and don'ts. What do they expect in terms of routine. How things work in house.