Raising children puts a huge burden on the shoulders of parents and caretakers alike. By agreeing to such a responsibility, you commit to doing the best job you are capable of with the resources you have. Such resources include the things you know, creativity, nurturing skills, love, and patience among many others.
You need all these tools to become a skilled nanny or babysitter. In addition, there are many other things to consider when choosing to pursue a career as a nanny. Preparation is mandatory for success.
To start with, you must understand that these children aren’t your own. Their parents are the ones who must make all decisions that concern their care.
The thing you have control over is your expected income and fringe benefits. Always make sure you sing a written agreement before you start working and work out your salary using a nanny salary calculator UK. This will come in handy in the event of any misunderstandings or disputes later on.
Also, make sure you know what age-appropriate tools and materials are available, in order to use them in your activity with the children. By using the right tools, you’ll make the best out of your endeavour of helping children grow and develop durable skills for life.
What Is A Nanny?
You must raise these children in accordance with their parent’s values and morals. If you fail to acknowledge this fact and to abide by it in your work, you’d better find yourself another job. No matter how much these children and their parents love you, they will always be the parents, the only individuals who can have a say in their children’s education and moral principles.
This is why you ought to assess how compatible you are with a family’s moral values and beliefs before agreeing to become their nanny. If you don’t resonate with them, you’d better try to keep searching for families until you find one that matches your own set of beliefs and values. This will make it easier for you to abide by the parent’s rules, since you’ll find them logical and reasonable. By not following the parents’ rules, you may confuse the child and generate a wide range of problems that could lead to the deterioration of your work relationship with the family. For example, if parents don’t agree that their child gets involved in risky activities but you allow this child to climb a jungle gym, you’ll create trouble. You’ll feel that this is a perfectly safe activity while the parents will feel that their child could get harmed. Just imagine what if the child falls and gets a cut. Even when it comes to a minor wound, the parents would go crazy over it and they would be right. Besides, the parents will feel that they cannot trust you to take good care of their child, so you may even lose your job.
What About Discipline?
To start with, keep in mind that spanking and other such forms of punishment are strictly forbidden. Even if the parents to spank their child, you are not allowed to do it, just because you are not the parent. Learn some effective non-spanking discipline methods, as you’re surely going to need them in your work with inquisitive or disobeying children.
Also, you must agree with the disciplining methods the parents prefer. This is something to discuss prior to starting your job as a nanny. Also, find out what the parents consider right and wrong and follow their disciplining tactics. Always be careful when asking questions, as parents should never feel that you criticise their methods.