NANC Gazette - The Temporary Nanny

January 2008
National Association for Nanny Care
NANC Gazette
Thank You to Our Nannypalooza Attendees and Sponsors!
The Lindquist Group
The Katie Facey Agency
Homework Solutions and 4nannies.com
America’s Nannies
Essentia Software
And all our program advertisers
Please remember these sponsors when choosing services this year.
Refer them to other nannies and families!
These sponsors show their support of Nannypalooza and help us keep costs low!
Big Changes for NANC
Many exciting changes are happening at NANC right now.
After Nannypalooza this year, we met with Sharon Easterling, Executive Director of DVAEYC. This group started
out much like us, a few dedicated volunteers with a dream.
Now it is one of the largest affiliates of NAEYC and employees a full office staff. This is the direction we need to
go with NANC in order to support the credential.
Our first job was to reorganize our committees and increase our board size. This first board is our transitional
board and we will be adding to it at our next Nannypalooza. Nannypalooza has now become our annual conference and there will be an annual meeting held at the end of
Nannypalooza.
Also we have refined our job titles. Lora Brawley will be
heading up all credential work, while Sue Downey will be
planning and running Nannypalooza. Other board members
will take over membership duties and publicity.
Please visit our website at www.nannycredential.org. There
you will find bios for our new board members, information
on our new committees and new ways for you to be involved
in NANC. We are really counting on all our members who
have shown us such great support to help take us to the next
level.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that
ever has.
-Margaret Mead
NANC Gazette
Nannypalooza 07– Wrap Up!
When we hatched the idea
for a conference, we were
thinking only one year. Then
this year we thought we
would try it one more time.
But as we feel the positive
energy and great thoughts
that everyone is sending to
us, the fabulous offers of help
and the comments from
“vintage” nannies and newbies alike, we are sure this
will be an annual thing. We
are officially making it the
yearly conference for NANC.
Our mission was and always
will be to afford a professional rejuvenation for nannies of all types. We want to
bring quality training to nan“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting
nies
atoraquotecost
affords
sentence
from thethat
story here.”
everyone, from first year or
part time nanny to seasoned
veteran the chance to participate. This goal is crucial. At
the same time we wanted to
provide businesses with essential information at a price
every business could afford.
And we wanted to encourage
nannies and businesses to
communicate on issues. We
wanted to encourage a friendlier, more cooperative relationship between all parts of
our industry. At Nannypalooza, I am encouraged by
the fellowship that happens. I
have seen ideas being shared
and friendships being formed.
It makes all the difference for
many nannies.
Some things about Nannypalooza we have got right. It is
an informal, fun atmosphere
but always professional. It is
friendly and inclusive and
accepting of all nannies and
business owners. We encourage the relationships between
Page 2
nannies and businesses and
allow for open and honest
dialog. We have great workshops overall. We have gotten speakers from outside our
industry as well as some of
the top names within our profession to share their knowledge and insights. We put the
conference on the weekendso that nannies who do not
get professional time off can
participate. We have kept the
costs as low as humanly possible. There is no other
source where you could get 6
workshops, three meals, and
numerous other benefits for
$75 as a nanny. We extended
workshop times as you suggested so that there is more
time for questions.
There are some things about
Nannypalooza we are going
to try to improve. We are
looking at new workshops on
topics you suggested- things
like infant massage, difficult
behaviors, school age kids,
contracts and more. We are
going to try harder this year
to give you more information
earlier. The registration process is difficult on our limited
budget but we will continue
to tinker with it in order to
make it more streamlined and
user friendly. We will continue to try to bring you benefits such as T-shirts and other
like items. I vow that this
year coffee will be available
first thing in the morning on
both days. I learned this lesson for sure!
There are unfortunately
some things we can not
change at this time. In order
to keep our costs low, we
have to ask speaker to come
for free or at a low cost. If we
are asking them to give us
their time, we must fit them
into a time slot that is most
convenient for them and
sometimes this means the
schedule will be a little off
balanced. Some of you have
asked for more in depth
workshops on topics- sessions longer than an hour–
however, we want to keep the
conference relevant to all
nannies. If we offer a wide
variety of workshops. While
some nannies are ready for 2
or 3 hour sessions on topics ,
some of our attendees want
shorter sessions on as many
different topics as possible.
We are limited in the food we
can provide for the conference. Hotels mark up every
food item 27%. We know
many of you would like a
more center city location in
order to see the sights etc…
but we want to keep costs
low and a center city hotel is
much more expensive and
you would have to pay for
parking or for taxi’s to and
from the airport.
While many of you would
like us to move Nannypalooza – this is not in the cards
at this time. There are many
reasons, the most important is
price. In Philly we can offer
the following things which
have been essential to a majority of our attendees
• A drivable distance for a
large percentage of the
nannies along the eastern
seaboard
• An all in one locationhotel, workshops etc. all
under one roof
• Hotel costs much lower
than other metropolitan
areas like Washington
DC, New York and Boston
• A conference planner in
the area (that would be
me!)
So for at least one more year
we are planning on keeping
Nannypalooza in Philly. We
will keep the price the same
and offer even more benefits!
I would welcome anyone
interested in helping to plan
the conference to get involved and help out this year.
We are forming the committee now. If you want palooza
to visit your city- help us plan
this year and you can plan it
next year in your own back
yard.
Please continue to give us
your feedback. We strive to
be the best conference that
we can be and to incorporate
as many of your ideas as we
can. We want to be responsive to your needs. And we
have a challenge for each of
you. Please help us get the
word out. Tell someone in
your local area about Nannypalooza- someone at the park
or in music class. Tell your
agency or tell your nannies.
Bring a friend next year and
if you are a vintage nanny,
bring someone you would
want to mentor. The only
way to have more choices
with things like speakers,
locations and the like is to
grow!
Thanks for making Nannypalooza the success it is. Honestly, your energy and enthusiasm keeps me going!
- Sue Downey
Save the Date!
NANNYPALOOZA ‘08
October 4th and 5th, 2008
New for 2008
Exhibitor Tables
∗ Sat Evening Reception
∗ All New Workshops
∗ New Sponsorship
Opportunities
∗
Join us for this fun and exciting conference!
Workshops for nannies and businesses!
Low conference fees!
More networking opportunities than ever!
Responsive to your input!
Early Bird Registration will start in March!
Interested in advertising or sponsorship opportunities? Want to help plan Nannypalooza? Do you have a great idea
to make Nannypalooza more successful than ever? Email me! [email protected]
Photos from Nannypalooza 07
For those who use the
IRS standard mileage
rate for the reimbursement rate for using your own car, it’s
increased to 50.5
cents as of Jan 1st.
Page 3
If you have photos from Nannypalooza you would be willing to share
please contact Sue Downey.
NANC Gazette
Celebrate! January Birthdays
As the holiday excitement
wanes, keep the winter blues
away by continuing
to celebrate. In fact, you
could have cake and candles
almost every day
this month if you want to
observe the birthdays of Paul
Revere, Betsy Ross,
Ben Franklin, Louis Braille,
Jacob Grimm and Martin
Luther King Jr.
If you can give your
son or daughter only
one gift, let it be
enthusiasm.
-Bruce Barton
Here's a suggestion: bake a
double batch of cupcakes the
first week of the
month, pop them in the
freezer, and take out enough
for your family each
day you want to celebrate a
birthday. Besides cake and
candles, read (or
have your children write) a
quick bio of the birthday person.
There's all sorts of other projects you can do as part of
these birthday
festivities.
* Read Longfellow's "Paul
Revere's Ride" and then
check the National
Endowment for the Humanities site [link at the end of the
article] to
answer the question, "How
accurate was Longfellow?"
* Check an encyclopedia at
the library or on the Internet
for photos of
the different American flags,
starting with the one supposedly crafted by Ross.
* Have each member of your
family research a different
one of Franklin's
inventions and discuss how
this portly statesman might
Page 4
have tried out these
innovations. (Can you imagine him testing swim fins?
Did he use an odometer
with a horse and wagon?
How do you suppose he
made the first pair of bifocals?)
Another day, create your
names in Braille by pressing
a pen point into
paper, or read one of the
Brothers Grimm stories like
"Cinderella," "Hansel
and Gretel," or "Rapunzel."
Older kids may want to research how these folk
tales have been revised
through the years to be gentler and more moral; a
National Geographic web site
has some of the early versions [link below].
Most communities have
events to observe King's
birthday. In addition,
consider the example of cities
and states that are asking
citizens to use
the day for community service. In Bloomington, Ill., for
example, the city
is sponsoring "A Day On!
Not A Day Off!" to honor
King's philosophy that
"everybody can be great, because everyone can serve."
For Jan. 18, "Winnie the
Pooh Day," observe the birthday of Winnie's author
A.A. Milne by reading some
of Milne's stories--maybe
with a teddy bear
picnic! Or, pull on rubber
boots as Christopher Robin
used to do, and stomp
around in the puddles in
Hundred Acre Wood. Teenagers (or baby boomers)
may be interested in the biography of Milne (see
www.wikipedia.org, which
says that Milne's country
cottage was later the home of
a member of the
Rolling Stones) or the memoirs of the real Christopher
Milne, which are
discussed at The Page at
Pooh Corner [links below].
Links:
- National Endowment for
the Humanities:
http://edsitement.neh.gov/
view_lesson_plan.asp?
id=393
- National Geographic -Grimms' Fairy Tales:
http://
www.nationalgeographic.co
m/grimm/index2.html
- Wikipedia article on A. A.
Milne: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
A._A._Milne
- The Page at Pooh Corner:
http://www.pooh-corner.org/
index.shtml
Reprinted with permission
from
Parenting Press News for
Parents, copyright 2008. For
a no-cost
subscription, see
www.ParentingPress.com/
signup.html
Sensory Stimulation Ideas!
(or ways to make a mess and have fun!)
Share fun and giggles with your
children. These engaging ideas
will captivate and stimulate your
child’s senses and ignite your
child’s thirst for learning.
1. Fingerpainting with a twist.
Try different fingerpaints besides the traditional store bought
kind. For example: Chocolate
pudding paint. Just buy a can of
ready-made pudding from the
grocery store. Or Jell-O finger
painting: Mix together 1 package
of Jell-O and 2 Tbsp hot water in
a small bowl being careful not to
over mix. Let cool 5 to 10 min.
before using. Paint on tin foil for
a neat effect. For some more
edible food craft ideas visit
http://create-kids-crafts.com.
2. Play dough. Play dough is fun
to squish, squash and create
with. No need to go out and buy
some, there’s a great recipe be-
low. Make an easy playdough
rose for an idea: 1. Roll out a
thin, long snake and press it flat.
Loosely roll it up like a rug from
one end to the other. Spread and
press each layer out a bit. 2. For
the leaves, flatten a piece of play
dough with your hands. Cut out
2 leaf shapes with a plastic knife
and press them
onto the bottom
of the rose. For a
photo of the
playdough rose
and other cool
playdough creations for
kids(little and
big) visit my web
site below.
3. Bubble blowing without tears.
Here’s a great recipe that uses
“tearless” baby shampoo that
won’t sting eyes if bubbles get
splattered in little eyes. 3 cups
water, 1 cup baby shampoo, 1/3
cup light corn syrup. Mix all
together in a large bowl.
Kool-Aid Playdough Recipe(Adult assistance and supervision required)
4. Oobleck. Who says small
children have short attention
spans? This alone fascinated my
2 yr. old at the time for 45 minutes. Recipe: 1 cup cornstarch,
1/3 cup water, 5 to 7
drops food coloring
(optional). Mix water
and food coloring
together. Slowly add
cornstarch. Do not
stir. Let the mixture
stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Pick a handful
of the oobleck up and
squeeze it until it
forms a hard ball. Open your
hand and the oobleck will turn
from a solid back into a liquid. If
it gets too dry after awhile, just
add a bit more water.
1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 small pkg. unsweetened KoolAid (6 g pkg)
1 ½ Tbsp cooking oil
1 c boiling water
Mix flour, salt, oil and Kool-Aid.
Add boiling water; stir and
knead until cooled and smooth.
Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. This playdough will
be the color and scent of the
Kool-Aid you used.
Remember to supervise little
kids with these ideas to ensure
that with some of the ideas they
don’t put things in their mouth.
Gift Membership Special!
As we make our changes to
the structure of NANC we
have a great need to grow
the size of our organization.
We need a strong membership to accomplish our next
major goal of getting the
credential up and running.
In order to accomplish this
we are announcing a new
initiative. We are asking
each of our members to
really work on getting the
word out about the benefits
of NANC and the credential.
For a limited time, we are
offering the chance for you
to really help us in a meaningful way. You can buy gift
nanny memberships for only
$10 each. You can give
these memberships to
friends, colleagues, or nannies from your support
group. There are only valid
for nannies that have never
been a part of NANC before- new members
only.
You can also buy a bundle5 memberships for $45 or
10 memberships for $90.
Businesses- this is a fabulous chance for you to include memberships with
your placements! What a
great perk for any nanny!
This is a great opportunity
for you to help us increase
our membership and help to
increase the professionalism
within our industry.
We challenge all members
to buy a gift membership for
a deserving colleague! If
you believe in the work we
are doing to make the credential a reality, if you have
experienced the enthusiasm
that it Nannypalooza, if you
know someone who could
benefit from our newsletterthis is the time to spread the
message. Email us at
[email protected]
now for more info and to
order your gift membership
today!
Special thanks to
the following agencies that have been
generous in giving
out gift memberships! We appreciate
their leadership in
helping NANC to
grow!
•
American Domestic
Agency
•
NannyCare
Connections
•
Elite Nannies
•
Nannies Plus
NANC Gazette
Making a Newsletter
By Stephanie Felzenberg, Best Nanny Newsletter
Why bother? Because the rewards are there for those who
use newsletters to keep in touch
with clients and nannies and
those who market to potential
clients and nanny candidates.
Nanny agencies can combine
marketing and education to potential
clients and nanny
candidates and
maintain relationship and interest
from those they
have already had a
business relationship
with. Nanny support
groups can keep
members current on
organization activities, calendars,
deadlines, and meetings.
1. Build loyalty: Send out a
regular newsletter to your clients, nannies, or members to
build loyalty. Better informed
clients, nannies, or members are
better customers.
2. Educate: A regular newsletter
can educate clients, nannies,
members, or prospects.
3. Boost credibility: Publishing
a newsletter is a way to send out
great information with your
name on it.
4. Stay in touch: Advertising
not in your budget? Exhausted
your public relations options? A
newsletter is a low-cost advertising opportunity and can keep the
business or organization name in
front of a small, well-defined
audience.
5. Repeat your message: Repetition is an important facet of a
successful communications program. A newsletter is another
way to deliver your message.
6. Control. Control. Control:
Audience. Message. Timing.
You control it all with a newsletter.
7. Cost efficiency: Send out an
electronic newsletter, to save on
time, printing, and postage. Plus,
email newsletters can be used as
content on your web site.
Why use a newsletter instead
of just relying on a web site?
Web sites are intended as a gateway to information and subscriptions. The focus of a web site is
ease of use and as a tool to learn
more about the newsletter offered.
A newsletter is more like a personal communication between
the user, the publisher, and the
columnists. The newsletter must
address a need in the busy life of
a subscriber. A subscriber is the
person who receives the newsletter, even if the newsletter is offered free of charge.
Standard Topics For Inclusion
-- The newsletter's contact information, key staff details and
contact information, and the
company or organization contact
information, and after-hours
numbers if relevant.
events such as a monthly or
quarterly listing of free events,
educational opportunities,
agency activities, and conferences.
-- Write about a partnership you
have built with a business or a
person outside your
industry and explain
how and why you did
it.
-- Create a list of
learning opportunities
in the nanny industry.
-- Write a profile of a
great nanny or family
in each issue.
-- Book review or
product review.
-- Children's craft or
recipe.
News and information
The sort of news they would
want in their newsletter might
include:
-- Debunk a trend in the industry. Explain why you think this
trend is temporary, foolish, impractical, etc.
-- Any activities offered by your
business for nannies, children, or
parents.
-- Articles, together with pictures, covering recent events.
-- Reminders about membership
benefits, discounts available, and
so on.
-- Recaps and analyses of past
events and comparisons to current ones.
-- Requests for volunteers, subscriptions, donations, and membership renewals.
-- Stories, including pictures,
about individual members, staff,
volunteers, donors, people
helped by the organization, local
and visiting celebrities linked to
the principal organization, and
corporate sponsors.
'How-To' Articles and Features
-- Health and safety of children.
-- Crafts, activities, recipes, and
projects to do with children.
-- Communication with employers and/or children.
-- Any aspect of the
nanny/family relationship
(interviewing, contracts, benefits, and so on).
Balancing Material
Last, but by no means least,
nearly all newsletters would be
better 'balanced' by use of some
of the following:
-- Photos of clients and families,
activities you sponsor, activities,
and so on.
-- Quotations, proverbs, and
other 'pearls of wisdom'.
-- Photo essay or layout and use
detailed captions to get your
point across or see what happened at an event.
-- Include a liberal amount of the
above types of material into your
newsletter and readers will actually look forward to each edition.
Be the Best Nanny Monthly
Guide is America's favorite color
nanny magazine. The 16-page
nanny trade publication is written for all child care providers
who strive to help children reach
their best potential. Be the Best
Nanny Monthly Guide discusses
the most important issues for all
nannies, au pairs, doulas, baby
nurses, mother's helpers, babysitters, group child care providers,
family home care providers, and
the parents who employ them.
www.bestnannynewsletter.com
-- A specialized calendar of
Congratulations to NannyCare Connections for receiving their employment
Page 6
agency license allowing them to place in NYC.
Ask the Expert– Infant Sleep Schedule
place on a flat still surface in the
crib or bassinet. As children’s
sleeping patterns mature this is
the most restful, restorative
sleep. All sleep is not equal.
Sleep in the swing, bouncy seat
I was recently asked this ques- or car is not the deep restorative
tion by a new
sleep that baby
mother of triplets,
needs to grow
“I have found
but all new mothers
and thrive. The
have this same goal. appropriate sleep, which key is to put the
From all of my rebaby down for
leads to a well rested sleep in the crib
search as well as
practical hands on baby, is the foundation while drowsy but
experience, I have
awake, allowing
upon which proper
found appropriate
them to drift off
sleep, which leads to growth and development to sleep on their
a well rested baby, as well as overall health own. This makes
is the foundation
the crib become a
upon which proper throughout life is built.” familiar,
comgrowth and developforting place to
ment as well as
be. Jodi Mindell
overall health throughout life is the associate director of the
built.
Sleep Disorders Center at ChilNewborns can and will sleep just dren's Hospital of Philadelphia
about anywhere. As they ap- says an inconsistent bedtime
proach four months of age this routine, need for parental preschanges as they become more ence after lights out or expectasocially aware. They want to be tion of being lulled to sleep in
more involved with their sur- the car can interfere with natural
roundings and tend to stay patterns.
awake if not in a quiet desig- 2) Follow a routine of nurse or
nated sleep place like the crib. feed, a brief awake time and then
Their brain is also maturing down to sleep. For breast fed
which allows baby the biologic newborn babies this will be
ability to control his own sleep, a b o u t
including a longer single sleep every 2-3
period of up to nine hours, which h o u r s ,
usually occurs at night.
bottle fed
So, how do we promote sleep should be
and lay the needed foundation? around 3
Begin by establishing good hab- h o u r s .
its from day one on the first day This may
home from the hospital. Be as be difficult
consistent as possible. By start- in the first
ing these habits early, sleep couple of
problems can be prevented. It is w e e k s .
easier to create good habits than Let’s face
to break bad ones.
it,
newThe four key elements to creat- borns are
ing good sleep habits are 1) put s l e e p y baby to sleep on a flat still sur- heads, however they will soon
face 2) a feed, wake time, sleep become more alert for brief periroutine, 3) full feedings during ods during the day. Keep the
the day, and 4) putting baby playful wake time to no longer
down drowsy but awake.
than one hour. Start the soothing
1) Sleeping should always take process before the baby reaches
What can I do to ensure the
optimum growth, development,
sleeping & eating habits, etc.
for my babies when they come
home from the hospital?
Page 7
an overtired state. It is recommended to have a consistent
daily wake up time, regular naps
and a bedtime that fits your family and baby’s needs.
This
schedule should remain the same
everyday, as much as possible,
as this provides predictability for
the babies, helping them know
what comes next and develops
along with their immature circadian rhythm.
3) Feed your baby every three
hours during the day, even if it
means gently waking the baby.
As your baby grows he will be
able to consume more at each
feeding. Encouraging full feedings every three hours makes it
possible for your baby to consume the needed calories during
the day, lessening the need to
feed during the night after six
weeks of age when, according to
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy
Child, night sleep begins to
lengthen.
4) Establish a “sleepy time”
routine that will provide predictability and help the babies settle
for sleep. This can include rocking, cuddling, a lullaby and/or
story. Use a shortened version
for naps. Be watchful for the
babies’ sleepy cues and begin
6:30-7:30pm, proceeded by the
full “sleepy time” routine, establishes bedtime. By 2-4 weeks of
age your baby’s elimination will
begin to decrease at night making it no longer necessary to
change diapers unless it is dirty.
All night feedings should be
done in a darkened quiet room
with as little interaction as possible to lessen stimulation and
promote a return to sleep.
Around the four month mark,
mentioned earlier, day sleep
begins to develop into 2-3 longer
naps. First to develop is a morning nap of usually 1-1.5 hours
duration at around 9:0010:00am. A few weeks later the
afternoon nap of 1.5-2 hours
duration develops around 12:002:00pm. A short catnap of 30-45
minutes duration will most likely
continue to happen in the late
afternoon as well, until somewhere between six to eight
months of age. This is a natural
time to adjust to a four hour
feeding schedule.
Always keep in mind that all
children develop differently,
have individual temperaments
and your circumstances and
family structure will vary. Illness and emergencies occur
causing the need to make
adjustments. All of these
variables must be considered
when setting and following
your child’s daily schedule.
Jamie Chamberlin, Monitor
on Psychology, Vol. 35, #2,
APA, 2004, page 44
Dr. Marc Weissbluth,
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy
Child, Random House, 2003,
page 14.
the “sleepy time” routine early
rather than late. It is recommended that babies NOT be
rocked to sleep as this impedes
their ability to self soothe. A
final “day” feeding between
Clelie Bourne is the Temporary
Nanny! She is a newborn care
specialist with almost 20 years
of nanny experience. Visit her
website at
www.temporarynanny.com
National Association for Nanny Care
Goals of NANC
Contact Us:
General Information
National Association for Nanny Care
P.O. Box 23387
Federal Way, WA 98093
202 318-9156 / Phone
815 366-9765 / Fax
Email ~ [email protected]
Have a specific questions?
Membership/Credential ~ Lora Brawley,
[email protected]
Newsletter/Nannypalooza ~ Sue Downey
[email protected]
•
To raise the overall quality of nanny care.
•
To raise the public’s awareness of the nanny as a childcare professional.
•
To provide real world guidelines regarding hiring practices, working conditions, and compensation for nannies.
•
To maintain an inclusive, responsive professional organization that
represents the needs of all segments of nanny profession.
•
To develop and maintain a comprehensive 3 tier nanny credential
system built on research-based, generally accepted standards of care
and essential core knowledge areas. Also, to support the individual
nanny in her pursuit of credentialing.
•
To promote the credentialed nanny as the standard for in-home
childcare providers.
www.nannycredential.org
The Credential Corner
As we get ready to really get our three tier
credential up and running, there are many
things we would like to highlight and discuss.
We would like to answer any questions
or concerns that you have with the credential or the credentialing process.
Please submit these questions to
[email protected] and keep
watching the newsletter for your answer!
Q: What if I am a bad test taker? Why
is there a test involved? Why isn’t the
credential just a test?
Many people have asked me what will
happen with the NANC credential test.
There is a great deal of anxiety for some
people when it comes to standardized
tests. These tests are essential to the
credential. If you have no test- how will you
judge if a candidate has knowledge of childhood nutrition, development, or really how
will you judge any of their professional
knowledge? A test is an impartial way to ascertain a nanny’s knowledge. There is not
another effective way to accomplish this.
But a test can not tell you everything about a
person. A test is a COMPONENT of the
NANC credential because it is a part of the
puzzle and not the
whole picture. The
other components
of the credential,
the resource file,
the continuing
education hours,
the opinion papers,
observations, written competencies
and all the rest will
give us a much
broader picture of
the nanny as a
caregiver.
and available to everyone. The goal of the
credential is not to separate out nannies that
know from those who don’t but instead to
provide the information so that all nannies
know!
One thing that is
truly tantamount to our success with the credential is that we support the nannies going
through the process. It is our responsibility as
professionals to encourage others in our profession. Mentoring is the key. The other
equally important way to support the candidates is to provide written materials and study
aides that teach- that are accessible, affordable
A test is surely a tool to use to make sure this
happens, but it is not the end of the story.
There are more parts to the puzzle and many
more people need to be involved. In lifting up
each other we elevate us all!
As a nanny I am ashamed every time there is
a news article on a nanny who is irresponsible
or even dangerous. Those nannies should not
be hired it is true- but often I feel like those
nannies had good intentions. They were trying
to work to support themselves and their families. But they did not have the skills or information to do the job correctly and safely. As a
profession, we should be making sure that
every child that is left at home with a nanny is
cared for by someone who has a minimum
standard of care skill set.