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How to Reject a Nanny Applicant Gracefully

Posted on September 18, 2013 by admin

Unless you live in a city where there are far more families in need of quality in-home childcare providers than there are available nannies, you’re likely to find yourself bombarded with applicants the moment you post a job listing. After you’ve narrowed that field of applicants down to your favorites, you’ll probably be faced with the prospect of interviewing several candidates. When an applicant is interviewed for a choice position, she’s likely to spend the next few days waiting on tenterhooks to find out whether or not she’s been chosen. The courteous thing to do is to let rejected applicants know that you’ll be going with someone else so that they can continue their job search. Doing so with grace and in a gentle manner, however, isn’t always easy.

Develop Your Own Form Letter

Whether it’s an email template or a form letter you’ll be sending through the postal service, written correspondence can be an ideal avenue for rejecting a hopeful applicant. A well-written letter that’s been penned with careful thought and consideration praises the applicant’s abilities while letting them know that there’s no room to negotiate regarding your choice. When a phone call has the potential to be too awkward or leave room for debate about your choice, it’s often easier to go with a pleasant, yet impersonal, form letter.

Keep Feedback to a Minimum

When you’re faced with an inexperienced candidate or one that simply didn’t interview well, it’s normal to feel tempted to provide them with a few pointers. More often than not, however, an attorney will advise you against providing detailed feedback, lest the reasons you state be construed as discriminatory hiring practices. Providing feedback over the phone or even during an email exchange also provides a miffed applicant with the opportunity to argue with your observations or refute your claims. To keep things professional, calm and to mitigate the risk of legal difficulties, it’s wise to forgo telling an applicant why you’ve decided not to extend a job offer.

Keep it Impersonal

Not only is it possible to be polite while remaining a bit aloof and maintaining a bit of distance when offering a nanny applicant an official rejection, it’s advised. You can take the time out of your busy schedule to point out that she said or did something you were truly offended by during the interview, but it will only lead to a debate and is highly likely to cause a major altercation. Be nice, but keep your correspondence matter-of-fact and impersonal, free from anything that could be construed as a personal attack.

Be Honest

Telling an applicant that you’ve decided to go with another candidate when the position hasn’t yet been filled is not only disingenuous, it’s also a falsehood that’s very easy to discover when you post a new listing or keep your existing one posted. Don’t tell a hopeful nanny that you’ve chosen someone else, but keep your honesty vague. There’s no reason to lambaste her or be deliberately cruel, but there’s also no need to leave her with well-intended but easily discovered lies.

Don’t Hold Up a Job Search

When you have several promising applicants on the line, it’s easy to make them all feel as if the position is in the proverbial bag until you make your decision. While this tactic will discourage them from seeking other opportunities, effectively minimizing your chances of losing a great nanny to another family, it also damages her chances of finding the employment she’s obviously seeking. Don’t provide false promises or imply that the job will be awarded only to later rescind that implied offer. Be direct from the beginning, even if you haven’t settled on another applicant. Remember, you don’t have to have a better option in place to reject an applicant. Every family’s needs are different, and not every nanny will fit the bill.

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How to Monitor The Quality of Care Your Children Receive

Posted on August 8, 2013 by admin

Leaving your children under the care of strangers, whether it’s center-based or through the services of a private, in-home childcare provider, can be a stressful situation. Ensuring that they’re receiving the attention and affection they need while you’re away can seem like a difficult proposition, but it’s actually not as complicated as it seems. There are ways for parents to monitor the quality of care that their children are receiving, even when they’re in the office on the other side of town. These tips can help you keep tabs on your childcare provider and, by extension, your children and their safety.

Make Unscheduled Visits

When the nanny knows that you’re due to return home at any minute or the pick-up time at a daycare center is approaching, it’s easy to make changes to reflect a positive and enriching environment. To truly determine how well your children are being looked after, it’s wise to drop in unannounced or make an unscheduled visit. Return home because you forgot your briefcase or drop by the daycare center to bring an essential item your child doesn’t have on his person. Make a point of coming in when you’re not expected and you’ll get a more accurate picture of daily routines and methods of operation when you’re not there to observe them.

Consider Video Monitoring

Depending on the state in which you live and the laws in your area, you may not be able to legally record a nanny in your home without disclosing the existence of the camera to her. Many daycare centers, however, are beginning to offer remote video monitoring through secure webcam feeds that allow you to watch your kids play and learn, right from your computer. If you have opted for in-home care, be up front and honest about the installation of nanny cameras. Even if they’re legal for undisclosed placement in your state, the discovery of a hidden camera is enough to irreparably damage your nanny’s trust and could be the root of a major dispute or turnover.

Keep a Nanny Log

While a large, crowded daycare center isn’t exactly conducive to logging and documenting the events of the day, an in-home childcare provider is more capable of keeping a detailed nanny log. Create a journal for your nanny to share the events of the day, make notes regarding any medications that have been administered and share updates and scheduled events in order to keep everyone in the loop and informed. You will be able to get a reasonably accurate picture of how things are handled in your home while you’re away through a well-kept nanny log.

Talk to Your Children

If your kids are verbal, you should be able to talk to them about the quality of their care. Keep in mind that young children often have trouble distinguishing between fact and fiction, though, and be skeptical of reports that Nanny turned into a fire-breathing dragon after lunch. Closely observing kids that aren’t verbal can also help you determine how attentive their childcare providers are. Look for diaper rashes that can indicate neglect, excessive hunger or unexplained injuries. Keep track of how many diapers are missing from a diaper bag or nursery and compare them with the number of average diaper changes your child requires when you’re home. There are ways to quietly and discreetly monitor your nanny or a daycare manager without accusing her of neglect, and you should take advantage of those tactics for the safety of your children.

Talk to Other Parents

Other parents with children in the same daycare center as your own or previous employers of the nanny currently working for you can be great sources of information regarding the quality and work ethic of a childcare provider. You can also ask others for feedback who see your nanny interact with your child.

Talk to Your Childcare Provider

One of the most direct routes you can take is to form a relationship with the people caring for your children, and to ask directly about how things are handled when you’re not there to supervise. You may be surprised at how honest and open your nanny or a daycare center worker really is when they’re actually engaged in conversation.

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How to Check Up on Your Nanny When You Don’t Have Nanny Cams

Posted on June 23, 2013 by admin

Entrusting the care and well-being of your children into the hands of a relative stranger, no matter how experienced she is or how highly recommended she comes, is anything but easy. When you’re away from the house for hours on end and aren’t sure of what’s going on, the stress can be exhausting. There are electronic monitoring devices that can be hidden in almost any household item you can imagine, but the ethics of spying on your unwitting nanny are questionable and the devices aren’t legal in every state. If you want to monitor your nanny but don’t want to resort to a nanny cam, there are things you can do to check up on your kids throughout the day.

Call Regularly

While it’s neither feasible nor wise to call your nanny every few minutes throughout the day, calling occasionally can give you a basic idea of what’s going on in your home while you’re away. Keep in mind that excessive amounts of phone calls will leave your nanny distracted from her primary goal of watching your children, though. Keep the number of calls reasonable enough that they’re not expected and you’ll be able to get a basic update on your kids and the day’s events.

Request That She Maintain a Nanny Log

There are a variety of reasons why you might want to consider instituting a policy of maintaining and updating a nanny log, including the reduced likelihood of double medication doses due to lack of communication between you and your childcare provider and staying abreast of any small details throughout the day. A well-kept log also helps you determine how nanny is spending her day and ensures that she’s making your kids’ welfare her highest priority.

Ask Your Kids About Their Day

If your children are verbal, they can be one of your most reliable sources of information when it comes to their nanny and her conduct. Keep in mind, though, that toddlers and preschoolers have vivid imaginations paired with a reduced capability of distinguishing fact from fantasy. If your child tells you that the nanny is riding a broomstick around the house or tried to put her in the oven, you may want to think twice before confronting her about such tales. Asking your kids what they did during the day and what their favorite things were, however, can give you a fairly accurate picture of the activities and events that took place that day.

Track Supply Usage

Suspicions that your child is being neglected are devastating, but unfounded allegations of such an incendiary nature are just asking for trouble. One good way to gauge how well your child’s needs are being attended to is to survey the amount of diapers and food in the house with a reasonably accurate estimate of how much of those items your child would require in the amount of time you were away. A large surplus of diapers paired with a painful, irritated rash are strong indicators that diapers aren’t being changed in a timely manner, for instance.

Come Home Early

When you’re faced with the demands of a busy career, slipping away early isn’t always easy and if you do it too often, your nanny may start to catch on. Still, coming home unexpectedly very occasionally lets you get an accurate picture of your home and kids before your nanny has a chance to go into her closing down routine. You should expect, however, that the house may be less tidy than you’re accustomed to and some tasks may not be completed. Remember, the purpose of coming home early is not to scold a great nanny for not anticipating your early arrival, but to ensure that your kids are being treated well throughout the day and that no house rules are being broken.

Keep an Eye Out for Injuries

Kids fall down, trip over things and generally struggle with staying upright for quite a few years, so you can’t blame every scrape or bruise on your nanny. An abundance of injuries, or any that aren’t age appropriate, however, can be cause for concern. If your older child seems to have more scrapes and cuts than you think is normal, it could be a sign that your nanny is less than attentive. Injuries on young babies, however, may point to something a bit more sinister. There’s no reason why you can’t question your nanny about injuries your kids sustain; after all, part of her job is to make sure that they’re safe and protected.

It’s natural and normal to worry about your kids when you aren’t there to look after them. Still, leveling false allegations or implying that a great nanny is less than competent is almost certain to backfire. Understanding the difference between natural concern and unfounded suspicion is essential for your sanity and your family’s ability to keep a quality childcare provider on the books.

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10 Unwritten Playground Rules All Parents Should Follow

Posted on April 7, 2013 by admin

The playground is a place of sweet release for the children that frequent it, but can be as packed with drama as an afternoon soap opera for the adults looking after them. While there’s little that can be done to stave off simple personality conflicts or differences in opinion, adhering to a bit of playground etiquette could help to keep animosities to a minimum. These are ten of the rules that all parents and childcare providers should follow at the playground, regardless of their situation.

  1. Don’t Feed the Kids – You may think that peanut allergies are overrated and that there’s nothing wrong with exposing kids to a bit of peanut butter and jelly, but that doesn’t mean that your opinion is one that will be appreciated by other parents or even one that’s based in fact. Parents are well within their rights to impose dietary restrictions on their children, and they don’t need you to fill their little ones with processed snacks, probable allergens or sugar when their back is turned. If you didn’t bring the child, don’t feed the child.
  2. Pack Healthier Snacks – As an extension of the first rule, try to keep other parents in mind when you pack your playground snacks. Even if you see no reason why stuffing a child with chocolate and soda is frowned upon, realize that other parents are trying to instill good eating habits in their children. Part of good etiquette is being conscious of those around you, so save the sugary snacks for the privacy of your own home and make the decision not to negatively impact the efforts of other parents by waving processed sugars and fats around the park.
  3. Clean Up Your Own Messes – Leaving your candy wrappers, plastic bags, paper towels and dirty diapers all over the playground isn’t just unsightly and rude, but also terrible for the environment and an awful example for the kids that are looking up to you. Teaching your kids to clean up after themselves means that you’ll have to model that same behavior, so don’t leave a trail of garbage as you traipse around the playground.
  4. Keep Your Voice Down – Gleeful shouts and shrieks of joy are the soundtrack of the playground; bellowing adults are just disruptive. If yelling is a tactic you resort to in order to get your kids’ attention at home, look for another way to do so when you’re out in public. The other parents will thank you.
  5. Only Discipline The Children You Brought – If you see a child that refuses to share or is being rude to the other kids, it’s not your responsibility or your right to correct his behavior. Just direct your child away from him and use that behavior as a talking point with your own kids about how not to behave. Intervening or chastising a child that isn’t your own is just asking for the wrath of his parents, who aren’t likely to take kindly to the implication that they aren’t parenting properly. However, if a child under your care is being bullied or has been hit or pushed by the child of another, stepping in and informing his parent or caregiver is the right thing to do.
  6. Play Nice With Other Adults – The other parents and childcare providers at the playground may get on your last nerve, but you can’t very well expect your children to play nicely with their peers if you’re actively instigating trouble with your own peer group. Remember the old adage about what to do if you can’t say anything nice, and refuse to get pulled into any drama.
  7. Take Responsibility for Your Own Children – A crowd of adults doesn’t absolve you from the responsibility of looking after the children you brought. You’ll quickly become a figure of resentment if you establish a reputation for ignoring your kids because you expect other parents to supervise them.
  8. Hands Off the Smartphones – It’s difficult to be attentive when you’re playing a word game on your smartphone that requires your full focus. Even if an afternoon at the playground is the only chance you get to relax during the week, make sure that you’re not ignoring your kids in favor of your phone.
  9. No Nanny Poaching – Watching the perfect nanny interact with her charges day after day can be so tempting; all you want is to find a nanny like her for your own children! No matter how wonderful she seems or how much you dislike her employers, remember that nanny poaching is a playground no-no. Few things are as sacred as the working relationship between a great nanny and her employers; violating it by attempting to poach that perfect nanny will almost certainly lead to major trouble.
  10. Keep Your Judgments to Yourself – The beautiful thing about parenting is that as long as you’re not actively harming your children, you can do it just about any way you like. With that freedom, though, comes the responsibility of realizing that you won’t always agree with the way that other people parent their children. It doesn’t matter how wrong you think they are, keep your judgments and observations to yourself unless they ask for your opinion directly. Even then, be careful how you word things. Feuds with other parents on the playground are easy to start, but can be almost impossible to resolve.

If you’ve been guilty of breaking these rules in the past, it’s not too late to change your ways. You may not ever be the favorite among other playground parents, but you can avoid future conflicts that seem to bubble up from time to time among play-group parents and nannies.

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12 Tips for Keeping the Backyard Safe This Spring

Posted on April 3, 2013 by admin

With the warm weather comes the overwhelming desire to get outside and into the sunshine. Before you tear the kids away from their televisions and video games and urge them out into the fresh air, though, you’ll want to make sure that the backyard is the safe haven for fun and games that it’s supposed to be. These 12 tips can help you eliminate common backyard hazards so that your family can enjoy the beautiful weather without fear of injury.

  1. Kid-Proof Your Swing Set – As soon as the weather allows, your little ones will make a beeline for that swing set in the backyard. Before you let them go to town, make sure that it’s in good shape and is safe for them to play on by giving it a thorough inspection. Any protruding bolts or nails should be repaired, the ground should be covered with a shock-absorbing material and any rusty equipment needs to be replaced.
  2. Put a Locked Cover on Your Spa – Hot tubs are a wonderful way to relax, but they can be very dangerous for small children. To make sure that a curious youngster isn’t able to gain access to your spa, invest in a locking cover that you keep in place at all times the spa isn’t being used.
  3. Consider Ditching the Trampoline – The American Academy of Pediatrics’ position on trampolines is very clear: don’t let kids near them. There are things you can do to make a trampoline marginally safer, but nothing will take away from the fact that the contraptions are inherently dangerous.
  4. Fence in Your Pool – If the backyard houses a swimming pool, springing for a fence that’s at least five feet tall and impossible to climb is a smart move. Even if you don’t have children of your own, swimming pools can be irresistibly alluring to little ones that could meet a tragic fate if they tumble into the pool and there’s no one around to rescue them.
  5. Invest in Rescue Equipment – Just as you’ll want to make sure that your swimming pool has a kid-proof fence around it, you’ll also want to invest in a few life preservers and other emergency equipment to ensure that you’re always prepared should the unthinkable happen.
  6. Double-Check the Placement of Your Grill – When your grill isn’t being used during the winter months, it’s not uncommon for it to be moved or shifted to the side a bit. Before you fire it up for the first celebratory barbecue of the season, though, you’ll want to make sure that it’s clear of any low-hanging branches or structures that could go up in flames if the grill gets out of control.
  7. Look for Poisonous Plants – There are a variety of attractive and hardy plants that present a deadly risk to kids and pets, so you’ll need to brush up on the plant life your landscaping design is harboring. Make sure that none of them are poisonous and that any questionable specimens are removed.
  8. Clear Away Debris – Winter winds, storms and snow can create a pile of debris on your lawn, and each piece can present a tripping hazard for kids and adults alike. Before letting the kids and pets loose for a jaunt in the sunshine, give the property a good once-over that includes the clearing away of last season’s debris.
  9. Eliminate Standing Water – Mosquitoes can breed in shockingly small pools of stagnant water and can carry a variety of diseases that cause very real health complications. Make sure that birdbaths and other standing-water features are changed regularly, and that stagnant water sources are eliminated as mosquito breeding grounds.
  10. Inspect Your Deck – Your deck will need a coat of water sealant and protectant on a regular basis, but the harsh elements of winter can still damage even a treated deck. Make sure that there are no splinters, cracks or protruding nails that can injure bare feet before the shoeless season begins.
  11. Scout for Infestations – Wasps’ and bees’ nests are no laughing matter. Make sure that you eliminate any sources of potential infestation, especially if a member of the family suffers from insect sting allergies.
  12. Put Away the Power Tools – It’s easy to leave a piece of equipment lying out when you’re taking a short break from spring repairs and cleaning, but those power tools can be more dangerous than the hazards you’re using them to repair. Make sure that you never leave tools unattended, especially if there are children on the property.
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10 Things Moms do That Could Get Them in Trouble with the Law

Posted on March 13, 2013 by admin

Parenting is a tough job under the best of circumstances, but there are things that can get mothers into legal trouble today that wouldn’t have been frowned upon at all in previous generations. While some of the transgressions on this list are far more serious than others, all of them can lead to trouble with the law if you’re discovered behaving in such a manner.

  1. Leaving Kids in the Car Unattended – This may seem like something a good parent would never do, but it’s actually far more common than you might realize. News reports tell of kids who were left in the car and died due to heat stroke or freezing on a regular basis, many of which never make it past the local level of news outlets. You probably think that you would never do such a thing to your child, but then may make exceptions when situations seem to call for them. Even attentive, dedicated parents will leave their kids unattended for “just a second” to run into the store or drop something off, never realizing the danger. Leaving your child in the car unattended for any reason is not acceptable, and can lead to very serious legal trouble if you’re discovered.
  2. Failure to Use Proper Vehicle Restraints – Some police officers get very riled up when they see parents driving with kids unbuckled or not in the proper car seat for their weight and height. Most parents have encountered times when the kid just didn’t want to stay in the car seat, and may even consider letting them briefly take the belt off. It can be very stressful, but it is much better to stop and handle the situation rather than let your child remove the seatbelt.
  3. Spanking – “Spare the rod and spoil the child” is an axiom that older generations grew up with. Now, in many states, spanking is banned. Some parents have had to deal with Child Protective Services as a result of physically hitting their child in public. Whether or not you believe spanking is acceptable, knowing the laws in your state is still a wise move.
  4. Leaving Children Home Alone – Getting the mail or going down the hall of your apartment building to do the laundry may not seem like such a big deal, but in many states leaving young children alone for any length of time is a problem. In reality, it doesn’t take long at all for a tragedy to occur with unsupervised little ones. Even though it may be inconvenient, it’s best to either take the child with you or wait until someone else is in the home and can watch him.
  5. Using an Underage Babysitter – Some states have laws regarding the appropriate age for babysitters. Years ago, preteens could make pocket money by sitting for younger kids. That’s not the case anymore. There are guidelines and rules for sitters that are established on the state level. For example, if you live in Illinois, leaving your 14-year-old alone for an “unreasonable period of time” will put you on the wrong side of the law. A few states away in Maryland, however, 13-year-olds are able to babysit infants. Check your local laws to find out what’s acceptable in your state.
  6. Breastfeeding in Public –There is much being done in support of breastfeeding, but in many areas it is still against the law for a mom to nurse her child in a public place. It does sound ludicrous that a parent can get in trouble for feeding her child in public, but it’s better to know and abide by the rules and work to change them then to get in trouble for bucking the system.
  7. Allowing Kids to Drink – While some families allow their children to have a taste of wine at special meals, it is illegal for minors to drink in every state. There are some parents who believe that they are heading off trouble by allowing their kids to drink at home, but they could actually be courting trouble of the legal variety. Some parents feel that teens are going to drink regardless of permission, and that teenagers under the influence are safer at home than sneaking around. It’s still against the law and parents can get in big trouble by condoning underage drinking.
  8. Inappropriately Defending a Child – Occasionally, the news media will do a story about a Mom being hauled off by the officers for getting out of control. Unfortunately, it’s not so unusual for some parents to get overly involved in the outcome of their child’s sporting event or group outing, causing embarrassment to the child and disrupting event. When this behavior gets out of hand to a worrisome degree, law enforcement often becomes involved. It’s better to keep a level head at the little league game, even when the ump makes a bad call.
  9. Truancy – Whether it’s through fault of the child or the parent, failure to force compliance with school attendance guidelines is a serious legal issue for parents. Some kids will manipulate their parents into letting them stay home, or they may just skip school on their own. There are also over-protective moms who keep their children home at the first sign of any cough or cold. Too much missed school can lead to truancy charges, and that can lead to a visit with legal officials. If a child has valid reasons for missing a lot of school, arrangements need to be made so that authorities are aware of the circumstances.
  10. Domestic Violence – Many women do not realize that when they are being abused by a partner and the child is witness to that abuse, they are actually endangering their child. This is a criminal offense, and unfortunately one that happens far too often. If you are being abused, seek help right away and do not allow your child to be an endangered witness to your abuse.

You may not even be aware of the fact that you are breaking the law in some cases, as you feel that you’re making appropriate choices for your child and household. It’s best to check the laws in your state to make sure you are in compliance, especially in the realm of leaving the kids home alone and using disciplinary tactics.

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How to Snoop on Your Kid While He’s Online

Posted on February 10, 2013 by admin

As kids approach adolescence, their need for privacy and insistence upon keeping parts of their life away from the prying eyes of a parent can make it difficult to monitor their activity. With the advent of smartphones that allow your child to carry the Internet around with him in his pocket, the need to make sure that he’s not getting into online trouble can feel even greater. While it’s usually more effective to attempt an open dialogue about what is and is not considered appropriate online behavior before resorting to spy-level surveillance, there may be times when snooping feels like the only choice.

Monitoring Software

Even less than tech-savvy parents can learn to navigate parental monitoring software, which is designed to run in the background and be undetectable by users. There are several varieties of monitoring programs, all with different features and levels of functionality. One thing that they all have in common is an ability to reveal all the things your child is doing online when you’re not there to look over his shoulder.

Limit Computer Use to Common Areas

If you’ve opted not to give your child a web-capable smartphone or a laptop, then you may find it easier to snoop while he’s online if the main computer is located in a high-traffic area of your home. When your child knows that a simple glance his way could reveal questionable web content he’s viewing, he’s more likely to think twice about what he looks up. Not only will you be able to keep an eye on what your child is looking at, but you’ll also be able to influence him into making better choices based solely on your nearby presence.

Check Your Browser History

Older kids with more advanced computer knowledge may be savvy enough to delete their browser history, but younger kids and tweens may not yet have the required know-how. After your child uses the computer, take a moment to scroll through the browser history. You’ll be able to access all of the pages your child has recently viewed, allowing you to get a good idea of what areas need to be addressed most.

Fake Social Networking Profiles

If your children haven’t deleted you from their Facebook friends list yet, there’s a strong possibility that they’ve learned to manipulate the safety and security settings so that they can block what you’re able to see. One way to make sure that you’re seeing everything posted on your child’s timeline and every interaction he has is to sign up for your own fake profile and use it to add your child. Unless he’s naturally suspicious of strangers, he probably won’t block the visibility of his posts to a new friend.

Keystroke Recording Software

Every email, every message and every web search can be recalled with a keystroke recorder, along with your child’s passwords. If you have a serious reason to believe that something is wrong and you’ll need to be able to confront your child with concrete evidence to make a difference, keystroke software may be the way to go. Be warned, however, that a child who’s not actually involved in questionable activities will almost certainly feel that she has no privacy or grounds for trusting her parents. In the event of an emergency, these programs can be quite valuable tools for parents.

 

Webcam Monitoring

There are ways to remotely view everything the webcam in your child’s computer sees, but it’s wise to think long and hard before resorting to such things. No invasion of privacy is as personal or as upsetting as being actively watched when you’re not aware of it. Furthermore, there are some sights a parent just doesn’t need to see.

Smartphone Apps

Do you want to track your child’s movements with an online GPS service connected to his phone or block content he’s able to view with the device? There are a slew of kid-monitoring apps available for smartphones that can help you keep tabs on your child when he’s away from home.

These methods will help you track and monitor what your kids are doing online, but there is no app or program to replace the trust that is almost certain to be lost when your child discovers the depth of your investigation. Before resorting to underhanded means of finding out what your youngster is up to, you may want to attempt having an open, judgment-free conversation about boundaries, appropriate behavior and the implications of being careless on the Internet.

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10 Reasons Parents Should Not Have Guns in the House

Posted on January 8, 2013 by admin

Children are infinitely curious creatures by nature, and always want to learn how things work. While this naturally curiosity is a great trait to have, it can also manifest itself by enticing them to play with things that can be harmful, if not fatal, to them. Children are well known for raiding all of mom and dad’s hiding spots and they will mess with anything from money to guns. The best way to avoid accidental shootings is for parents to not have guns in the house, and here are 10 great reasons why.

  1. Curious Kids – All children want to learn how things work. They do not think of the consequences and sometimes don’t even understand them. Even guns that parents have thought are well hidden and out of reach have been discovered by inquisitive kids. When this discovery leads to an accidental discharge of the weapon, leaving either the child or another person seriously, if not fatally, wounded, it is a true tragedy.
  2. Accidental Shootings – Accidental shootings do happen. The thing is, there are an infinite number of possible reasons they occur.  Accidental shootings can happen when a gun is unintentionally discharged inside of a home or when a child is left unattended where a gun is located. The only way to properly guarantee there is no chance of accidental shootings is to not have any guns in the home.
  3. Youthful Ingenuity – Many parents do not understand the ingenuity that their children possess, and thus make the mistake of assuming that their child is too naïve to find mom or dad’s hiding spots for their weapons. Today, however, many children are ingenious enough to not only find the hiding spots, but also to either pick the locks or find other methods to get inside areas that they were locked out of.
  4. Burglary – Burglary is a very scary situation. What is even scarier, though, is the thought of having your own gun pulled on you by the robber. Another possible situation is suspecting that you hear a burglar, only to find out that it was a loved one sneaking about the house for one reason or another.  Either of these can have catastrophic consequences after a split second decision.
  5. Teenage Suicide – Teenagers are already experiencing a very emotional period in their life, and may begin to feel inadequate or even depressed. By not owning a gun, you are making it that much harder for a teenager to act on their feelings of despair in an irreversible way.
  6. Your Kid’s Friends- You may assume that you can trust your kids when it comes to your guns, but have you thought about how well you can trust your children’s friends with your guns? Too often, children and teenagers are influenced to do things by their friends that they would never do on their own. If your kids know there are guns in the home, their friends will likely be aware of the fact as well. Peer pressure can be a dangerous thing. Removing the guns solves that issue.
  7. Youthful Irresponsibility – Children tend to be irresponsible, which is a good reason to abstain from having guns in the home in and of itself. Whether the child is bragging and showing it off to a friend, or they are playing some child’s game with it, their irresponsibility can cause themselves or someone else to get seriously, if not fatally, injured.
  8. Lack of Safe Storage – Being the owner of a gun or guns comes with responsibility. If you do not have a safe storage place for your gun inside your home, it should not be there.  Any guns that are kept inside a person’s home should be kept in a gun safe with its ammo being kept under lock and key in another location. Without this safety precaution, guns in the home remain a danger to children.
  9. Lack of Parental Supervision in the Home – One of the biggest reasons that children get hurt or hurt someone else while playing with guns is a lack of parental supervision. Without proper supervision and guidance, children can get into all kinds of mischief. With guns in the home, that mischief can turn deadly.
  10. Parents Lack Firearm Knowledge – Having a lack of firearm knowledge isn’t just dangerous for children; it can be for the adults in the household as well. Without having proper knowledge of how to use a firearm, a person may accidentally mishandle it and cause an accidental discharge. Many children have been injured or killed when their parents accidentally discharged a weapon in the house.

Whether it is childhood curiosity or an accidental discharge, guns can cause fatal injuries to people when they are not handled properly. The best way to keep children safe from guns is not to keep them in the home.

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10 of the Most Important Things to Include in Your Nanny Contract

Posted on January 3, 2013 by admin

A comprehensive nanny contract is a must for a successful nanny/family relationship. Your nanny contract should outline all the details of your job, your expectations of your nanny, and her expectations of you. By outlining things in advance, both parties have a written record of what was agreed to, which can prevent a lot of misunderstandings and confusion later down the road. Here are 10 things you should include in your contract.

  1. Notice period. Make sure to outline how much notice you want your nanny to give you if she decides to quit. Also outline how much notice you’re willing to give her if you plan on firing her. A typical notice period is between 2 and 6 weeks.
  2. Severance pay. Sometimes you’ll have to let your nanny go due to no fault of her own. You might decide to stay home with your child or your child might be heading to school full-time. If you’re not able to give your nanny the full notice period promised, it’s standard to give her severance pay.
  3. Schedule. Outline all the hours the nanny will be required to work. Make sure to include any babysitting that you’re requiring your nanny to provide. Also include travel dates if your nanny is required to go with you.
  4. Responsibilities. Detail exactly what tasks the nanny will be responsible for during the day. This can include child related tasks like laundry, meals, cleaning up the kitchen after meals with the children, and straightening up the play room. It can also include family related tasks like family laundry, errands, and dinner preparation. If you need flexibility with your nanny’s duties, make sure to discuss that with her first and include a flexibility clause in your nanny contract.
  5. Pay. In this section, detail how much your nanny earns. To comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, the nanny’s pay should be broken down into the hourly rate she earns for regular hours and the hourly rate she earns for overtime hours. This is also the section to outline the taxes that will be withheld from the nanny’s paycheck.
  6. Vacation and holidays. List how much vacation time the nanny will receive each year. Include if the time will be paid or unpaid time off. If the nanny is required to take her vacation time at the same time your family takes vacation time, make that clear to help prevent confusion later on. Include any holidays the nanny will receive off and if those days will be paid or unpaid.
  7. Use of the nanny’s car for work purposes. Many nannies today use their own car to transport the child they care for to school, parks, play dates and other activities. They also often use their cars to run errands like grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning or returning items to the store. When the nanny uses her own car for work, she should be paid the IRS mileage reimbursement rate for each mile driven. That rate covers normal wear and tear, gas and insurance costs.
  8. Professional development benefit. Regular training helps your nanny continue to learn and grow in her field. This directly benefits both you and your child. Many families offer to pay for classes their nanny takes. These can include CPR/first aid certification, childcare classes through the local community college or professional nanny conferences.
  9. Confidentiality clause. Your nanny is privy to many of the private details of your home life. Make sure that you include a confidentiality clause in your nanny contract to prevent your nanny from sharing any personal or confidential information about your family. Most nannies wouldn’t intentionally share your family’s personal information. They usually do it without realizing it. By including a confidentially clause you bring it to the forefront and make your nanny aware of your expectations.
  10. Household rules for your live-in nanny. If you have a live-in nanny, there may be rules around her living in your home and they should be included in your nanny contract. These can include a guest policy, the alarm procedure for late night entries, and areas of the house that’s family only. Make sure to discuss all the household rules with your nanny before assuming she’s OK with them.

Once you’ve written your nanny contact, make sure you and your nanny review it completely and talk about any issues that aren’t clear. When both sides are happy with the contract, it should be signed and dated and you both should keep a copy for your records.

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10 Signs a Nanny Candidate Might Be the Wrong Choice

Posted on December 5, 2012 by admin

Hiring a new nanny generally requires that you spend hours, and maybe even days, sifting through a pile of resumes simply to make a list of candidates suitable for first-round interviews. After investing so much time and energy to narrow the field, it can be tempting to hire the first candidate that seems remotely qualified because the task of talking to several different candidates is often so daunting. There are, however, several red flags that can indicate a nanny candidate’s potential unsuitability for a childcare position in your home. Taking these 10 warning signs into consideration can help you to reduce the likelihood of turnover and ensure that your children are in great hands while you’re away.

  1. She Has Limited or No Experience – Minimal experience is a common deal-breaker for many parents. While it’s true that every Mary Poppins in the rough must get her start somewhere, a marked lack of experience could mean that a candidate simply isn’t equipped to deal with any childcare emergencies that may arise.
  2. Her References are Friends and Family – A candidate who’s vague about her work experience and has a list of references comprised solely of friends or relatives could be hiding a lack of experience, or attempting to camouflage a less than savory employment history. If a request to contact prior employers is met with reticence, it could be a sign that a particular candidate is hiding something.
  3. She Doesn’t Have CPR or First Aid Certification – Choking incidents are much more common than many parents realize, and can easily be fatal if a caregiver has no practical knowledge of life-saving techniques. Kids are also notorious for being reckless enough to cause themselves accidental injury, so it’s essential that any candidate you consider have ample training and certification in both CPR and first aid.
  4. She’s Not Willing to Be Tax Compliant – Among domestic workers, the rate of tax compliance is remarkably low. While this can often just as likely be a result of an employers’ reluctance to tackle the complicated system of nanny taxes as a nanny’s refusal to obey the law, there are nannies out there who prefer to be paid “off the books.” If a candidate refuses to work in accordance with state and federal tax laws, it’s a good idea to opt for someone else. After all, you’ll be left facing the penalties and fines if your non-compliance is discovered.
  5. She Refuses to Cooperate With a Background Check – Modern nannies understand that a cursory background and criminal records check is par for the hiring course in today’s world. A candidate that refuses to sign a release may be doing so on simple grounds of protecting her privacy, but could also be attempting to obscure a checkered past.
  6. Her Education is Limited – While an Ivy League education absolutely isn’t necessary to care for, protect and love children, an extreme lack of formal schooling can make it difficult for a nanny candidate to help older children with homework or offer tutoring services. Nannies should at least have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
  7. Your Children Seem Uncomfortable With Her – There’s a difference between natural shyness and an outright discomfort with a particular person; if your children seem noticeably standoffish with a candidate or reluctant to engage with her during a trial period, she may not be the best choice for the job.
  8. She Doesn’t Understand or Respect Your Parenting Style – It’s important that a nanny respect the basic tenets of your chosen childcare philosophy, even if she doesn’t subscribe to them herself. If your parenting and disciplinary style is met with derision or confusion that can’t be easily cleared up, it might be wise to move on to the next candidate.
  9. She’s Very Young – It’s neither wise nor ethical to discriminate based on a candidate’s age, but it is important to consider how much practical experience and competence a girl fresh out of high school has. Before making the decision to hire a candidate, it’s wise to take her age and maturity level into account.
  10. She Asks Questions About Salary and Benefits, But Not Your Children – Though a childcare post is a job above all else, a candidate that’s consumed with discussing compensation packages, perks and benefits without ever asking about your children may not be as interested in a career as a quality childcare provider as she is in a paycheck.

While these 10 signs are among the most common, the list is by no means exhaustive. The reasons for choosing not to hire a particular candidate are as varied as the nannies themselves, meaning that you’ll have to think carefully about what is and is not acceptable to you and how a nanny can best suit your individual needs.

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