Quick Tip Tuesday: Q-tips

By: Karen Musclow

Do you want to allow the children to paint but don’t want a big mess to clean up? Paint with q-tips instead of brushes. Put just a little bit of paint in small containers (baby food containers, egg cartons, etc.) or squirt a little paint directly on the paper. Then give each child a Q-tip or two and let them go to town. This is also a great way to introduce infants and young toddlers to painting. Of course, watch closely to make sure Q-tips don’t end up in mouths or ears!

Q-tips are also great to use for counting activities. Grab 10 Q-tips and wrap them with a rubber band to make a group. Do this several times and you can work on counting by 10’s. You could also count by 5’s, 2’s or any other amount you wish to count by.

Have other creative ways to use Q-tips? Please share in the comments!

Adventures in Playgroups

By: Karen Musclow

After I got my job as a nanny, my SAHM friends immediately started talking of getting together and having play dates. I was very excited about this and thought of all the fun things we could do together with the children and that, best of all, I’d be able to hang out with my friends every other week or so. Sound great, doesn’t it? But then, reality hit. My at-home friends live almost a full hour away from where I work! Was I really going to put the children in the car for two hours just to hang out with my friends? And then, on top of that, charge Family D mileage? It quickly struck me that this was not going to work.

Through an acquaintance, I quickly found and connected with other nannies through CincyNanny. I saw that they schedule play dates and hold Nannies Night Out and I thought “what a great solution.” However, once again, reality struck as most of the play dates are north of the river and I work on the south side. Or they were on Wednesdays, when I don’t work. Or at times that just don’t mesh with the children’s schedule. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great group and I enjoy hanging out with all of them after work hours. But for me, most of the daytime get-togethers just aren’t practical.

I was starting to feel a bit frustrated and so I stopped looking around at options for a while. Then school started and I was faced with having a three-year-old who no longer had his daily playmate around. I decided I needed to find some type of playgroup to get involved with in order to provide socialization for T (and me!). I decided that I would need to reach out and make some new friends. With Family D’s permission, I visited www.Momslikeme.com and went to the Cincinnati site. I then began scouring the message boards for playgroups.

I found one, located in NKY, which sounded like it might be a good fit. This group uses www.meetup.com to connect and plan outings. I visited their Meetup page and found that it was a great fit! Mostly stay-at-home moms with children preschool-age and younger. When I filled out the information to join the group, I made sure to clarify that I am the nanny, not the mom. The leader said that was no issue at all and readily accepted me. The group meets numerous times a month in all sorts of venues and all different days of the week. We go when we can and it’s no big deal if we can’t. In fact, though the group has about 40 members, there are usually only 5-10 at any particular play date. Most of the activities are free or of little charge, so I don’t feel like I’m spending too much of Family D’s money. I also feel love it because it’s local and I don’t rack up a lot of mileage joining in.

I was a bit nervous the first few times we joined in, but the women are welcoming and made me feel at ease quickly. T loves being able to play with others his own age and E (11 months) seems to enjoy watching everything. If you’re looking to get out and get socialized, I’d strongly recommend checking out your local playgroups. It has certainly worked well for us!

Nanny 101: Leading By Example

By: Greta Schraer


Over on Regarding Nannies, is the next edition of Nanny 101. Nanny 101 is what I consider the basics each new nanny should know or...every seasoned nanny should be reminded. Happy Reading! 

Nanny 101: Leading By Example
By: Great Schraer


Sometimes kids are like computers: input and output. They spend more time listening and watching than we realize. We met some neighbors the other day who were interested in seeing the inside of our house. My husband obliged, but said “don’t mind the mess”. He meant an unmade bed, some dishes on the counter and so on, but the neighbor’s 5 year old quickly revealed some family secrets. “Oh don’t worry, our house is always messy, alot.” If you haven’t figured it out yet – you will…kids are like sponges. They often repeat words or actions that weren’t meant to be repeated. While no nanny is perfect we should strive to be living lives that are worth repeating – not to look good, but to invest the best into the children.....



To read the rest of this article click here: Nanny 101: Leading By Example. 

A New Approach to “Teaching Children to Care"

By: Trisha Knueven

On Saturday, March 12, 2011, I had the privilege of going to the 24^th Annual Early Childhood Conference 2001 on my very favorite campus at Xavier University.  This conference was Montessori in nature and supported by the Montessori Education Department at Xavier University.  Alfie Kohn was featured as the keynote speaker.  His speech was titled: Teaching Children to Care.  Here is my take on his talk:

Kohn opened up his speech asking the audience of predominately parents and Montessori affiliates what is one thing that they wished to instill in children.  As a group we came up with a laundry list including: stewardship, mindful, compassionate, caring, global citizen, helping, satisfied, problem-solvers….  Kohn put all of these characteristics into a well-crafted sentence about what we wish to instill in children and then went on to talk about the ways in which we keep this from ever happening because our approach to teaching and guiding children is all wrong! 

He quoted Albert Einstein “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be measured.”  We are actually harming children by assigning them letter grades or numbers rather that simply communicate negatively to a child no matter what.  Research has proven that it is a negative effect.  So, we need to stop doing this to children!   There are other means of assessing children and making sure that they are learning what they need to know.  Grades should go out the window and we as teachers, parents, and professionals need to advocate for this archaic way of assessment.  Homework should also be outlawed!  Homework says to a child “the only thing important in life is academics.”  And, the more homework given the worse effect it has.  Teachers who give lots of homework really aren’t interested in the whole child.  Children need time away from academics after school in order to play, engage with peers, and be with their families.  Research finds that there is no benefit of any type of homework until children are at least in high school and even then there is more pain than gain.  Children simply view all homework as something to get over with so they can move on to do something else more desirable.  That’s why the best schools give virtually NONE unless a child actually wants to have it and consents to it because they want to exercise their minds more after school.

Instead of grades and homework, everyone needs to be more focused on ways to increase a child’s natural ability to be the caring, loving, and compassionate types of people that we all clearly want.  Two studies have found that children who get lots of positive reinforcement (verbal good jobs, high fives, star charts, etc.) end up less caring and generous than other children. WHY?  Because this type of behavior encourages the child to be more self-centered and more self-focused, and when they do not get the feel good feelings from this type of approach because an adult is not hovering over them all the time their self-esteem plummets.  It is equally wrong to emphasize reciprocity to settle sharing disputes.

Alfie’s Goals for Children

1.     Have children develop enduring commitments to sharing and caring.

2.     Have children help when they take pleasure in helping AND still help when there is no pleasure for them to receive (aka Altruism)

3.     We want to promote children to help everyone beyond their circle of friends, their school, and own country.  We want them to be global carers. 

How?

Motives matter not just behaviors.  It is the motive behind the fist punch that needs to be dealt with.  The hitting child can learn first-hand a great deal from the face of the injured child.  The hitting child can comfort the injured child.  The hitting child can explain why the hit happened and these feelings can be dealt with in a more constructive way.  Putting a child in time-out really doesn’t do any good.  That is an adult way of tackling negative behavior.  It doesn’t work the same way with children because they are not always rational thinkers.  Children are never “sorry” and we should stop forcing them to say this when they do not mean it!  We need to focus on self-discipline.  Psychologists talk about intrinsic motivation.  Are children workaholics in training?

A child’s desire to care is inborn and it can either be encouraged or stifled.  There are 7 ingredients to promote caring that are outlined in Kohn’s books.  This information was gained through a workshop and I simply do not want to give it all away because I am not copyrighting here.   I found the ingredients to be very helpful and recommend that you check out his website for more.

Alfie Kohn’s website is: www.alfiekohn.org

On his website there are links to his books, articles, audio/video, etc.  It’s a great site and I really feel like his approach with all the latest research supporting it is perhaps what we should all consider and welcome into our families and schools.  These approaches are followed by the Montessori community.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Blogging Your Kid's Memories

Quick Tip: Blogging Your Kid's Memories

By: Karen Musclow 

Entering the nanny world from childcare centers, I had grown very accustomed to photographing most everything the children did for their portfolios. In talking with Mr. and Mrs. D, it became quite apparent that they had no desire for any sort of portfolio or documentation of their children’s growth and activities. I, however, love photographing children and wanted to have a way of visually sharing our days with Mr. and Mrs. D. (And I wanted to have pictures of the children to look back on myself!)

When I learned that Mr. D’s family is across the Atlantic and Mrs. D has family down South, I began to think of starting a blog to share photos and quick write-ups of our adventures. This idea took further when I learned that the D’s are not very good about taking pictures of the children themselves. With their permission, I started a very simple blog using Wordpress. I did not make it private, but I did keep it hidden from search engines. This way, the D’s can share the address with anyone they choose, but the whole world won’t easily find it. Of course, I only refer to the children by their initial and never directly indicate where we’re located.

At first, I blogged on a regular basis, writing up specifics of our activities, It has since become mainly about sharing pictures as I heard feedback from relatives via the D’s how much they were enjoying the photos. It doesn’t have to take much work and I put new photos up about once a week.

A bonus: The boys enjoy seeing themselves on the internet and will at times ask me to take pictures of something specific to share with their family members. 

Meet Nanny Trisha

I love to meet other nannies. Whether at a park in Cincinnati or a professional conference across the country, I am intrigued with our similarities. We seem to have a sacrificial, loving and giving nature in addition to our love for kids. I think it is such a great opportunity to meet one other, learn and be challenged by each other's experiences and share in our love for kids. Today I present a friend of mine, I thought that you should meet. 

Meet Nanny Trisha

An Interview By: Greta Schraer

1. What is your current Nanny position?

Currently I am working part-time for three families. Family K has boy/girl twins who are 2 ½ year-olds. I have to say that these children are the happiest, joyful twins I have ever cared for. Although I am with them a couple of hours twice a week I come away feeling so happy and blessed to care for them and teach them a few things along the way! Family R has a 6 year-old girl and a 5 month-old boy. I have to say with this family I feel like I have been called to help them with the many challenges their son faces. I feel like the breaks I give a loving stay-at-home-mom are very helpful. Their daughter is such a pleasure to spend time with and their son has the most infectious laugh I know! And, the third family I am caring for has a 7 year-old son who I have come to care for deeply. I understand him so well and can really use my expertise to help him. It is truly amazing that I am able to help all three families in very different ways.

2.     How/Why did you decide to become a Nanny?

I was working at Goddard in Anderson when I knew that group care was not satisfying for me.  There were many reasons I felt this way, but above all I did not feel like I was able to give each child in my class the attention and love that they needed to thrive.  Each day I felt myself accomplishing the bare minimum and I was not happy with that.  The owner’s friend is a nanny agency owner so she recommended me to her.  It took several months to find my first match, but once I did I was hooked!  I’m never looking back.  This was the best decision ever!  Being a Nanny utilizes my degree, my skills, and talents to bring so much happiness into the lives of the children and the families I serve.

3.     Why are you passionate about working with children?

I absolutely love children!  Ever since my cousin Jaclynn was born when I was 7 years old I have had a fascination for young children.  I am the youngest of my family and so I always played with and made friends with younger children wishing I had younger siblings.  I love encouraging children to grow and develop, to see their unique perspectives, to help them reach higher milestones gaining more intellectual development, and to open their minds to the marvelous world around them.  Children are so genuine, naïve and loving.  I have seen with my own eyes how children can just flourish if given the right mix of the things they need to grow.  I am addicted to making each and every child I care for happy, well rounded, and develop a zest for life-long learning.  Through all of the training I have taken over the past 5 years I really feel like now more than ever I have fine tuned my ability to thoroughly understand children and in return I speak their language and am able to be their greatest ally and their largest, most passionate advocate.

4.     What is a misconception in your peers and/or family about the Nanny profession?

My peers who aren’t nannies think that I am still doing the childish “babysitting” I did as a teenager and have often wonder when I am going to grow up.  My mother supports me and understands why I am a nanny and loves to see me happy, so to her it doesn’t matter what I do with my life as along as I am happy.  The rest of my family doesn’t understand and thinks that I am wasting my life and my chances at bigger and better things since I have a degree in business.  They obviously do not see or understand my passions and how fulfilling it is to follow one’s passions no matter what and live a fulfilling life.  They really do care about me and the overall long-term effects like the lack of benefits, retirement funding, ability to “move up” over time in an organization, and are concerned about my future.  I love them for this.  Perhaps I will not always be a nanny, but for now I feel truly called by God.

5.     In what areas do you currently feel challenged?

Currently I feel challenged by juggling three families and all of the children’s unique characteristics and needs.  I feel called by God to help these families for the short-term and perhaps some for the long-term.  My current challenge is to understand where God is leading me in my career and in my life.

6.     What about CincyNanny has been a benefit to you?

Where do I begin?  CincyNanny is an absolute blessing!  Before CincyNanny I felt very disconnected as a nanny and rather lost.  I had a few nanny friends, but none of them were really true professionals.  In the past CincyNanny has helped me find a great family to work for where I was instrumental in the lives of their two young boys.  CincyNanny has helped me to feel professional and rub elbows with other professional nannies who view this as a career.  I have also benefitted from networking with other nannies for play dates and have made so many friends personally!   Greta is just wonderful and I thank God that she has made this community here in Cincinnati.  It is needed and is truly amazing! 

7.     What is something in your life (separate from your Nanny position), that is affecting your life in a positive way, and therefore affecting the children in your care?

There are several things going on in my life that affect the children in my care.  I have the time to volunteer again and that truly warms my heart and as a result makes me stop to recognize and appreciate the small things in life that would otherwise be taken for granted.  Mr. Wonderful has found me.  Dating him has filled up my love and energy tanks.  He compliments me in so many ways and his presence in my life puts me at ease even in this time of limbo in my career.  This has brought a great deal of happiness into my life and I feel more recharged now, so I am once again able to give children so much more of the compassionate care that they deserve.

8.     What is a goal for the future?

My main goal right now is to find the right combination of families to work for or to find one full-time family that understands my passions, my strengths, and can accept my weaknesses.  My other goals are continuing my education and networking by going to my first INA Conference and becoming a credentialed nanny.  I really want to go to conference and hope that I will go either this year or next year.  Whether or not I make it to conference I am actively pursuing becoming credentialed and am currently reading and studying for the test.

9.     How do you refresh/re-coop/prepare from and for your Nanny position? 

I spend a great deal of quiet time thinking about my work actually.  I have a very active mind and like to think creatively on how to solve challenges I face on a daily basis.  I like to evaluate the current situations and skill levels of the children in my care and come up with creative, fun learning ideas that they would enjoy.  I like to use my spontaneity and creativity to increase their learning as I extend their play.  I try to not let my thoughts about my work completely monopolize my life outside of work. 

Other things I really enjoy include cooking new foods from scratch, creating and designing works of art in my creative room, and expressing myself through playing my flute.  I also enjoy nature with long walks outside with my walking buddy and my friends.  I also really enjoy to express myself through swing dancing.

10.  What changes would you like to see changed OR questions to be answered in the Nanny Industry?

I want many things to happen: 

1. I want everyone in this world to understand that there are some nannies who are working as babysitters, but that there are more nannies who are serious about this profession and are driven to successful careers just like an accountant or scientist.  I want everyone to stop looking down on me for choosing this as my career.  I am truly making a difference in many lives and my work is no less important than anyone else’s.

2. I want a higher minimum standard set nation wide.  I want those who are working as babysitters and calling themselves ‘nannies’ to be called out for trying to pose as a professional without working as one.  This is not a job for just anybody who is in transition.  This is a serious career that affects children for life.  I hope to see in the future some type of system that perhaps grades nannies on a sliding scale similar to the “Step Up to Quality” program currently in place for daycares.  I even think in the future it would be awesome for the minimum standard to be an associate degree with the name: Professional Nanny.  Along with that I would like it to be achievable by nannies currently working full-time without having to quit their current jobs or relocate across the country to complete it.  I can dream can’t I? I would hope that the degree would take into account a nanny’s past experiences, give an in-depth understanding of child development, arm them with excellent knowledge and resources to support families who make decisions based on the case at hand without considering their long-term impact, and can set the standard for outstanding quality care that nannies have every potential in achieving in each home they work in.

3. I want families to be informed and armed with all the information they need before making these often rushed decisions when it comes to their nanny.  I want them to be able to attain this information without having to utilize an agency so that it can be disseminated as common knowledge.

Are you looking to read more from other local nannies, look to the menu bar on the right for links Meet Nanny interviews!