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Constructive Advice for Dedicated Nannies
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First Day Advice Tips for making your first day a success
When There’s a Problem How to talk to the parents
US $3.25 Canada $5.25
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Kiersten Wheeler Publication/Typography/Layout Magazine Project Front and Back Covers
109326863
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Winter 2009–2010
Brookfield Zoo Come alive.
brookfieldzoo.org
Thank you for reading!
Kiersten Wheeler, nanny of two Author, Designer, Editor Mommy Too
Kiersten Wheeler Publication/Typography/Layout Magazine Project Spread Examples
Ask Nanny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
First Day Advice Tips for making your first day a success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
When There’s a Problem How to talk to the parents
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Wintertime Fun! Activities & places to go
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Fun!
Wintertime
From the Editor
As a nanny I delight in the role I play in my charges’ lives. I love to help them along the way as they grow, learn, and mature. Many nannies believe that getting emotionally attached to their charges is not a good idea. Why not? Wouldn’t you want the person caring for your own children to love them? I know that emotional involvement makes it extremely difficult when it’s time to leave the job — for whatever reason — but it’s so much more rewarding. I see nannies out in public and so often they seem completely disinterested in the children they are caring for. They read on a bench and barely look at the kids playing on the playground. They speak to the kids in a cold, unloving tone. They put their own interests before the interests of the kids. This is wrong. Imagine yourself a child. Your parents go to work all day every day, and they leave you in the care of someone who doesn’t invest any emotion or love in you. How would you feel? You would feel alone. You would resent your parents for leaving you with someone like that. You would resent your nanny. This is a horrible situation and it happens every day! The purpose of this magazine is to shed a little light on nannies — in a positive and fun way — to boost their confidence and assist them in recognizing their important role in the lives of their charges. There is nothing wrong with loving the kids you care for. Nothing. Kids can sense when someone doesn’t care for them. They feel it and that alone breaks my heart. Why not make a change for the better and commit to being an active player in the lives of these kids? In these pages you will find stories about boosting your relationships with the children and their parents, recommendations of activities you can enjoy together, questions from readers, photos, and much more. I truly hope anyone — specifically nannies! — enjoys reading this magazine as I have very much enjoyed creating it. To all you nannies out there: stay involved in the lives of your charges and their parents! A lifelong bond and friendship is sure to follow!
Table of Contents
Dear Readers,
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Winter can be an extremely frustrating time when it comes to child-care. Wind chills below zero make one want to curl up in a ball under the covers and never come out. Hibernating never made more sense! But, alas, with kids around you can’t do that. Kids need entertainment and enrichment all twelve months of the year. There are plenty of activities — that don’t involve the television — which you can do with the kids to keep them busy • and happy.
When You Have To Stay Inside
When there’s a freeze warning from the weatherman, and he’s advising everyone to stay inside no matter what, what do you do? Aside from having the kids watch television or movies try these imaginative activities to help release some of the built up energy those kids are storing.
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For Older Children (ages 3 and up):
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Never underestimate the power of coloring! Something I have done in the past, which has been fun for me as well as the kids, was draw coloring book-style pictures for the kids to color and put up on the refrigerator or their bedroom doors. They would request things such as snowmen, Santa, presents, animals, people, trees, and anything else you could
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have imagined. I would draw the pictures out with a black marker, hand them over, and the kids would happily color their custom-ordered pictures. If you can’t draw to save your life — which is a common response I get when talking about this activity with people — go on the Internet and Google coloring book pictures, print them out, and color with the kids. You can even play some music in the background to keep things cheerful. Play hide and seek! Designate off-limits areas, such as unfinished basements, closets, and anywhere else the kids could get hurt or trapped. This activity can last for quite some time, depending on the number of people involved. Bake cookies or make a healthy snack as a group. Tis the season for making treats to give to family members and friends! If the parents of the kids you watch are concerned with overconsumption of sugar let the kids pick one cookie to decorate and save for themselves. Then help them package the rest to give to others. Another idea is to have the kids decorate celery sticks or apples with peanut butter, raisins, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and other healthy toppings. Help the kids write and act out a puppet show or a play. Use your imagination and help the kids make puppets out of socks, construction paper, and other used household items. Come up with a theme, like Christmas or winter vacation, and help them write a script and act it out. If the parents have a video camera you could even record it so they can see their kids in action! They will be delighted that you and the kids did something creative and non-television related with your
time! Just a side-note: some of my favorite memories from my own childhood consist of acting out plays with my sister and our friends for our babysitters and parents.
For Younger Children (Under the age of 2 or 3):
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Try baby yoga. This can benefit you as well as the kids in that it will get you all moving and lighten the typical melancholy mood that engulfs us all during the winter months. I used to watch boy/girl twins and one of their favorite activities that I used to do with them was baby yoga. You don’t need an instructional video, because it’s basically stretching. This activity is short, but the kids will enjoy you participating and showing them what to do. For babies, try giving them a baby massage with lavender lotion. The lavender will have a calming and rejuvenating effect on you both!
Let the kids play in the tub. There is no reason the kids can’t play in the bath in the middle of the day — they don’t even have to be dirty! Make it purely play time. Quite often kids feel cut short during bath time because of the pressure to get them to bed on time. Kids will surely enjoy time to splash around in the water and play until their fingers are wrinkled! Dance! Put on a CD of your favorite — or the kids’ favorite — music and dance around the house and act silly. Children thoroughly enjoy watching adults dance around and act goofy. Sing along with the songs, pick the kids up and twirl them around, and encourage them to come up with their own dances. Let older kids join in by turning dance time into a game. Play the music and have them dance or jump around. Then stop the music at a random moment and have everyone freeze. Then turn it back on and watch them go nuts! Balloons! Blow up a bunch of balloons and put them in a couple large garbage bags. Have the kids sit on the floor and open the bags over their heads and watch their eyes light up as the balloons fall all around them. The kids will love to chase after the balloons, throw them, kick them, gather them and put them back in the bag for another go. Once all the balloons are back in the bags, have them sit back down and do it all over again. They’ll love it!
outside, no matter what the temperature is! Also remember that kids love the snow, even if you don’t! Here are some ideas that will help you enjoy being outside as much as the kids do. Move! Run in the snow and get your blood circulating. Make snowballs, snowmen, pull the kids in the sled — babies love this — or catch snowflakes on your tongue. A few years ago I was caring for a toddler and one of his favorite activities was learning how to shovel snow. We didn’t shovel much, but shoveling a path on the front walk — with my help, of course — made him feel important. He loved knowing that he helped do something that needed to be done!
Make hot chocolate! Get an insulated container and make hot chocolate before you go outside. Make it piping hot, take it outside with you, and by the time you’re ready for a break it will be ready for drinking. You’ll love it, and the kids will love it even more! Go for a wintertime nature walk. Take the kids to the local forest preserve — bundle them up first! — and go for a 15–20 minute walk and talk about how the woods are different in the Continued on page 13
When It’s Nice Enough To Play Outside Playing outside in the winter is often an overlooked activity by nannies. I am one of those who have been guilty of choosing my own desire to stay warm over the kids’ need to play outside. You must remember that kids love to play
Kids love to play outside, no matter what the temperature is. 11