Tag Archives: nanny

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How to Create a Caregiver Video, Photo, and Bio

Want to impress families when it is time to interview for that nanny position?

A few great ways is through a short video to show your personality, a bio that captures your super caregiving experience, and a family friendly photo that the parents can show the children.

Here are the steps to follow for a great first impression!

How to Create a Caregiver Video
This is a great way to showcase your personality to prospective families. It’s very easy and can be done on any smart phone. Here are the steps to make a lastly impression in less than 15 seconds! When you are done, please e-mail this to [email protected].

1. Relax and take your time! This is a quick, easy, and happy greeting! Keep it simple.
2. BE yourself. Make sure the lighting is good and you are looking directly into the camera.
3. Big warm SMILE. Speak slowly and confidently.

Hi my name is _________.
I have _____ years of childcare experience.
I’m looking for a nanny position with a great family. Thanks!

How to Create a Caregiver Photo
Your caregiver photo will be apart of your Bell Family Company Nanny Profile. Please take a picture that shows a bright happy smile, in good natural light. A headshot with just you in the photo is best.

How to Create a Caregiver Bio
Answer these questions and then write it out in paragraph form in first person (see ex. below). Add anything that might be relevant and what makes you unique.  Be as concise as you can. Limit your bio to 1,000 words max.

1. Where are you from?  Where do you live now?
2. How long have you lived in NYC or the surrounding area? Or when are you moving?
3. Did you go to college? Where? What degree/focus?
4. What are your hobbies?
5. Childcare experience?
6. Youngest to oldest ages you have worked with? Preference?
7. Bilingual? Drive? Swim? Passport? Willing to travel? Can you tutor? What subjects?
8. What type of job are you looking for FT/PT/weekends? Live-in/live-out?
9. Are you good at organization? Household management? Personal assistant?
10. Experience with pets? Elderly people? Children with special needs? What kind?
11. Certifications? CNA, HHA, CPR/AED first aid? Baby nurse?

Examples of a Bio
Example 1: Hi my name is Jane Doe and I am originally from Baltimore, MD but currently live in Brooklyn, New York.  I hold a BA in Psychology from NYU. I have been a swim instructor for the last 8 years and have experience working with children with special needs. I have been babysitting for many years and have filled the role as a summer nanny. I have worked with kids ages infant to teen and am extremely confident in my tutoring skills. My best subjects are math and science and I have also tutored kids for the SAT.  Additionally, I am computer/tech savvy and have great office skills. I love to cook and play board games.  I have a driver’s licenses and passport. I love children and am so excited to find a nanny position where I can use my care giving and tutoring experience.

Example 2: Hi, my name is Anastasia “Ana” Belinsky and I am originally from St. Petersburg, Russia but have lived in NY (currently Queens) for the last 10 years. I have been a childcare provider since moving to the US and also come from a large family. I love working with young children and am looking for a long term placement where I can grow with a family. I speak English and Russian fluently. I like to sew, read, and plan outings and play dates. I am very comfortable navigating all of the New York Metropolitan Area and get along well with everyone. I would describe myself as a self-starter, but am also very flexible and happy to follow the guidelines and requests of the family. I have lasting relationships with the families I have worked with and they would describe me as loving, patient, dependable, trustworthy and generous. I have experience working with children that have autism and developmental delays. I love pets, but have mild allergies and prefer to work in pet free homes or a home with hypoallergenic dogs. I am available for occasional weekends and overnights as needed.

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How to Create Your Care Giver Bio

Greetings, all!

Need help creating a bio for your profile? Answer these questions and the write it out in paragraph form. Write it in FIRST person (see ex. below). Add anything that might be relevant and what makes you unique.  Be as concise as you can. LIMIT 200 WORDS MAX.

1. Where are you from?  Where do you live now?

2. How long have you lived in NYC or the surrounding area? Or when are you moving?

3. Did you go to college? Where? What degree/focus?

4.  What are you hobbies?

5. Childcare experience?

6. Youngest to oldest ages you have worked with? Preference?

7. Bilingual? Drive? Swim? Passport? Willing to travel? Can you tutor? What subjects?

8. What type of job are you looking for full-time/part-time/weekends? Live-in/live-out?

9. Are you good at organization, household management, personal assistant, etc.?

10. Experience with pets? Elderly people? Children with special needs? What kind?

11. Certifications? CNA, HHA, CPR/AED first aid? Baby nurse?

Bio Example:

I am originally from Baltimore, MA but currently live in Brooklyn, New York.  In 2009, I graduated with a BA in Psychology from NYU. I am a former swim instructor for the last eight years and have experience working with children with special needs. I have been babysitting for many years and have filled the role as a summer nanny. I’ve worked with kids ages infant to teen and am extremely confident in tutoring. My best subjects are math and science and I have also tutored kids for the SAT.  Additionally, I have office skills and am computer/tech savvy. I also love to cook and play board games.  I have a driver’s licenses and passport. I truly love children and am excited to find a nanny position where I can fully utilize my experience.  

Once completed, please e-mail your bio to: [email protected] in the body of an e-mail or send it as a word doc attachment. If you are a BFC sitter or nanny, please upload it on your profile and let us know when it is complete!
Events

CPR Training Near You

Greetings, all!

Are you in the NYC, Los Angeles, or Chicago areas, and looking to get CPR training? Us at Bell Family did some digging, and here is what we found.

New York

1. Free CPR training through FDNY (Download their “Be 911” free app)

2. HeartStart Training provides certification courses daily that cover infant, child, and adult CPR/AED/First Aid

Los Angeles

1. American Red Cross

2. American Heart Association

Chicago

1. American Red Cross

2. CPR in Chicago (FREE)

3. Chicago Pulse

If you take one of these courses as a BFC prospective sitter, be sure to get proof and send it to our team. Please note, Bell Family does not reimburse for certification or independent training.

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

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Bored Children, No More!

Greetings, all!

It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to find ways to keep children entertained these days. To get away from the TV screens that seem to follow us everywhere, we put together this impressive list of fun activities, so both you and your child can fight the power of boredom.

1. Go to the park, make friends!

2. Make a treasure hunt – get some paper, crayons, and map out the hunt and hide the treasures.

3. Go on a nature hike – pack a zip lock baggie and gather all the cool things you find on the hike, and then write about them when you get back home.

4. Make clean up a game! Sing a song and chart how much you cleaned up.

5. Schedule a play date.

6. Hit the library – see if they have reading corners scheduled, research some great books and find them at the library.

7. Create your own book – encourage the child to get super creative.

8. Dance party – get music and make up a dance.

9. Try out a new restaurant and pretend to be a food critic.

10. Play tourist for a day.

11. Make an obstacle course outside or inside if the space is big enough.

12. Play board games.

13. Go for an I SPY walk. Make a list of all items you need to find, take a camera and snap the photos.

14. Babysitting for girls? Create at home spa day.

15. Go pottery painting.

16. My favorite – build a fort. Use pillows, blankets, blocks, anything you can, and have the kids visit each other in the fort they build.

17. Make a collage of photos.

18. Cook or bake with the kids. Have them follow the recipe, read it out loud, teach them about measurements.

19. Chalk drawing outside on the sidewalks.

20. Build a town – with a banker, hotel, restaurant, and have each child run the shop. They will love it!

Special thanks to The Centsible Life and our Founder, Lindsay Bell, for the great ideas!

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

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Nannyology: Three Types of Nannies

Greetings, all!

We bring you a special feature blog post this week, with the findings from Tammy Gold, author of “Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer” and founder of Gold Parent Coaching. She shares insight on how to understand the three types of nannies, so you can find the right match for your family.

Finding the right kind of nanny to match your particular work/life situation is critical in creating a calm and stress-free home. If you make the right nanny match, everyone is happy… but if you choose the wrong match, things can get ugly in a hurry. To avoid this unnecessary stress, I coach my clients to figure out what kind of nanny they need based upon the term “nannyology.” This refers to the process of understanding who nannies are, how they think and how they work. One part of nannyology is learning the three nanny responsibility types so moms can figure out which one best matches their needs.

The Three Nanny Personalities

After hearing hundreds of stories and mediating countless mom/nanny relationships, I started to notice three distinct personality types which I named: The Parental Unit Nanny, The Partner Nanny, and The Executor Nanny. Each of these types is distinguished by their level of autonomy and their ability to handle — or not handle — different kinds of responsibility. It’s important to know which one you’re looking to hire from the get-go, because all too often parents make the mistake of hiring one when they really need one of the others.

The Parental Unit Nanny

Parental Unit Nannies are proactive, motivated, in-charge and most importantly, capable of handling every single aspect of her job without help from the parents. They work best with parents who are actively looking for someone to take the lead in their absence and “just take care of it.” This type of nanny functions as the “parent in charge.” Parental Unit Nannies make it easy for their bosses to transition into “work mode” or “rest mode” because they know that everything at home is being handled perfectly. Parental Unit Nannies can run the entire home, manage all of the children’s’ activities, schedule play dates, get the putty for Bobby’s science experiment, take Ruby to the doctor when her cough sounds worse, talk to Ali’s teacher about the mean girl on the playground and have dinner on the table by 5pm. Of course even the greatest Parental Unit nannies need training in order to do the job well, but they are the type of nanny usually best suited to a full time working parents or moms who are really busy and need to clone themselves. It can be hard for a parental unit nanny to stay home all day and take directions when she is used to being in charge and on her own.

The Partner Nanny

The Partner Nanny is named for her ability to be the mom or primary caregiver’s partner. She can shift her duties and level of care based upon the needs of the mother. When mom is out, the Partner Nanny runs the show and she is able to keep the house and children moving along smoothly and steadily. When mom is home, the Partner Nanny does not necessarily step behind mother, but steps beside her completing household tasks in unison. A Partner Nanny is completely in-sync with mom and together side-by-side, tackling the care of the children and running the home. Being a Partner Nanny is challenging since it can be difficult to shift between being “the boss” and then just “the helper.” Nannies usually like to know they are one or the other and Partner Nannies need to be highly adaptable and carefully attuned to the needs of the mother. A Partner Nanny may take the older children to school, run to the store for new ballet shoes, take the baby to music class, and when mom returns, she may shift her focus to laundry, cooking and cleaning.

The Executor Nanny

The Executor Nanny carries out the parents’ directions. She is typically someone who works with an at-home mother or a mother who works on a part-time basis. In her role she would handle childcare, but rarely all on her own. She would also handle a great deal of house care since the mother is often home managing the children. An Executor Nanny could do everything from heavy cleaning, and cooking, to taking the baby for a walk and playing princess with the toddler. She typically would never be asked to run the home and the children’s activities on her own. These nannies usually watch one child while the mother is out with the other siblings or perhaps watching all of the children for short periods of time while mom might be out running errands, at the gym or on a work project. Her mindset is to “assist” and “execute” items set in motion by the mother — precisely the opposite of the more proactive Parental Unit Nanny who may be left to plan the entire week on her own.

The key to matching in any relationship, let alone this complex personal/professional relationship, is stating your wants and needs upfront. By understanding that “one nanny does not fit all” and knowing these three nanny personality types moms can find or train to create their ideal match!

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Written by Tammy Gold, Nanny Placement Director and Parenting Expert

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Hotel and TravelSitter for the New Year

Greetings, all!

Did you know we book HotelSitters for our families in NYC, Brooklyn, Westchester, Connecticut, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami?

If you have a family trip coming up, we also book TravelSitters to accompany your family, making it a real vacation for you and not just a re-location of your normal day-to-day! Our sitters have traveled with member families throughout the Caribbean, Florida, Europe, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and most of the Rockies Ski resorts! We provide excellent vacation and holiday coverage so you and your family can have all the extra care and support needed for a restful vacation.

Bell Family’s Hospitality Program allows guests to participate in our trusted family care services!

We Offer In-Room/On-Site Care

We’ll come to your hotel to keep your children entertained!
– Make crafts and work on fun art projects
– Learn to sing and play guitar
– Play games, enjoy the on-site hotel services, or enjoy personal story time

Ask About Exploring the City and Mini-Day Camps

Our sitters will show up with an itinerary for the day!
– Organize shopping trips
– Plan destination visits
– Assist in pick-up/drop-offs
– Run last minute errands
– Lend an extra hand at local family events (weddings, parties, business functions, etc.)
– Refer the best places to go for kids

To download our release for your families click here! And to book a HotelSitter, e-mail
[email protected] or call 212.265.3354.

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Written by our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, Taylor Bell!

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News and Advice for Families

Greetings, all!

Today we bring you news and advice for agencies and families from GTM’s Nanny Agency Advisor. We’ll take you through and answer questions regarding whether nanny’s should get flu shots, 2016 minimum wage changes, and finally some gift ideas for your nanny on those special occasions.

Should Nannies Get Flu Shots?

As temperatures fall, the risk of illness rises. This is the time of year that many physicians recommend getting the flu vaccine. But some household employees may not want to get it. Families might be concerned, especially with nannies, that someone spending so much close time with children is not vaccinated. Can household employers require flu shots for nannies?

Read more about best practices and legal guidance to share with your families about this issue.

2016 Minimum Wage Changes

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers – including household employers – in all states must pay their employees at least the state’s minimum wage. This wage rate often changes at the beginning of a new year, so it’s important for families with domestic workers to make note of any changes and begin plans to increase an employee’s wage.

The following list shows the states that have 2016 minimum wage changes and when those changes are effective.

Gift Ideas for Nannies

Searching for the perfect gift for your nanny’s birthday, holiday, or just to show appreciation? This impressive list has 20 great gift ideas for special occasions such as these!

GTM

Information provided by GTM Payroll Services.

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Live-In vs. Live-Out Nannies

Greetings, all!

We’re bringing you a blog post courtesy of Tammy Gold, our Nanny Placement Director and Parenting Expert here at BFC. In her recent post, she compares live-in vs. live-out nannies, and talks about some of the best nanny secrets and what she calls “Nannyology”.

Understanding Nannies and How They Work
One day, I received a call from a woman named Alicia, who lived in Connecticut with her husband, John. She had recently given birth to their first child, and with only three weeks left on her maternity leave, she was faced with the task of hiring her first nanny.

“I’m stressed because I have no idea what I’m doing,” she told me.  “I don’t know what I’m looking for, or where to begin. And I’m nervous, because I didn’t grow up with a nanny. I don’t understand nannies, and I don’t even really want a nanny in my house—but I have to go back to work. Can you help me?”

This post is designed to give you an introduction to what I call “Nannyology”—the science of understanding nannies—and to give you crystal-clear picture of what a nanny is and does, what the job actually entails, and how you should and should not approach the relationship. Nannies are human, and just like everyone else, they have strengths and weaknesses, surprising talents and funny quirks, as well as their own needs and expectations. You will most likely never find the “perfect” nanny who flawlessly performs every conceivable task. However, if you follow my hiring process and the strategies for working together (that I will discuss in subsequent posts), you can absolutely find an amazing, real-world nanny who will be a perfect fit for your family.

Live-In vs. Live Out
The first big decision that you will need to make when starting to think about who you want to hire is whether your nanny should be Live-In or Live-Out. A Live-In nanny is one who lives with  the family in their home for some portion of the week, while a Live-Out nanny commutes to  work each day and, after finishing her duties, returns home each night.

Live-In
Live-In nannies are the least expensive kind of nanny because you are giving them room and board as well as a salary. Some Live-Ins go home for some portion of the week, and some stay with their employer’s family full-time because they don’t have another residence. A typical work schedule for a Live-In is five full days and nights on, and two days off each week. If you want additional days and hours, you will need to pay for the extra time. The big advantage of a Live-In nanny is that you know you have round-the-clock coverage for those five days: If you and your spouse both travel for work, you have someone to spend the night; if your child is up all night with a stomach virus, you have someone on hand to help; and your nanny will never be late for work because a snow storm hit or the train broke down.

To have a Live-In, you need to be able to provide them with their own private, furnished bedroom and bathroom, and it’s helpful if the space is somewhat separate from the rest of the family. Live-Ins who drive also typically have a car at their disposal, either for transporting the children or for personal use; they also tend to cost more (average $750 a week) because they are the smallest percentage of nannies and thus are in high-demand. A lot of parents don’t initially like the idea of having someone else living in their home, but Live-Ins don’t necessarily mingle with the family after their hours are done. You want to map out your rules for privacy at the start—for example, do you want the nanny to go to her room at a certain time in the evening? Can she have a lock on her door so the children can’t go to her when she’s off duty? Can the nanny have a friend over or go out at night?—so that everybody is comfortable.

Live-Out
Most nannies are Live-Out nannies who will commute back and forth to your house each day. At an average rate of $15 per hour, they are more expensive than Live-In, and a driving, Live-Out nanny will command $18-$20 per hour or more. In general, Live-Out nannies will have less flexibility in terms of hours and schedules; they will expect to arrive at a certain time, work a set number of hours, and then leave at an agreed-upon time as well. 

There are some Live-Out nannies who occasionally live in—for example, if the parents go away for a week, the nanny may come to stay with the kids, or if the family goes away for the summer, the nanny may live in at the family’s vacation home for those few months. But this is something that needs to be discussed and agreed to by the nanny before you hire her. You should not assume that a Live-Out nanny is willing or able to do Live-In, and I have seen many nanny-family relationships severed because the nanny felt that the pressure of being with the family 24/7—even in a beautiful apartment in Rome—was just too much.

Visit our site to apply for a nanny position today!

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Written by Tammy Gold, Nanny Placement Director &Parenting Expert

Family

Nanny, Daycare or Nannyshare

Greetings, all!

Deciding what childcare fits best for your family can turn into a long and stressful decision. To sort through the many options available to parents, it’s important to ask yourself questions prior to making a decision. Read below, an article published by Huffington Post, and find yourself ready to make a decision faster than ever.

1. How many hours a day will I need childcare and for which days?

2. How much flexibility do I need? Will there be days I need to leave the child longer? Or will I work part-time some weeks and full-time other weeks?

3. What is my budget? What can I afford to pay?

4. Do I want the caregiver to have a childcare education or specialized degree? Or is experience enough?

5. Do you prefer more individualized care for your child or more of a group environment?

6. What size of a group do you prefer for your child to be in?

a.) For example, do you mind there being 20 other children in a class or would you rather it was a very small class–like 5? Maybe you would prefer your child to be with his/her siblings most of the time and then have play times with other children?

7. Do you need some other help around the house, like doing the child’s laundry or fixing his/her meals?

8. How will your employer handle it if you need to take a day off if the caregiver is ill?

For the full Huffington Post article click here.

Have a great week everyone!
TB

Bell Family Company, Family, Partner

Introducing NY’s First Premier Nanny Concierge

The New York Nanny Center (a Bell Family Company) and Parenting Expert and author of “Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer,” Tammy Gold, partner to create NYC’s Premier Nanny Concierge Service

 

NY Nanny Concierge Services is the first nanny search and management service run

by licensed psychotherapists, former nannies, educators and mothers who match families with nannies suited to the specific developmental needs of their child. Instead of focusing on the physical match (days, hours, location) we match based on the psychosocial needs as well.

 

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Childcare matched to the developmental needs of your child

 

Our nannies go through rigorous recruitment process that assesses each nanny

based on psychological and social behavior profiles as well as the childcare skills

and experience. We know that “one nanny does not fit all” and our nannies are evaluated against their abilities to deliver the specific developmental needs of Erickson’s 5 stages of child development as every stage, from infancy to teen hood, needs a specific set of caregiving skills.

 

Childcare matched to each specific family’s characteristics and needs

 

We make sure your nanny can handle the specific and diverse childcare needs of today’s families. For example we match nannies to specific medical needs, e.g. Type

1 Diabetes, or psychological needs, e.g. skills to handle the complexities of children

with ADHD or specific family needs, e.g. divorced dual family households.

 

Each Search Includes Nanny Trialing and Assessment

 

You really don’t know if you have the perfect nanny match until the nanny, children and parents are interacting on the job.  That’s why we build Nanny Trials into our search process to that nannies and families can experience working together before an offer or placement is made.  During the trial period we work with both families and nannies to be gain objective feedback and assessment of the suitability of the match.  This ensures a more successful, happier and long-term placement for families and nannies.

 

2 hours of post placement Parenting and Childcare Coaching for Nanny or

Family

 

We have licensed therapists, certified coaches and former nannies there to help with any childcare challenges (e.g. children not listening to the nanny) or relationship challenges (e.g. communication issues between parent and nanny) that commonly arise during the beginning stages of the parent-nanny relationship. This added support to family and nanny allows for stronger relationships, placements that last much longer and most importantly better caregiving.

 

Access to 24/7 Sitter Services coverage for Sick Days, Weekends and Vacations

 

We know that nannies can get sick, may need to travel or leave for an emergency and therefore included in your search fee, is a complimentary one year membership to our premier on-demand caregivers from Bell Family Company. Weekends or at night, our Nanny Concierge covers all your childcare needs and emergency childcare situations.

 

We know we are the best way to find the ideal nanny for your child. If you are interested in learning more please call our office at 212.265.3354 or start your application by clicking JOIN TODAY here. To receive a copy of Tammy’s book please contact us for details:

 

Lindsay Bell, [email protected] or Tammy Gold, [email protected]