You’ve carefully selected the nanny who met your expectations and clearly defined her mission and responsibilities.
You spent a few days at home to help her get started, so that she gets included in the family life and that your kid doesn’t feel abandoned when left alone with his new nanny.
In short, you have followed all the best practices to start the relationship with your new nanny on the right foot.
Today, life is back to normal, you’re both busy and barely have time to say “hello” when you see each other. Yet, ten times a day you catch yourself thinking “Here’s something I should talk about with the nanny” and your nanny probably also has a million things to tell you.
So how do you keep a good relationship with your nanny and ensure that communications stay open?
The secret is to hold a weekly meeting with her. This may seem redundant, as you see her every day, but these brief encounters do not give you the opportunity to discuss important things.
Here are the top 5 reasons to set up regular meetings with your nanny:
- To keep small misunderstandings from becoming major frustrations. If something does not work for you, say it right away. And your nanny certainly has a few requests herself.
- To give some accountability to the nanny who will have to explain what she has done during the week.
- To ensure that the nanny and yourself are aligned regarding the care and the education of the children. Review what works and what does not.
- To talk about schedule changes and confirm who is doing what when.
- To prepare the year-end review so that your satisfaction or dissatisfaction does not occur as a surprise for your nanny.
Of course, hold these meetings during your nanny’s work hours or pay her for the extra time as it is a work related activity.
You’ll see that this investment of 15-20 minutes a week will work wonders to maintain a good relationship with your nanny, and therefore ensure the well being of your child.