1. Make a good first impression:  This is from the first phone call forward.  Call back promptly, be on time or early to the interview,  dress appropriately, no perfume!  Bring your resume and references.  Have a good hand shake! 
2. Interact with the children:  We often get feedback from families that the nanny didn’t interact with the children. Often nannies are nervous and focused on answering the parent’s questions.  Parents want to see your love for children, be sure to convey your passion for childcare as much as possible!
3. Do not gossip about previous employers or nanny agencies:  Families will want to know why your previous position ended, but remember to be professional at all times.  Any kind of gossiping makes parents worry that you will gossip about them to others.  Be positive about any negative experiences you’ve had and don’t dwell on them!
4. Come prepared with questions for the parents:  Remember you are not the only one being interviewed!  You should also interview the parents and make sure that they are the right fit for you!  Parents like being asked questions about their family, parenting style and the job.  It shows you are truly interested in the job.
5. Share a compelling story:  Many times, you will be asked the same questions over and over.  The families often hear the same cookie-cutter responses.   Come prepared with a few interesting stories about situations you’ve had with children.  Keep them positive! 
6. Do not discuss salary:  During the first interview, it is not usually a good idea to bring up salary requirements. If you are asked by the family, say you are negotiable.  Salary is best discussed in a second interview or once a job offer has been made.  Nanny jobs are highly relational, and parents often feel put off when a nanny brings up money right away.
7. Thank you!:  Thank the parents for their time at the end of the interview.   Write a thank you note or email after the interview if you are interested in the position.  The hand written thank you note is a lost art and really makes you stand out!

Automobile insurance provides coverage for family members who cause injury or property damage while driving an automobile. Unfortunately, there are many exclusions and exceptions. A nanny is PROBABLY covered while she is driving the family’s automobile, but to be safe, the family should add the nanny to the policy as an additional insured.

Since a nanny is not a family member, she is not covered by the family’s automobile insurance while she is driving her own car. This can be a significant problem if the nanny is in an accident while driving on family business. The law considers an employer to liable for an injury caused by an employee while doing their work. This is what is referred to as “vicarious liability”. The family’s automobile insurance will not cover vicarious liability and the family can be held personally responsible for paying any damages that are more than the nanny’s coverage limits. Therefore, either the family should not let the nanny use her own car while she is working or, if she will be using her own car, the family should make sure that the nanny has, or buy her, coverage limits at least equal to the coverage limits on the family’s automobile.

Another concern is whether the nanny is driving her own automobile as part of her job. If so, the nanny’s insurance may not provide coverage. Automobiles that are used in a job are assumed to be on the road more and therefore they are more likely to be in accidents, so an automobile insurance policy that provides coverage for business use has a higher premium. A nanny who regularly drives family members as part of her duties may find that this is considered business use and that she has no coverage for an accident that occurs while she is working, especially if providing transportation is part of her contract or she is paid extra for the use of her car or reimbursed for gas/mileage. To be safe, the nanny should check with her insurance agent about including business use in her automobile insurance policy as the premium difference (if there even is one) usually is not very much.

In summary, when it comes to nanny insurance, it is very important to know what is covered, who is covered and how much coverage you have. This can only be done by carefully reading the policy and the “coverage selection” page or “declaration sheet”. Furthermore, is it advised that you double check with your insurance agent to ensure you are covered in any given circumstance!

Have any advice regarding this issue?  Please comment below and share!

Nanny Associations:

Northwest Nanny Association

International Nanny Association

Nanny Blogs:

Regarding Nannies

All Things Nanny

The Financial Nanny

Tales from the Nannyhood

Networking:

Nanny Island

Please let us know of other places you connect as nannies!  Thank you for all you do everyday!

Have an old digital camera lying around? Why not make use of it on a rainy day by letting your charges explore their inner photographer!  There are many different ways to manage this sort of activity.  You can direct them to take pictures of their favorite things or have them take pictures of items that begin with a particular letter.  Take it further and create a photo album book using websites such as shutterfly.com and photobucket.com.

The following websites give great ideas on how to create and make an activity such as this one fun for your charges, and also great photo book and scrapbook ideas!    

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/kids-scrapbooking-ideas

http://www.intoscrapbooking.com/scrapbooking-with-kids/simple-scrapbooking-for-kids-the-family-album-approach.html

http://www.digitalphotographybasics.com/kids-guide-to-digital-photography-through-games/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/225899-fun-photography-ideas-for-children/

http://www.make-your-own-photobooks.com/children-story-photo-books.html

http://www.squidoo.com/kidsdigitalcameraphotoactivities

Bonus: turn this great idea into a unique and thoughtful Mother’s day gift!

Have a great photo activity to do with children?  Comment below and let us know!

Employee or Independent Contractor?

As a nanny, you are always considered the employee of any family you work for (regardless of how many hours).  The IRS allows families to employ nannies without putting them on payroll, if they pay the nanny less than $1,700 per calendar year.  This law is primarily to allow families to have temporary nannies and not have to deal with payroll.  As a nanny, you are required to claim all the wages you make throughout the year.  It is a good idea if you do a lot of temporary work to keep a notebook and log all the families you work for, and how much you made.  If this is your primary source of income, you will want to keep aside a portion of every dollar to pay for your tax portion in April.

Gross vs. Net Pay:

When looking for a long term job, it is very important to understand the difference between Gross and Net pay.  Gross refers to PRE-TAX dollars, and is how most families will make a job offer.  Net pay refers to your take home pay after your tax contribution and your employer’s contribution.  For more information regarding this click here.

For calculating your Gross vs. Net pay click here.

Legal vs “Under the table” Pay:

Being paid legally and advocating for yourself to be paid legally is extremely important.  Not only does it provide you with a verifiable employment history, but you also will have unemployment insurance as well as social security and Medicare benefits.  For more information click here.

Spring is coming!  What better way to kick off spring than with sharing April’s National Poetry Month with your little ones?  Children’s poetry can be silly and stimulating.  It can help teach children to relate words and feelings more quickly.  Studies show that when children participate in art, it engages their senses and wires the brain for successful learning.  During a child’s early years, this is tremendously important as neural connections are being made at a rapid rate.  Plus poetry is fun! 

In honor of National Poetry Month, King County Libraries will be holding a series of FREE performances by The South Side Dance Force based on the work of local children’s poet Erik Korhel’s new book  The Kid With The Red Juice Mustache and Other Nostalgic Companions with illustrations by Celia Marie Baker.  

This will be a great show to watch, make sure to catch it when it comes to your local King Country Library.

Performance dates below:

Kent Branch- April 6^th at 2pm

Covington Branch- April 7^th at 11am

Sammamish Branch- April 9^th at 3pm

Kenmore Branch- May 14^th at 2pm

When: Wednesday, August 18th from 11am-1pm

Where: Wallingford Playfield,  4219 Wallinford Ave N.

Who: Nannies (with or without charges)

What to Bring: A picnic lunch.  We will provide cupcakes from Cupcake Royale for dessert!

Activities: Scavenger hunt, wading pool (bring appropriate attire) and playground

We will also be announcing our Nanny of the Year at the picnic!

Please RSVP to the agency by August 13th and let us know how many children you are bringing along! We hope to see you all there!

Check out these farms to plan your next U-pick adventure!  Be sure to call ahead to confirm hours and berry availability, since berries ripen based on the weather (thanks to Parent Map for this great information!).

Remlinger Farms: Carnation, WA

Bryant Blueberry Farm: Arlington, WA

Mercer Slough & Larson Lake Blueberry Farms: Bellevue, WA

To find additional U-pick farms, visit pugetsoundfresh.com, click “Find a Farm” and search for U-pick.

For more information on Urban Foraging and berry types, storage, and picking tips, read this article at ParentMap.com

This year’s conference takes place May 20th-May 23rd in San Francisco!  Check out their website for more information about the workshops, specials on hotel rooms, and to register!