Being a nanny is more than just being a babysitter or babysitting kids. A nanny tax calculator in the UK can help you figure out the money side of things, but what about the job itself? How do you handle difficult children? Read on to find out.
It does not matter if you are a parent or a caretaker assisting parents; raising children is a huge responsibility. For this reason, if you agree to take on this responsibility, then you are agreeing to do the best job you can do with the tools available at your disposal. What are the examples of these tools? Well, they include a combination of love, knowledge base, imagination, nutrition abilities, patience, and so on.
These are all necessary to become a complete babysitter or nanny. Furthermore, there is so much one has to keep in mind before taking on being a nanny as a career. What does this mean? Well, it simply means that you need to be prepared before employment.
First: realise the children are not yours. As such, children’s care decisions are made by the parents. Your benefits and expected income is the only thing you have a say about. This is why to put the agreed amount on paper to prevent disputes later. It is important to learn more about age-appropriate tools and activities that will help the children grow based on their age and maturity levels.
What is Being a Nanny?
The first thing to note is that they are not your children and you are not the parent. For this reason, your main goal would be raising the children based on their parent’s values and morals. If you are not willing to do this, then you should find another job, because you do not dictate child-raising. It does not matter the years you have been with the children or how much the parents love you; the main thing is that they are the parents.
To prevent hustle or finding yourself between a rock and a hard place, it is wise to assess whether you are familiar with the family’s beliefs and values. If you are not familiar, then you should consider looking for another family. Remember, you should always look at what you are willing to compromise and always abide by the parent’s rules and beliefs. If you do not do this, you will only confuse the child, and eventually, the parents will find out and will most definitely lead to issues that are best avoided.
It does not matter how minor the deviation is, if it is against the parent’s wishes then it would be wise to avoid. For example, assuming that parents are not comfortable with mountain climbing activities, but you ignore this rule. The child will continue to do what they learned, and eventually, the parents will know.
The Discipline Issues
This is a challenge or problem that nannies face daily. You are not alone in this. However, there are a few rules you must always follow. First, never use any form of physical punishment such as spankings even if the parents do it. YOU ARE NOT THE PARENT. If you must discipline the child, it is wise to consider practical non-spanking discipline techniques.
Also, be on the same discipline level as the parents. Consider discussing with the parents about the kind of punishments you can use and what is considered is wrong or right. This way, the children will know that regardless of the parents being around or not, the punishment will still be the same. Model the parent’s techniques to a degree they feel comfortable. If you want to try something new, make sure that you have communicated with the parents.
NOTE: be very careful of how you phrase the question, especially if you are new to the job and have not yet built trust. They may feel you are criticising their parenting techniques.
