A good communication with your nanny: the 3 golden rules

Employing a nanny in your home requires the establishment of a framework for professional communication from the outset. This relates as much to the report on your child’s day as to the chores to be performed in your absence. To assist you in this, here are some golden rules for good communication with your nanny or nanny.

For a good communication with your nanny : Plan weekly meetings

To keep track of things and allow your nanny to take care of your children in the best possible way, it can be useful to establish weekly meetings to go over everything and prepare for the coming week. They can take place face to face or by telephone, depending on your respective availability.

Here are a few essential points that should not be forgotten in order to communicate well with your nanny during these conversations:

• Look back over the week and talk about the children;
•  Address any problems encountered by the children or the nanny and find solutions;
•  Plan for the week ahead with a reminder of the daily hours and the tasks to be performed (homework, meals, baths…)

Have one point of contact in the family to ensure good communication with your nanny

One of the golden rules that prevails in communicating with your nanny is to establish one person in the family as the point of contact for these conversations. This avoids information getting lost and the nanny will know who to contact at any time, if there are any questions or if a problem arises.

Also, this means that your childminder will always hear the same line in terms of your expectations or requirements. Because even if you are in agreement about everything as parents, you may not necessarily express this in the same manner.

The diary – a tool for good communication with your nanny

The diary is an essential tool for good communication with your nanny. It is a record of what happens on a daily basis and it reminds you to ask important questions. It is a tool that works both ways as you also jot down your remarks and instructions. The nanny keeps a record of the time spent with the children and his or her requirements for the days ahead.

In particular, you can keep a note of:

•    The children’s schedules for the day or the week,
•    Meals that are planned for the week,
•    Household chores to be completed,
•    Useful telephone numbers (parents, doctor, school, camps, etc.).

The tools which we have suggested in this article will serve as the basis for good communication with your nanny. There are of course many others. It is up to you to choose those which suit you best. The main thing is to find the methods of communication that seem most natural to you and that facilitate your communication and conversations.