It’s that time of year again….

Yep, time for me to hire a few Newborn Specialists to join my team.

Things are changing here at Cuddlebuggs and I am looking for  Newborn Care Specialist, Baby Nurse and Night Nannies who want to be apart of the great things that are coming …

Now, I can hear you asking ” what are those changes going to be”? I would probably ask the same question, but for now I am going to keep those details close to my vest for now. Just know, that the changes will be good ones. Especially for those families that can’t afford to hire a nanny placement services to find a nanny for them.

Ok, back to what I was saying before…

I am hiring again and here are a few things we are looking for in the newborn care specialists that work with me:

• Responsible
• Punctual
• Dedicated to the nanny industry
• Has at least 3 years of continuous experience with newborns.  This can be as a preschool teacher, nanny, baby nurse or newborn care specialist, or babysitter
• An educational background in Early Childhood Education, Child and Family Development, Psychology, or other related field of study.
• CPR and First Aid Certified or will to become certified.
• Legally able to work within the United States

This weekend, I was out with hubby running errands. While we were out, we  decided to stop by one of our favorite coffee shop in Atlanta. As we waited for our drinks, I happened to over here a couple who was interviewing a nanny for their newborn son.

Yes, I know – I shouldn’t have been listening to their conversation but I couldn’t help myself.

And here is why…

They seemed to be doing everything RIGHT!  I wanted to run up to them and say how proud of them I was. I didn’t do that by the way.

The first thing that stood out to me was where they were. They had decided to meet with the candidate at a coffee shop — which is an awesome idea. This is something that I recommend parents do when interviewing candidates. It creates a safe zone for both the nanny and the family. It also give the family piece of mind that no one will show up at their home until THEY decide invite the candidate there.

The other thing that I loved about their meeting was how the parents set their expectations up front. They let the candidate know exactly what they were  looking for in a caregiver and what they expected of her.

They also took the time to find out where her expectations were as well. They weren’t just interested in their needs but hers as well. They seemed to be making every effort to get to know the candidate which was nice.

Anyway, I was just happy to see what seemed to be a healthy nanny/family relationship beginning. It made my weekend.

What was your first experience with interviewing a nanny candidate? Was it great like this one? Or did it not go as well as this one. I would love to hear about your experiences.

Yesterday, I met with a new client. During our conversations, the topic of how they handled expenses with their current nanny came up. While we were talking, I realized that this would be a great topic to discuss here.

I wondered how many people thought about expenses with relation to their children in the care of the nanny.  Since it is the summer time (which is the time most nannies spend the most money for outings like the zoo, swimming pool and other fun things) I thought I would give you 4 ways to handle expenses with your nanny:

1. Give your nanny a credit or bank card -  Giving you nanny a credit card or a debit card in her name can make keeping up with expenses super easy to do. You can set the amount that is spent per week  if you need to. It also always you to keep track of how much is being spent and where.
2. Have the nanny pay for things and then reimburse her – This is another popular way that parents have kept track of spending. The only draw back with this method is that your nanny may or may not have the funds in her account to cover the all the expenses your child would need at any giving time.
3. Give the nanny a weekly stipend – Giving you nanny a stipend is like giving them an allowance each week. Families who decide to do it this way require the nanny to provide receipts of everything they have spent money on. This can be a bit of a pain but it can work if you have some sort of system in place to make keeping track of expenses easy – i.e. envelopes for the receipts.
4. Have the nanny give you a list of things needed for the your baby and the household – This to me is a major headache for all parties involved but some families prefer this system of keeping track of expenses. Your nanny would simply make a list of the activities, materials , and other things needed for the care of your child or children. You the parent are then responsible for making those purchases.

Is which one will you be doing this summer? If you already have system in place, please tell me how you handle expenses with your nanny? You comments area always welcome below.