Well well well, it’s been a long time again.
I have reserved today to look through some of my photos and take the time to edit them and get ready to publish them on this blog as it seems like a waste of time to me to use so many different services if I can just put everything in one place.
I will also go through some of the old articles and do some editing and moving and then I hope that – once again – I will keep updating this.
Thanks everyone that’s been visiting recently.
I wish every one a Merry Christmas. I hope you don’t get too stressed out by the family visits and will feel refreshed in the new year.
Everyone knows how difficult it is to quit your job. Even if you leave for personal reasons you can do absolutely nothing about – you still have this really bad feeling. When you are working as a Nanny it is not only about leaving your work environment. It is about leaving the kids, leaving the family, leaving a place that feels like your second home (or if you are living in is your home).
When it comes to Nannying whether you get a new job or not largely depends on the reference the family you’re leaving will give you. This makes it virtually impossible to leave your current Nanny position ONLY if you have already found a new one – without your current family knowing. This means that you will often need to tell your family, ask them politely for a reference and often also give notice at the same time. All of this depends on your situation. Be honest with your family and tell them how you are feeling. (Remeber: Your family is supposed to give you a reference. It doesn’t matter how bad you have done whatever things, there is always something good to say about you. Please also bear in mind that they have no right to give you a negative reference. If they haven’t got anything good to say about you they should say nothing. Your family might also ask you to act as a reference for them – it goes both ways)
You want to leave for personal reasons (pregnancy, going back to your home country…)
This is probably the best reason to quit your job. Your family will be sad, shocked or whatever but they will help you make the best out of that situation. Not a big problem – it is your choice and they have to accept it. Remember to ask them about a written reference if you want to go on working as a Nanny in your home country – not every family who checks reference wants to call foreign countries (esp. if there are language barriers).
You want to leave because you’re not happy in the job anymore (you don’t get on with the kids, you’re being asked to do things you never agreed to do such as cleaning…)
Speak to your family about your concerns, often they don’t even notice they ask you to do things you’re not supposed to do. There is a lot of things that can annoy you once you have been with a family for long enough. Make sure you find a good moment to address these issues, sometimes this talk will resolve the problem and you will love your job again.
Unfortunately sometimes you will discover that there is a big gap between what your family wants you to do and what you agreed to do. Your family’s requirements might have changed and you might both decide to end this work arrangement – for the family to find someone that suits them and for your to find a position that suits you. You will be equally pleased with this decision and now you just need to agree how this change is to take place (2/3/4 weeks notice? Handover period? etc.).
You want to leave because what your family has to offer you is not what you want (anymore?) (Pay, holidays, hours etc.)
In this situation the Nanny is often in doubt if she should address this problem. I say go for it. If you feel like you want more, tell them. I know it is not easy, but if you’re not happy with things you need to talk about it. It will be difficult to discuss things like pay without thinking of yourself that you’re greedy. You’re not. You want to get what you deserve. Ask them about things in a quiet moment and give them time to think about it for a few weeks. Make sure you’re your best and they see what you’re worth. If there is no change possible, then give it another few weeks and tell them that you have decided to leave. Give them notice politely and ask if they’re happy to give you a reference. Make an agreement on what happens if they find a new Nanny before you have a new job. If possible have a handover period where you show around the new Nanny. After all you are the one that’s leaving because you’re not happy anymore – so try and make sure the new Nanny has a good start. Your family will appreciate that.
Of course there is so many other problems that can come up. After all we’re all people and all different hence why this is just a little guide. You know your family best – follow your heart. I have been through this yesterday. It wasn’t easy but it went well and I am glad I have finally done it. Now look into the future.
Thanks Google for pointing that out to me and giving me another 8 invites. Unfortunately all of my friends seem completely ignorant to this product and don’t fancy having an invite…?! Help.
To me as a Nanny this whole Criminal Record Bureau Disclosure (commonly known as CRB Check) has been cleverly created by the government to distract from all the things the government fails to do and provide. It seems that the government runs out of ideas how to solve real problems and instead focuses on things which in 99% of all cases are not a problem: Volunteers and parents spending some of their valuable free time to help out their community. I am not saying that a police check is non sense but I am annoyed by the Criminal Record Bureau. Anyways, who are you and why are you handling my data?
Starting work as a Nanny in the current circumstances is simply a pain. All parents I met at job interviews simply seem to think you’re some nutter who wants to rape and kill their children – unless you are CRB checked of course. What they seem to forget is that even if you’re “cleared” you might still be a nutter, you just never had the courage to touch children yet. Or maybe you’re just someone who encourages the older children in your family to smoke cigarettes with you, or someone who doesn’t care if your children fall over on the playground and hurt themselves, or someone who is simply a bit retarded and can’t understand the dosage description on your child’s medicine or – the worst thing for me – someone who just doesn’t care and doesn’t love your children. Parents wake up! This CRB check shows you nothing about the person you are hiring. Why do parents not trust their feelings anymore? Why do they need this so called “check” to linger them into a false sense of security? Is it that in case something happens they can say “We couldn’t see this coming, we trusted her because she was CRB checked.”? Is this what you would want to hear yourselves say?
Instead of forcing everyone on this planet to be CRB checked I would actually feel safer if the councils started tackling some of the real dangers: 15 year-old yobs on the playground after school hours pushing babies of the slide, dangerous tripping hazards and missing or broken gates or how about some decent and clean nappy changing facilities. Simply putting up a sign in front of the playground doesn’t solve problems.
A quick article I simply felt like I HAD to write. All of this was triggered by the government’s new plans to force volunteers (such as parents) who work with children to be “cleared” by the Criminal Record Bureau.
I sent it to the London Paper for their “columnist” section but I wouldn’t think I get published so I just put it up here, because this whole topic is simply annoying me.
As I am currently not working I am pretty bored which encouraged me to come up with some ideas for a theme. Random Ideas, Random Theme. For some reason the first thing I could think of was a safari. And this is my outcome for now:
