27 Dec How A Nanny Can Help You Get Organized: Tips For Making The Most Out Of 2022!
By the time New Year’s Day 2022 rolls around, many parents are ready to say bye to holiday mode and welcome more structure in their family’s life.
Your nanny is a valuable resource when it comes to organizing and setting in motion that renewed structure. Whether they live with the family or arrive each day before work and school, nannies are not only professional childcare workers. They are expert organizers of family schedules, because keeping track of the children – who has to be where, and when, and at what time – is a key part of their role.
And they are excellent at it!
In this post, we share some ideas for making the most of this valuable resource – your nanny. Rather than tackling a new organizational strategy on your own, involve your nanny – they are no doubt brimming with ideas for how the family can function more smoothly and efficiently. After all, each day they witness the strength and weaknesses of the schedule now in place, and can offer ways to improve that schedule, to the betterment of all.
1. Have a family meeting and ask your nanny to sit in.
Everyone who is affected by your wish to get organized must be in attendance, so they can offer suggestions and give feedback on changes you wish to make. For example: if you want your child to commit to practicing the piano between 3 and 4 p.m., your nanny will know if anything conflicts with that goal – sports practice at school, perhaps? The point is simply that no one knows your child’s daily routine better than your nanny. Having a family meeting without their presence means it won’t be as productive as it could be.
2. Ask your nanny about changes they’d like to see.
Again, your nanny is intimately familiar with how the family functions. Do they think toy bins in the sunroom are a good idea, and if not, what might they suggest? Talking ideas over in this way gives your nanny the opportunity to offer an organizational strategy you may not have considered.
3. Put up a new calendar and ask your nanny to be in charge of it.
Whether you use a paper calendar posted on the fridge or a laptop filled with each family member’s daily schedule, your nanny is the perfect person to handle it. They can add or delete events that may arise, and since they are in the home during the day, any calls that come in that affect the family can immediately be put on the calendar, whether it’s digital or paper. Then, when parents come home from work they only have to glance at the calendar to get updated on everyone’s activities. Now that’s being organized!
4. Ask your nanny/personal family assistant to schedule all annual medical and dental appointments.
This may already be part of your nanny’s responsibilities, but if not, it should be. Ask them to book annual physicals, dental checkups every six months for your child and any other appointments of this nature. If your nanny handles this task in early January, you’ll feel reassured knowing that all family members are soon going to have their medical needs met. And if any of these appointments require absence from school (your eldest is having their wisdom teeth extracted, for example) your nanny can contact the teacher well in advance to advise them that your child will be away for several days.
5. Listen to each family member’s goals for the year, and ask your nanny/chef to help.
Let’s say your child has decided to become vegan in the new year. Getting their dietary needs met and organizing meals that meet their requirements is a significant undertaking, but it is one your nanny can tackle. If they already cook for the family, ask how they suggest meals can be modified to suit everyone. Nannies thrive on new challenges, and their input in matters like this is invaluable. The goal can be practically anything – your nanny will have lots of creative ways to help the family achieve it.
6. A better organized family means your nanny can focus on other matters.
If your child tends to scatter their toys and not pick them up, the nanny no doubt takes care of that several times a day. Working toward better organization helps everyone, and your nanny will be delighted to put their time to different uses throughout their day once their charge is accustomed to putting their stuffed animals into a box or basket. Any habits like this are important, as they develop skills your child will use later in life, at school and, one day, in their profession. Therefore, any strategy you adopt that furthers the family’s structure will be welcomed by your nanny. Getting and staying organized is a challenge for many families, but for nannies, it is an essential skill in order to excel at their jobs. Use this resource, and the family will have an easier time putting their lives in order.
Nannies are childcare professionals, but they are also skilled at taking care of the family’s schedule, and lovingly getting it into better shape. With their active help and ongoing input, the new year is the perfect time for organizing everyone, because you’ve turned to this essential and helpful resource – your nanny!