How can we resist the consumerism that encroaches on our children during the holidays and even turn it around to help them learn the true meaning of Christmas? New research shows that helping others is a major key to happiness, and when we are helping or giving to someone it helps us to feel satisfied, more self-assured and uplifted. We actually benefit more than the person we are helping. The best way to develop character in children is to get them involved in helping others less fortunate. This holiday season provides the perfect venue for instilling a focus on others, developing family team-building, and letting them experience firsthand that they can bring joy to others. The key is to plan and start early. Old toys can be sorted through and taken to a shelter before the holidays rather than after. Children can work to use their own money to buy gifts at the dollar store for teachers or siblings. Angel trees can be found in malls and the pre-requested gifts go to the children of prisoners who would be unable to provide for their families. When my children were young, we filled shoeboxes for children in developing nations with essential items like toothbrushes, pencils, soap and small toys. Our staff family is helping with a Christmas Fiesta at Neighborhood Ministries, a holistic Christian outreach to low-income families and at-risk children in the Phoenix inner-city. Parent volunteers come to the two acre campus to work for parent volunteer hours, which earn them “parent bucks”, to redeem at the Christmas Parent Store. We will be helping to set up the store on December 5th.

Old-Fashioned Family Games for Summer

Remember the fun games you played in summer growing up? Try some family games this summer?
There is Ante Over, where one team is stationed in the front yard, and half in the back, and you shout “Ante Over” to warn the other team to be on the lookout for the ball. They try to catch it. If the ball is not caught, any member of the team may pick it up and throw it back, calling “Ante Over!” as the throw is made. If the ball is caught, the person making the catch runs around to the other side and tries to hit some player of the other team with the ball. If a player is hit he joins the other team, till one team has all the players.
How about freeze tag, red rover, hide and seek? Or a family game of Marco Polo? When I was young, my siblings and I built tents in the family room with sheets and played Monopoly that lasted two days. Mom let us eat lunch in the tent.
When Erika, Jamie and Jeremy were small, we loved to play “Murder in the Dark”. It is like hide n’ seek, but everyone hides inside the house with all the lights out. My favorite hiding place was on the top of the refrigerator!

After months of preparation, the staff at Caring Nannies has launched Nanny Boot Camp, a four hour training session designed to give nannies the tools they need to find the right job, truly enhance a child’s life, help a family function smoothly, and stay long term. For the past five months, we have been interviewing experts in the field, studying textbooks, researching the internet, and listening to our nannies and clients, evaluating our own progress in the art of making expert matches. We are very excited about the potential of this additional step in the screening process you deserve. One of the biggest benefits is that we really get to know these wonderful ladies on a deeper level. As thorough as it is, an interview cannot provide that depth. The nanny career is unlike any other childcare career, in that there is unprecedented opportunity for professional and personal growth.
It is also different in that the nanny is in an intimate relationship, a part of the family, in a way that no one else is. Our clients feel that their home is their castle, and the nanny is privy into the family. The position demands clear communication of what is expected, comprehensive discussions from the start, and written guidelines to give the relationship a framework.
We were made for relationships, yet communication is the most difficult part of those relationships. It takes courage to care more for the relationship than we care about protecting our image. It is important to be willing to share how we are feeling when something is bothering us. Otherwise, we can become disgruntled and resentful, the relationship is damaged, and we experience burnout. We explore in class how we can use our positions as nannies as a springboard to develop personally in many important areas so that the nanny benefits as much as the children and family. This augments our mission of treasuring children and strengthening families by developing the professionalism and longevity of our nannies. Press release.