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June 15, 2013 Blog, Uncategorized By admin No Comments

READING TO BABIES AND TODDLERS: OUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE BOOKS

In our family, we started reading to our children from the time they were babies. It created strong bonds, sped them towards academic excellence, accelerated their speech and communications skills, logical thinking, and increased concentration and discipline. NPR recently reported that high school student’s reading levels are stuck in 5th and 6th grade levels and older students are not tackling more difficult material. Reading to children is by far the best way to help children be successful in school and in life.

Why do some books stay popular for generations? George McDonald, the 19th Century Scottish storyteller, said that the best children’s books are the ones where parents are looking over their kids shoulders.

When your toddler is at the stage when they want the same book read 12 times a day, it had better be fun for you to read!

Here are a few of our all time family favorites that met that test.

PAT THE BUNNY

This classic book is so interactive that neither babies nor their parents ever tire of touching the bunny, feeling Daddy’s beard or trying on Mommy’s ring.

GOODNIGHT MOON
This classic book delights every child and they never tire of it’s sparse words at the end of the day. It becomes their cue that it’s bedtime and they settle down and easily slip into sleep and parents enjoy it just as much as the babies.

WHERE IS BABY’S BELLY BUTTON?

This is newer than the books I enjoyed with my own children, but my grandchildren love it.

Babies and toddlers don’t realize that things exist when they’re hidden, so they are surprised every time you uncover a hidden belly button or toes.

THE VERY HUNGRY CATEPILLAR

After finding a huge green hornworm as big as my finger, eating our pepper plants last Spring, I brought him in a jar to show my two year old grandaughter. We made a green catterpillar and fruits and vegetables out of playdoh and re-enacted the story.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM

The wonderful Dr Seuss rhymes and outrageous stories and pictures is one most parents were raised on and continue to enchant toddlers today.

CORDUROY

The lonely teddy bear that had to live in a department store until a young girl was able to save up her allowance and bring him home is endearing to parents and children alike and makes children feel loved and cared for.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Maurice Sendak died just last year and he left a wonderful legacy of his love for children with this book. We read this book over and over as our children were growing up and they love the wildness of it and that it was all peaceful by the time bedtime came.

THE SNOWY DAY

Great for reading this summer-Kids get out of school for a day of frolicking in the snow. Another Caldecott Award winning treasure.

CARS, TRUCKS AND THINGS THAT GO.

All of Richard Scarey’ books are favorites. Children enjoy the detailed pictures with so many interesting things going on.

THE SNOWY DAY

Great for reading this summer-Kids get out of school for a day of frolicking in the snow. Another Caldecott Award winning treasure.

THE LITTLE HOUSE

This wonderful book is by the same author, Virginia Lee Burton, and shows how a lovely farm home becomes encircled by the big city. The granddaughter finds it and rescues it and moves it out to the country. The detailed pictures show the seasons changing as well and the countryside, families growing up. Another award-winning book.

Our family spent many hours reading books together, and now they are buying these favorites for their children. All five of them have loved reading and are lifetime learners.

Beth

June 15, 2013 Blog, Uncategorized By admin No Comments

ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH YOUR NANNY? TIGHTEN MUSHY BOUNDARIES

Boundaries in the home with a nanny are naturally confusing.There are two basic ways you relate to others: There’s a business relationship with someone or a family relationship. The business relationship is based on: ‘I have something for you”. The basis is performance. You perform for me and I perform for you. The family relationship with someone is based on: “I am something to you. It’s what I am to you. The basis is a commitment. A permanent committed relationship. Here’s an example of how these two relationships work out.

There are two different ways you can live in someone’s house. Generally, you’re either there as a tenant or as a family member. If you’re a tenant, the person who owns the house is your landlord and you rent their house. You can have a pretty good relationship with them as long as you pay the rent and respect the property.

But the relationship has structure and rules that are mechanical.There are rules for the tenant and the landlord also has certain rules he must follow. The landlord has to do maintenence. You can have a pretty good relationship, but the basis of your approach and the interchange is a mechanical one of goods and services. One of the problems is that when you live in a house and you see the boarders every day, the relationship continually tries to move off the business relationship into friendship. You start to not just give goods and services but listen to their problems and and start to move into friendship, and it’s hazardous. What happens when you have to put the screws to somebody when they aren’t paying the rent and they have become your friend and they’re not taking care of the property? A business relationship is a conditional one, but family relationships move towards being unconditional.

The business relationship is based on what you have–performance, and the family relationship is moving towards who you are. One is conditional and one is unconditional. One has to do with your doing and one has to do with your being. You’ve gotta watch out. You can’t become friends with the tenants.

At home, you’re supervising a nanny and you’re both crossing boundaries and she becomes your friend. Now what happens when she’s not towing the line, not coming through on her job description? Or, you start leaving the dishes in the sink on Sunday nights, and soon, it’s every night. It’s very difficult, very dissonant. There are two basic types of relationships and there’s a need to keep the tension between the two.

You can also be living in the home of your parents and you’re not a boarder, you’re a child. The paradigm is different. The business relationship should work like: “If you perform you’ll be accepted. The way the family relationship works, is “that since your’re accepted, you should perform”. It’s two completely different ways of relating.

We’ve recently have had nannies reporting clients breeching boundary lines by asking indiscrete personal questions. When the nannies try to deflect those questions, the clients will as much say, “I feel I can’t trust you, because you’re not being completely open with me.”

We all want someone who will love our children as much as we do and who’s like a member of the family, and yet we need to walk that tightrope, so the relationship stays friendly, but business-like. I’m not saying this is easy, and the longer you’re together, the more you need to work on it.

If the boundaries at your house have gotten soft and mushy, how can you take back ground?

1. On your next Monthly Meeting share your failure to maintain the proper relationship. Nannies can have hurt feelings when Moms go back and forth on boundaries. One Nanny had a Mom who regularly made the nanny her ‘best friend’ and then ‘cut her off’ emotionally. when she realized she’d gone too far. Another Mom kept the nanny as her BFF, but when family came to visit, she became ‘The Help’.

2. Have regular evaluations with your nanny, either quarterly or at six months and a year. We have a Performance Review available. Just reply to this email and we’ll forward it to you.
3. Be award that you may have crossed her boundaries as well, perhaps by regularly coming home late and not expecting to pay extra, or slowly adding to her work load without mentioning any reimbursement, or by sharing marital discord with her.
4. If you’ve never sat down and filled out a Working Agreement, it’s not too late. This agreement delineates her responsibilities, schedule, reimbursement and many other practical guidelines that you decide on together.
5. Keep evaluating if you’re both walking the tightrope. Be friendly, but not BFFs. It just doesn’t work.

June 8, 2013 Blog By admin No Comments

DADS: 8 WAYS TO HAVE MORE FUN WITH YOUR FAMILY FOR FATHER’S DAY

Having fun with our families and creating priceless memories together is one of the best ways to build teamwork, develop closer bonds, and makes us all healthier. Watch this funny video of Chad Morton, a stay at home Dad in Atlanta, that has gone viral with over two million hits.

Here are 8 great ways to get your family to laugh more and have fun together.
1. Be silly. Impersonate a ballerina or Dora the Explorer or their favorite Superhuman cartoon character. Act like a chimpanzee or a silly monster.
Pretend to fall off the couch, onto the coffee table and roll across the floor. Make silly faces, like exaggerated grins.
2. Start a tickle-fight. Wrestle together as a family. Get everyone involved down on the floor.
3. Make up your own silly song. Use familiar lyrics to a children’s song but add your own silly words.

4. Create a silly prank when no one is expecting it. Pretend there’s a bug and you’re scared of it, or a mouse and you’re standing on the chair. Or play hide ‘n seek all over the house.
5. Children love being chased. Clear an area and tell your child you’re going to ‘get her’.
6. Get our your old ‘knock-knock’ jokes and silly riddles.
7. Share a funny story from your childhood. When Dads share self-depreciating humor, stories of how they failed when they were younger, its endearing to children.
8. Watch Mr Bean videos. Dads, have your family watch this funny video of Mr Bean who tries to use the kids slide at the pool and when he gets chased off, he tries the high dive and is too scared to dive.

June 8, 2013 Blog, Uncategorized By admin No Comments

3 VITAL AREAS OF EDUCATION YOUR NANNY MUST SUCCEED AT

Education deeply impacts the personality of a young child and is a much broader subject than we normally realize.

Education affects personality.

Your nanny has enormous influence on the personality and academic achievement of your child by creating the right educational environment for them. The intelligence environment that you and she cultivate will make all the difference in the world for your toddler.

Speaking Broadly About Education

I’m speaking in the broadest sense that goes way beyond workbooks or organized learning or classrooms. Most of her time will be spent educating your toddlers in three vital areas of life until they develop mastery themselves:

1. Morals, health and safety and life skills.
Your child’s personality is greatly shaped by her focused, continual, passionate attention to these goals. She will be teaching your child to be patient, thoughtful, caring, goodhearted, respectful, unselfish, generous and responsible.

2. Healthy Habits
Her second goal is to help her develop healthy habits like washing hands, brushing teeth, picking up toys after playing with them, making his bed, helping with simple chores, like folding clothes, matching socks, putting away the silverware in the dishwasher, clearing the table.

3. How To Think
Along with these skills and mindsets, she must teach the child how to think, how to make sound judgements, how to apply logic and reason to her life.

Encouraging Strengths
Neither you nor your nanny can change your child’s genes or basic makeup, but you can recognize and work with them. You can minimize the negative traits, encourage strengths, and maximize natural gifts.

June 6, 2013 Blog By admin No Comments

HAVING A SUMMER BABY? HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS ON YOUR TAXES WITH AN FSA

Did you know that in the U.S. there are more babies born during the summer than any other season of the year? It’s one of the reasons that demand for professional childcare reaches a peak during the summer. So, it’s a good time to remind everyone about Flexible Spending Aaccount enrollment. For families who have just given birth – or are about to welcome a new member to their household – this edition of The Legal Review local placement agency,nanny,, Memorial Day, placement counselor, tax and payroll obligations, will share a simple tip worth as much as $1,500.

The Situation
A couple gave birth to their first child on April 19. In early May, they began working with a local placement agency to find a nanny so the mom could go back to work after Memorial Day. With about a week to spare, they found the perfect nanny. As the family worked with the agency to finalize the employment paperwork for their nanny, the family’s placement counselor provided them with information about their tax and payroll obligations as a household employer and shared the good news about tax breaks. The family told her that they had not enrolled in their company’s Flexible Spending Account but would do so in the subsequent year.

Having read through the Expert Advice section of our website, the counselor remembered that there were some special opportunities to enroll in the middle of the year if you just had a baby. So, she advised the family to talk to their HR people as soon as possible.

The Law

Families with childcare expenses are entitled to tax breaks to help offset some of the costs. There is no income restriction on the tax breaks, so all families qualify as long as their children are under age 13 and both spouses are working, looking for work or are full-time students.

The most lucrative tax break is the Dependent Care Account (also referred to as “Flexible Spending Account” or “FSA” as part of a company’s “Cafeteria Plan”). If one of the spouses has access to this benefit, the family will be able to pay for up to $5,000 of childcare expenses using pre-tax dollars. That means the family has no taxes on that portion of their income. This benefit saves most household employers between $2,100 and $2,300 per year, depending on the state they live in and their marginal tax rate.

Enrollment in the FSA is limited to once a year (most companies do open enrollment in the fall for the subsequent tax year). However, there is a 30-day window after “life-changing events” where the family can enroll mid-year and the birth of a child is one of the qualifying events. If families miss that window, they can still take advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit when they file their federal income tax return. However, this tax break saves a maximum of $600 per year for families with one child or $1,200 per year for families with two or more children.

The Outcome

Upon speaking to the HR person, the family learned more about the 30-day window for life-changing events and they were able to enroll in the FSA program for the current tax year. Given the family’s marginal tax rate, they will be able to take advantage of $2,100 in tax savings for the 2013 tax year.

Without that tip from the counselor, the family would have missed the enrollment window, which would have forced them to settle for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit’s $600 worth of tax savings. That $1,500 of additional savings will pay for a lot of diapers and baby food!

How to Ensure Your Familily Maximizes Your Tax Savings
Unfortunately, it is extremely common for families to miss out on enrolling in an Flexible Spending Account after the birth of a child. As first-time parents become first-time employers, there is a lot of new information to process and 30 days is not a lot of time to know everything about being a household employer.

That’s why our partnership with Breedlove & Associates offers the families who are working with us a New Employer Orientation free of charge. This 10-minute, no-pressure, no-obligation phone call allows a Breedlove & Associates tax expert to assess the family’s unique situation and provide guidance on all the tax and labor law issues that will come into play for them. Whether they decide to use their comprehensive payroll, tax and HR service or not, this guidance will likely save them thousands of dollars and dozens of hours.

888-BREEDLOVE (888-273-3356)

www.breedlove.com

Tags: 30 day window, Breedlove & Associates, Dependent Care Account, Enrollment in FSA, Flexible Spending Account, FSA enrollment, household employer, New Employer Orientation, Newborn, payroll and tax service, pre-tax dollars, professional childcare, summer baby, tax and payroll obligations, tax breaks, tax expert, taxes

June 1, 2013 Blog By admin No Comments

Time to Go Back to Work After Baby: Five Things to Know Before You Go

Your maternity leave has flown by and no one could have prepared you for the exhilirating and exhausting experiences of these past few months. But how are you feeling about leaving your little one? Guilty? Uncertain? Elated? The exact opposite of how you thought you’d feel?

It’s hard to focus on a new marketing campaign when you’re separated from your little miracle. You’re going to struggle with feelings of doubt, guilt and frustration for the first few weeks. Expect the first month to be a challenge and don’t be too hard on yourself.

Accept that you may have to ‘fake it til you make it’. Half of all new Moms go back to work during their baby’s first year. Moms easily get caught up in guilt over failings in all areas of parenting. In a Working Mother survey, two thirds of all the working moms surveyed felt separation anxiety and guilt. Your baby will be fine, but it may take you a while to adjust. When you return home and see how happy your baby is, your own emotions will calm. If after several months you are still feeling like you’ve made the wrong choice, and you can afford it, ask about moving to part time or having a flexible schedule where you work from home a couple of days a week, or even quit your job.

Here are a few tips to relieve the separation anxiety.
* Put a photo of baby on your desk.
* Ask your caregiver to send you photos and videos and progress reports during the day.
*Don’t call too frequently to check up on baby.
2. Get organized.
* Get yourself to bed no later than 9 pm because you’ll need to get up early.
* Do everything you can the night before, including prepping bottles, showering, laying out clothes, and packing your lunch.
* Practice your routine a few times before the big day, so you’ll be confident and calm.
3. Make it a Team Effort.
* Ask your spouse to take on more duties during this time, or get some extra household help.
* Clearly designate tasks and decide what each of you can handle so you get more sleep and are easier to live with.
* Sleep when the baby sleeps rather than doing an exta set of laundry, or tidying up the kitchen.
* One husband only took off one week when the baby was born and a second week on the first week Mom started back to work. This way all she had to do was get herself to work, and didn’t need to worry about baby. It was also sweet that the two of them had that quality time together.
* Another way to ease back into work is to start mid-week or only work part time the first week.

4. If you’ll be nursing, be committed and protect pumping time by blocking it off on your schedule.
* Buy the best pump you can afford that will pump both sides at once and be hands free so you can study a report while pumping.
* Have one for home and one for work if possible, and at work, get extras of the parts that need washing.
* Keep extra tops, bras and breast pads in your office for leaks.
* If you don’t have an office, ask ahead if there is a lactation room or another room you can use and put a discrete note on the door to prevent interruptions.
* Pump as soon as you get to work because you’ll have more milk then and you’ll be sure to get it done before starting projects.
* Maintain regular pumping times so you don’t get engorged, since it can lead to mastitis. Watch videos or pictures of your baby to stimulate milk production.
5. Be all there at work and at home.
The more you focus on the tasks at hand the quicker the day goes by. When you get home, cuddle with your little one skin to skin in in your darkened bedroom and forget about unfinished tasks at work. Going back to work after a baby is never easy, but as you follow these tips the transition will be smoother.

Tags: back to work, bottles, breast pump, flexible schedule, guilt, hands free breast pump, little miracle, mastitis, Maternity leave, milk production, new baby, Parenting, part time work, separation anxiety, work life balance, Working Moms, Working Mother

May 31, 2013 News By admin No Comments

Caring Nannies in the AZ Central News! FREE Seminar For New and Expecting Parents at Babystop

Here’s a great seminar that all expectant mothers and mothers of newborns will not want to miss! Professional newborn specialist, Stacey Royal, of the renowned Caring Nannies staffing agency in Scottsdale – now celebrating its 30th year in business – will offer an informative and helpful seminar on Thursday, June 6, from 7 to 8 p.m. at BabyStop baby and children’s furniture store in Scottsdale.
Stacey will teach and discuss the following:
·         Different sleep training methods for newborns
·         Useful baby product information
·         Why the parenting books don’t always work
·         Why all children have a “witching hour”
·         Diapers (cloth vs. hybrid vs. traditional)
Admission is free. Advanced registration is required. Come with lots of questions! Stacey will have the answers.
BabyStop is located at 6990 E. Shea Blvd., Suite #110. For more information or to register, call Caring Nannies at (480) 946-3423 or visit www.acaringnanny.com

Tags: "witching hour" for babies, Az Central News, Baby Product Information, Baby Stop, cloth diapers vs. hybrid, diapers cloth vs. hybrid, education, Expecting Parents, Families, Health, Infant care, New parents, Seminar, sleep Training methods for newborns, Why the parenting books dont work

May 28, 2013 News By admin No Comments

May 30 – FREE Seminar for Parents on ‘How to Hire a Nanny’ at The Play Factory at Desert Ridge

Caring Nanny article in the East Valley Tribune on May 28th, 2013

Thursday, May 30th starting at 7:00 PM and ending at 8:00 PM MST

May 30 – FREE Seminar for Parents on ‘How to Hire a Summer Nanny’ at The Play Factory
For parents of babies, toddlers, and young children who are considering hiring a professional nanny, or a temporary “Summer Nanny” for their children this summer, The Play Factory at Desert Ridge Marketplace will host a helpful and free information seminar on Thursday, May 30, from 7 to 8 p.m. Guest speaker will be Beth Weise, owner of Caring Nannies staffing agency in Scottsdale. Weise will teach parents how to hire a nanny and explain what the most important questions to ask are.
Nannies are paid $13-$15/hour or an average of $400 to $500 per week, depending on the number of hours and job duties. Advanced registration is required by May 29. All attendees will also get a chance to win a $100 gift basket that includes: a certificate for a free nanny for up to four hours, two Harkins movie tickets with popcorn, a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.
The Play Factory is located at 21001 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix. To register, call Caring Nannies at (480) 946-3423.

Tags: $100 Gift Basket, Babies, Beth Weise, Deset Rigge, East Valley Tribune News, Free Seminar, How to hire a nanny, Most Important Questions to ask, parents, Play Factorey, professional nanny, toddlers

May 22, 2013 News By admin No Comments

Interview with Ashley Zehring, Caring Nannies new Nanny Recruiter

Q. How did you get started in your Nanny Career?
A. I started babysitting at age 13, then went on went on to a Day Care Facility, but there I missed the one on one relationships with the children. The other down side was that I got pinkeye, pneumonia, mono and bronchitis all in one month working at the Center.
Later, a friend of a friend asked me to care for a 10 month old and an eight year old full time, so I nannied for two years for them. I watched the baby learn to walk, talk at 12 months, and potty trained and swimming by age two. The sense of satisfaction knowing that I’d helped her progress, had a deep and lasting impact on me. She loved me, I loved her, and we had that connection. She called me ‘My Ashley’. Being responsible for a child so dependent on me, gave me a sense of responsibility and helped me mature. We danced and sang all day long. The Mom told me “she has a part of your personality”. She took after me and I thought that was so special! I’ve been close to the family ever since. Recently I sat for them for a family emergency. “We don’t want anyone else”, they told me.

Q. What other experience have you had with children?
A. I nannied for a family in England as a Live-In, and taught summer camps in Canada for two summers, creating and implementing curriculum for 80 children ages 5-10. It was very difficult! But it gave me insights into understanding the dynamics of working with kids of different ages.

Q. What led to your moving into the Nanny Recruiter role?
A. A nanny job with a 14 year old was ending just as Caring Nannies was getting super busy. The timing was perfect. I’ve had a plethora of experiences as a nanny that help me relate to other nannies and give me the discernment to know if they have the key qualities for this field.
Q. So how do you pick the nannies?
A. I look for candidates who relate well and are engaging. They need to be able to interact with the child as well as the parents. It’s a family dynamic she’s moving into and she needs to be able to intuitively and proactively assess needs and meet them. There are so many needs in a household, spoken and unspoken. She needs to be able to look at a room and see what needs to be done. Be reliable, trustworthy, kind, patient. If someone can walk into this office and put me at ease, she can put a child and a parent at ease.

Tags: Ashley Zehring, bronchitis, Day Care, family dynamic, household, Live-In Nanny, mature, mono, Nanny, Nanny Recruiter, one on one, parent, pinkeye, pneumonia, responsibility, summer camp

May 20, 2013 News By admin No Comments

FREE Information Seminar for All Parents and Expecting Parents at The Play Factory at Desert Ridge!

Thinking About Hiring a Nanny?

The Play Factory Will Proudly Host a

FREE Information Seminar for All Parents & Expecting Parents

Thursday, May 30, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Beth Weise, Owner of

Caring Nannies – and Ashley Zehring, nanny recruiter, the largest and most respected nanny and household-staffing agency in Phoenix.

30 years in business!

Learn How to Hire a Nanny & What the Most Important Questions to Ask Are!

Advanced registration is required by May 29th. All attendees will have an opportunity to win a $100 Gift Basket including:

Certificate for a Free Nanny for 4 hours!!!
2 Harkins Movie tickets with popcorn
Bottle of Wine & 2 wine glasses

To register, please call Caring Nannies at (480) 946-3423

For more information, visit www.acaringnanny.com

The Play Factory is located in The Desert Ridge Marketplace,

21001 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix – www.playfactoryparty.com

Tags: 30 years in business, children, Desert Ridge Marketplace, Expecting, Free Harkins Movie Tickets, Free Nanny, Free Seminar, Gift Basket, How to hire a nanny, Nanny, parents, Play Factory, Seminar

My

READING TO BABIES AND TODDLERS: OUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE BOOKS

ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH YOUR NANNY? TIGHTEN MUSHY BOUNDARIES

DADS: 8 WAYS TO HAVE MORE FUN WITH YOUR FAMILY FOR FATHER’S DAY

3 VITAL AREAS OF EDUCATION YOUR NANNY MUST SUCCEED AT

HAVING A SUMMER BABY? HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS ON YOUR TAXES WITH AN FSA

Time to Go Back to Work After Baby: Five Things to Know Before You Go

Caring Nannies in the AZ Central News! FREE Seminar For New and Expecting Parents at Babystop

May 30 – FREE Seminar for Parents on ‘How to Hire a Nanny’ at The Play Factory at Desert Ridge

Interview with Ashley Zehring, Caring Nannies new Nanny Recruiter

FREE Information Seminar for All Parents and Expecting Parents at The Play Factory at Desert Ridge!

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