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The Arizona Republic posted this article about Summer Nannies and how they can contribute  to your child’s having a creative, fun, educational summer and develop individualized interests that could make a lifelong difference!

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.

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. For more information, visit www.acaringnanny.com

Summer Nannies Do Much More Than Just Supervise Children at Home

Summer Nannies do much more than just supervise children. They can plan and implement daily curriculum, monitor your child’s development, and plan fun games and activities at home. During the school year, many children certainly have hectic, busy schedules outside of the home, and the summer heat is a natural cue to slow down, give them time to swim, dream, think, read, draw and paint in the quiet comfort of their own home.

Children are in large groups of 20 to 30 children during the school year so sometimes it’s very refreshing to give them some quiet “alone time” just to relax and slow down. A Summer Nanny allows children to safely be at home and also gives kids time to play with their siblings and simply enjoy being home.

Summer nannies can also help children to write and illustrate their own books, create and record their own music, make movies, grocery shop, and then cook together. A summer nanny can take children to the local museums, the zoo, field trips to the candy factory and fire station, and get them involved in the local library reading program.

Nannies Can Also Help Run the Summer Household More Smoothly

A Summer Nanny can help take an older child to a summer sports camp, and then allow the child to be home the rest of the day. During down time, she can keep up with the laundry, shopping and dinner preparation, or organize the pantry, so when parents come home at the end of the day, they can relax knowing that the day’s most pressing needs have been met.

Cost: Summer Nannies are paid $15/hour or an average of $400 to $500 per week, depending on the number of hours and job duties.

Also, in addition to sending out year-round nannies and Summer Nannies, the renowned Caring Nannies staffing agency – which has been in business for 30 years now – also employs the following:Baby Nurses, Newborn Specialists, Sleep Trainers, Mother’s Helpers, Nanny/Managers, Post-surgery Assistance, Housekeepers, Executive Housekeepers, Chefs, Personal Assistants, Estate Managers, Couples, Butlers, Event Care, Party Childcare, Corporate Backup Care and more. Candidates can be live-in or out, full or part-time or temporary.

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Picture this: Your Nanny walks through the door in the morning with her cup of coffee and a new library book. Your little munchkin runs right past you as your’e moving towards the door, and throws himself into her arms.

She laughs and scoops him up and they start breakfast. He doesn’t even bother to say goodby to you. Sound familiar? Outside of your immediate family, your caregiver is probably the most important person in your network, and nearly one-third of Moms say they have felt jealous of their Nanny.

How do you cope? First, realize you’ve found the right person for your child. Your child’s strong bonds with others will never diminish his love for you. Having good relationships with caregivers actually acelerates other healthy relationships in his life. Your Nanny is one more person who loves your child.

Secondly, create daily rituals between you and your child, like breakfast, bathtime, reading at bedtime, playing with duplos, or going out for a family breakfast on Saturday mornings.

Knowing there’s something special that just the two of you do will help you get through those moments when you feel replaced.

One Mom frequently came home with a new toy because she felt shaky about her child’s affections. Her Nanny was able to reassure her that no one could ever take her place in his life, and homecomings became much calmer.

You are irreplaceable in his life, and always will be.

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1. A refreshing change of pace-letting kids be kids

Children today have hectic schedules, and the summer heat is a natural cue to slow down, give them time to swim, dream, think, read, draw, paint, devise science experiments and fun learning games. They are in large groups of 20-30 children all year. This is an opportunity for a time to develop creative skills, have some alone time to think, be with siblings, and just enjoy being home. They’ll be more productive next fall after a real break.

2. A time to be creative-
Our nannies do more than supervise your children. They can plan and implement daily curriculum, monitor your child’s development and plan fun games and activities throughout the day.

3. A wider perspective- A nanny can take children to museums, the zoo, as well as field trips to the candy factory, fire station, crime labs, get them involved in the local library reading program, help them write and illustrate their own books, create and record their own music, make movies, write a neighborhood newspaper, grocery shop and cook dinner, or take diving lessons. It’s a gift to allow them to be bored for a while and have to come up with ideas, or to set up an intriguing ‘play station’ that draws them in, like playing hospital. Your goal is for them to play for long periods without too much involvement from adults.

4.Nannies are there for the whole family

A nanny can take an older child to a sports camp, but allow them to be home the rest of the day. During down time, she can keep up with the laundry, shopping and dinner preparation, or organize the pantry, so when parents come home at the end of the day, they can relax knowing that the day’s most pressing needs have been met.

5.Why Caring Nannies rather than an on-line site?

Our screening process is thorough and meticulous and we only take 7% of candidates who apply to us. We are very selective and have higher requirements than online sites.

Caring Nannies is offering a one time Summer Nanny Discount of $100 off the Summer Placement Fee if you start interviewing before May 31.

What Caring Nannies offers–
Some see us as only a nanny agency, but we send out Baby Nurses, Newborn Specialists, Sleep Trainers, Mother’s Helpers, Nanny/Managers, Post-surgery Assistance, Housekeepers, Executive Housekeepers, Chefs, Personal Assistants, Estate Managers, Couples, Butlers, Event Care, Party Childcare, Wedding Childcare, Corporate Backup Care and more! Candidates can be Live-in or out, Full or Part Time or Temporary.

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Mother’s Day Special

Thank you from Caring Nannies!

Date Night Nanny $295

This week ONLY 
reduced from $395 

Have access to one professional nanny
committed to your schedule all year
for evenings and weekends.

Current members refer a “new” family 
We will credit your account with
$50 (normally $25) in booking fees immediately!
 
480-946-3423

Current members this is the BEST week to refer 
new families to the agency!
You receive $50 credit 
in booking fees

We’re here for your next Wedding or Party

Or Corporate Events

Click here to schedule your next event childcare
and  Corporate Back-up Care

Why use Caring Nannies for Corporate  Back-up?

  • Care for mildly ill children
  • Overnight care when you have business travel
  • When childcare centers are closed
  • School holidays and vacation periods
  • When your nanny goes on vacation
  • When senior parents need companionship, meals, transportation or light housekeeping

Click here to get more information about how Corporate Backup can boot your company profits.

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Samuel Johnson, considered the ‘most distinguished man of letters in English history’, said that “happiness is a futile pursuit, it can’t be found.” But I saw joy on the faces of our nannies last Saturday as they brought their gifts for Maggie’s Place on

National Nanny Training Day. A few days later, I felt equally joyful as I delivered all these generous gifts.  Mandy’s House  gets no government support and relies solely on the generosity of people like you!  In the top photo, the girl on the right lives here six days  a week and is an Americorps Volunteer. She’s been there nearly a year. The lady on the left is a volunteer who comes in a few days per week to help and she was holding one of the triplets when I arrived.

There are five young Moms here and seven babies, including one month old triplets! Mandy’s Place gets referrals from homeless shelters and the young moms can remain in this lovely three level Tempe home as long as needed.
Thanks to all of you for your big hearts and generosity! Together you showed these young Moms how valuable they are! Together we made a difference!

 
 

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This year’s INA Convention was in Louisville, KY and Jenny got a rough start with her plane postponed initially, then got stuck in Chicago overnight due to bad weather, but she powered through and had a wonderful time networking with other agencies, nannies from across the country and vendors. She came away with ideas on how to better serve our families and meet the needs of our dedicated nannies.

Sessions were offered on how to set up Thematic Learning Stations, Social Graces for the 21st Century, Making the Most of Executive skills, Safe Sleep for Newborns, Understanding SIDS/SUID/Suffocation, Teaching Responsibility to Children, Emergency Preparedness for the Home, Developing Treasure Baskets for Young Children, Understanding Special Needs, Building an Exceptional Client Relationship, and Understanding and Encouraging Healthy Sleep, Understanding Infant and Toddler Temperaments, Caring for Teens in Today’s Social Media Culture, and Communicating With Families When Developmental Red Flags Appear, and many many more workshops were featured. Jenny came away motivated to put everything she learned into practice and make Caring Nannies even better.

We’re so thankful to all of our families and nannies who make it possible for Caring Nannies to serve them.

 

We were also  excited to see one of our very own Nannies, Maryann, be honored as a Nominee for the INA Nanny of the Year Award! Good work, Maryann!

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The right nanny doesn’t just pop in your door – you need to know the right questions to ask ~ first ask yourself what you really need and then ask the nanny key questions! Beth Weise and Ashley Zehring, were hosted  Friday april 12, by Baby Stop, the exclusive Scottsdale one stop shop for the most gorgeous lines of baby furniture and equipment. One of these lucky Moms won Three Fee-Free nights of one of our experienced Newborn Specialists in our drawing!

Ashley shared some personal insights with the group about her experiences working as a nanny in England, where everything was so different from what she was used to, for example walking up a long steep hill with heavy bags of groceries in her arms! The Mom she worked for took a week off  and worked side by side with her to be sure she knew how to do things the way the family was used to. She cautioned the Moms to take the time to properly train a new nanny. Every family has their own set of expectations and protocol, and although an experienced nanny knows the basics, she needs you to tell her exactly how you want things done.

Good luck with your new store, Kate! It’s truly beautiful and exciting! We met some wonderful new Mammas!

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Wednesday April 10, Beth Weise was interviewed by Blythe Lipman, an expert on parenting and raising babies and president of Baby Instructions. Blythe asked Beth what the key steps are to hiring a nanny and to share about the upcoming  National Nanny Training Day. Here’s the link. http://bit.ly/LHrmWp . If you click on the link, you will see Rating and Reviews above the podcasts. Click on that and you’ll see a place where you can write a review about the show directly under CUSTOMER REVIEWS. Thanks so much.

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National Nanny Training Day was initiated last year by Nanny Biz Reviews to foster excellence in the Nanny Profession across America. On April 20, 2013, over 2,000 nannies will meet in over 30 cities across the country to hone their skills in teaching, training and nurturing young children. Caring Nannies is proud to be the local sponsor for the PHOENIX event. We’ve planned a great morning of topics on boosting brain development and other hot topics, top speakers, networking and exciting Raffle Prizes. As with any profession, continued education is important and research shows that when caregivers are trained and knowledgeable, children clearly benefit.
Consider covering the cost of this training for your Nanny. Early bird rates are only $20 which includes the cost of sessions from 9 AM to 2PM plus lunch, a great goodie bag, certificate of completion, and invaluable networking. Early Bird Rate ends on April 1. Sign Up Here

# 7. The Nanny will feel more like it’s a team effort because you’re involved in sending her to the training.

# 6. Nannying can be an isolating career without access to peers. This will strengthen her feelings of camaraderie and bolster her emotionally, causing her to want to give even more to your family.
# 5. Even the most educated and experienced nanny needs to get excited by learning new ideas.
# 4. She’ll come to work the next Monday morning happier, more enthusiastic and confident and those feelings will spread to your child/ren.
# 3. She’ll learn new skills to teach creative thinking, ideas to implement teaching math through play, how to transition to a toxic free environment, tips to putting together a delicious and healthy dinner for you, and ways to communicate with you more effectively.
# 2. You’ll be affirming how much you value and appreciate her skills and expertise.
# 1. She’ll feel loved and appreciated.

Beth

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For the most important hire you will ever make, the key is asking the right questions.
A nanny takes care of your most valuable resources, your children and your home, and represents your family. You are the gatekeeper for your family, and in many ways, she will become the face of the family.
Choosing the right agency
The first question to ask is to determine which service to use. It helps to get a personal referral. When you’re shopping for a high end car, you go to the best store. This is not the time to look for a bargain and don’t make the mistake of using several agencies. You’ll likely see some of the same candidates. Read up on how they find their candidates, what their screening practices are. Look for a nice, kind, friendly agency.

A good agency will ask lots of questions. They will want to know your personality and the personality of each one of the children, your schedule, what household chores would lighten your load, like running errands, preparing a tasty dinner a few nights a week, or home management experience.

On Your mark, Get set, Go
Your first job is to decide what you actaully need and want:

  • Daily and weekly schedule- full or part time
  • Duties, expectations
  • Salary range
  • Skill sets, like bilingual, cooking
  • Educational level
  • Flexibility–like being able to travel or help with occasional evenings
  • Live-in or live-out

Be as specific as possible in your description
We recommend finding the best personality match for your family and being negotiable about specific skill-sets.

Narrowing down the candidates 

Your Placement counselor will take your Family Application and the information from the phone interview and go through their data base of nannies to find a handful of very close matches. She is doing the work for you so do consider each of them. She may start with 15 candidates and narrow the list down to 3-5 best matches for you. She is looking at the ages of children the nannies have had recent experience with, how close she lives to you, how her personality matches with yours, skill sets, schedule and salary. She is doing the digging for you. When she says, “meet everyone we send you , even if it’s just for 15 minutes”, do it.

Let the agency save you stress and  time. Trust them. A picky nanny agency will  go through 25 applications before finding one to interview. After an in-person interview, a decision is made whether to proceed with reference and background checks. Our goal is that your choice will be based on the best personality match for your family between a few top-quality candidates.

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