We recently helped a childcare whizz land a position with an amazing family in Sherman Oaks. He had actually never been a ‘Manny’ before, but had plenty of experience with children in other settings (camp, coaching, tutoring etc).
The thing that he was most nervous about was that he had never worked in somebody’s home before, playing hide and seek in his bosses closets was not something that came naturally to him. He also mentioned that he didn’t want to overstep his bounds and wasn’t sure what his job was when there were no children around to care for; what then? Mom had a change of plans and wants to see soccer practice, and dad decided an impromptu lunch visit to a museum was called for, or the entire family unit goes out to dinner instead. That said, you might find yourself with some downtime at their house.
To reduce the amount of time twiddling his thumbs while they’re out doing the family thing… I’m compiling 50 things a caregiver can do when kids are occupied (it may get repetitive but it’s a work in progress) – help appreciated!
LISTS! Put together a list of emergency contacts, a list of house repair contacts, etc.
Plan for the week, prepare crafts
Update parents on how their child has been
Throw out bad food in the fridge
Restock any diapers. wipes, paper products
Clean high chair (if there’s a highchair)
Go gas up the car
Clean and descale humidifier
Sweep, vacuum
Organize the pantry
Tidy up the kids bedrooms and playroom
Clean out the nanny-mobile
Run quick errands for family (grocery, go grab take out etc)
Alphabetize board games.
Bake some cookies
Clean and organized mommy diaper bag.
Check expiration medicine.
Make a grocery list
Fold laundry
Pick up the mail
Build a surprise fort
Organize closets
Color coordinate shirts
Read about your kids stage development.
Check for vaccines they may need
Delete some of the 10,000 pictures you’ve taken of the kids
Read (work appropriate books)
Hide in the pantry
Go to the bathroom (precious free time!)
Rest (I’m SURE it’s deserved)
If we’ve missed any, please drop us a line, and if you’re looking for a nanny that is happy to do the above AND care for children, please reach out to us!