Even the most careful parents have been there — the babysitter leaves after you come home from a long day, you’re exhausted, you turn to your children and realize you know nothing about what they were up to while you were gone.
The best way to stay involved with your kids even when you feel like you have a million other things happening simultaneously is through communication. Kiddo & Co experts encourage nannies to establish an easy way of keeping track of the kids’ activities that can be handed over to parents when they get home or want to hear about the day — such as a binder, journal, or an online log. For babies, this can be the details of when they were fed and other important notes. For older kids, this could be about their day at school or soccer practice and everything in between. A simple way to communicate saves time and helps parents stay informed and involved, even during the busiest days.
On the flip side, for the parents whose work never really ends when you get home, or maybe you work from home, there are multiple ways to keep your kids involved in your work and your life. Some have suggested buying your young child a fake laptop so when you’re doing work on yours, they have a way to act like they’re helping you. Another idea is giving them small tasks for you that only they can do – even if it means organizing files, stapling packets, getting papers for you from the printer- these little things make your kids feel important. Another small thing is explaining the tasks you need to complete to your kids and asking them which they would like to help you with. Keeping your kids involved makes a world of difference. For more on how to keep your kids involved in your work read this great post by The Daily Femme: 7 Ways to Include your Children in your Business
Constant communication between your nanny or sitter and kids won’t only make things run more smoothly, but you and your kids will feel more connected and happier.
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