How to Keep Your Nanny After the Kids Go to School
It’s a difficult situation: you’ve had the same nanny since your child was a toddler, maybe even an infant, and you couldn’t be happier with her excellent care. Now your child is starting school soon and you don’t want to let go of the nanny you and your family love. She feels like part of the family. But what can you do?
Luckily, there are a few ways to keep your nanny around, such as changing her responsibilities and tweaking her hours.
Start the conversation early
First and foremost, start the conversation about your kids going to school early. Talking about this change in routine early shows your nanny that you are proactive and open, and that you don’t want to lose her. You care about your relationship and want it to continue. Set aside a time to talk about your nanny’s duties before your kids go to school, if possible. For some families, this is a few months before school starts, but it can start much sooner, like when thoughts of preschool or pre-K arise.
Discuss options to fill her schedule
If you’re able to keep your nanny on full-time, plan to talk about new duties she could take on to support your busy family while also maintaining her hours.
Here are just a few duties your nanny could add to her daytime routine (if she wants):
- Chores: laundry, picking up your child’s bedroom and play area, light cleaning around the house, watering flowers and plants
- Errands: grocery shopping, organizing your child’s clothing, taking your child to health appointments
- Other duties: meal prep or cooking, overseeing any repairs or maintenance for the home, help with special events or appointments, washing and fueling the
- Tutoring: finishing homework before dinner, helping kids read, practicing lessons
- Assistant duties: some families need help with schedules, others need help managing their email inbox. Get creative and think about all the things you’d trust your nanny to do.
Whatever duties you decide on, be sure to talk about them with your nanny first. You might find that she’s more open to preparing meals for your family instead of doing laundry, or vice versa. Some chores are not part of a nanny’s typical job description, so it’s important that she’s fully on board with her new duties.
Consider switching around hours
If you and your nanny both want her to remain full-time, consider switching around some of her hours without reducing them. Maybe she can start her shift earlier in the day during the week so you or your partner can hit the gym before work, or so that she can manage the morning routine and school transport. If she’s open to more evening or weekend time, maybe your nanny can come in later in the day to cover a few hours and you and your partner can enjoy date night. You may even try a few different schedules based on your family’s needs if she’s flexible.
This change can be difficult for your nanny and your family. Remember to remain open and honest with your nanny so that you can transition into a new routine smoothly. She’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness and be happy to work with you to adjust her schedule or duties. And if your family works with Stanford Park Nannies, we’re here to help you manage this transition and all its changes. Feel free to contact us with questions about how to navigate this properly, and how to formalize it so everyone is protected.
