Word of mouth advertising is the lifeblood of our community. As a small company, we can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars per month on advertising. I started asking myself recently, why can’t our members get paid to refer their friends to our community? I have seen huge companies use programs like that, why can’t we?

Today, I am excited to announce that the Nanny Parent Connection Rewards Program is now live!

Anyone can sign up for the rewards program – we were able to build this system so that even if you don’t have a membership on our website, you can still utilize it. And there is no cost – simply sign up and share your unique link with your friends, family, neighbors, etc. Every time a purchase is made through your link, you earn dollars!

nannies earn cash

Continue reading “Rewards Program Is Now Live!”

 

Two Children Nanny Pay

Over the last several months, we have asked our members to complete pay surveys to provide the parents and care providers of our region a snapshot of the average pay for different child care scenarios (i.e. one child, two children, nanny shares, etc).

You can find the results of those surveys by clicking here.

Several members have taken issue with these pay surveys as they feel they could be more accurate if variables such as location, duties, experience level, etc. were taken into account. While we agree, our intent with these previous pay surveys was to provide a rough idea of the average pay across our region for different types of child care, which we believe was accomplished.

But we have been listening…

As we begin refreshing the results of the initial round of pay surveys, we are going to try something a bit different. The embedded Facebook polls we have been using were very limiting – we could only ask members to respond to one question at a time. Moving forward, we are going to give SurveyMonkey a try and see if we can generate more refined results for those parents and care providers that are interested.

So, without further ado, we present our May 2018 Caring for Two Children Nanny Pay Rate Survey (wow, that’s a mouthful). The survey is very short and you should be able to complete it in about two minutes:

Care Providers – have you provided child care for two children from the same family in the past year? Parents – in the past year, have you employed a nanny to care for two of your children? If so, please complete the survey below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5VZYJ6

The survey is now closed. The survey will be live for about the next 10 days. The results will be posted to this blog and our Facebook community.

Finally, I would love to hear what you think about this survey. Was it too long? Are there questions you feel should be added? Please comment below!

 

 

As a former nanny, I find myself constantly brainstorming new tools for the care providers in our community to use to help offer their services.

Recently, I decided to ask the nannies and babysitters in our Facebook community what feature they would like to see us build next. There were some great ideas floated – community calendar, nanny database, and a Nanny Parent Connection Buy Nothing group among others.

Overwhelmingly though, the care providers up-voted a very novel idea…an instant message/text message system for when parents need last minute child care.

I am so excited to announce that yesterday, we launched our Last Minute Care Text Message Service!

child care last minute

Thank you to all of the nannies and babysitters that signed up to help us test the system. We couldn’t have done it without you 🙂

child care last minute

Continue reading “New Feature: Last Minute Care Text Message Service”

 

free pacific science center

FREE PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER FLEX PASS FOR NANNY PARENT CONNECTION MEMBERS!

Huge thank you to the Pacific Science Center for putting together this deal for us! My family loves checking out the exhibits at the Science Center (the boys are fascinated by the dinosaurs) and we have had a membership there for several years. The problem is that when our nanny took our kids to visit, our membership didn’t cover her admission. 

Not anymore! 

Until January 31, Nanny Parent Connection members can purchase a DUAL or FAMILY membership and receive one free FLEX guest pass for the entire year. A FLEX pass creates a permanent, unnamed guest on your membership that can accompany any listed member throughout the year. Perfect for nannies or sitters taking the little ones for a visit!

Continue reading “Exclusive Offer from the Pacific Science Center!”

 

au pairGuest post from Nanny Parent Connection member Wendy Poleski who is an Educational Consultant focused on connecting families with that special au pair.

Where do culture, conversation, family, food, and laughter come together? Right at your dinner table! Bring the world to your doorstep with an au pair and watch your child experience the world at her fingertips. Are you intrigued by learning about people from different countries? Do you think it’s important for your family to learn a different language? Although there are countless benefits to hosting an au pair, these are just a few of the things that you will gain from hosting an au pair! 

Families all over the country have latched on to this form of childcare and while it has been around for many years, the idea of an au pair is becoming more and more mainstream.  The word au pair is a French word meaning “on par”.  This means that your au pair literally becomes part of your extended family. While they…

Continue reading “Could an Au Pair Solve Your Childcare Dilemma?”

 

Guest post from Three Kings Financial Group

As a nanny, life keeps you busy. So below, we’ve listed 5 tips to make it easier when navigating your choices this year.

Tips for Nannies Choosing Health InsuranceChoosing health benefits may be one of the most important decisions you make every year. The current uncertainty about healthcare premiums, deductibles, and coverage may seem like good reasons to wait on making important health insurance decisions. But that hesitation could end up costing you more in the long run. By assessing your health needs and budget now, you will be better prepared to make health insurance decisions that work for you and your family now that Open Enrollment is upon us.

When it comes to deciding what health insurance plan is best for you, one of the first things you probably think about is cost.

However, cost should not be the sole basis for choosing medical coverage. Just as important are having the right network of physicians, pharmacies, and hospitals. Making sure that all the elements of your healthcare work together can ensure improved convenience, efficiency, and ultimately reduce overall costs.

Below are 5 tips when choosing a health insurance plan this year:

Continue reading “5 Tips for Nannies Choosing Health Insurance”

 

There are so many things to consider when hiring a nanny!  The obvious things include job duties, work hours, and pay rate. While it’s impossible to imagine every aspect of the relationship with your nanny, here are eight things not to forget about when hiring a nanny.

Guaranteed Hours

hiring a nanny - nanny parent connection

This is a big one for nannies and is considered a standard practice in the industry. 

Guaranteed hours means that you and your nanny agree upon a set number of hours (normally around the typical hours worked in a week) that she is paid for in the event you end up not needing her for all of those hours.  This is important so your nanny can rely on a guaranteed income. 

It’s not fair to the nanny to not get paid if a parent chooses to not have them come in during regularly scheduled hours when the nanny is willing and able.  Keep in mind it’s not legal to bank these hours! 

By offering your nanny guaranteed hours, your nanny will feel appreciated and you will be doing the right thing. Click here for a great article from the Nanny Counsel on guaranteed hours.

Continue reading “Eight Things to Consider When Hiring A Nanny”

morning sanity savers

I am admittedly not the most organized person in the world. This has likely been made worse with the addition of the twins over the summer. But I couldn’t say for sure 😉 

Last night I had every intention of making my oldest son’s lunch for school the next day. This wasn’t the case – instead an impromptu three hour long nap happened after reading my toddler a bedtime story.  (I’m sure some of you can relate!)  

So this morning I got to make breakfast and pack a school lunch with an alert infant in my arms, wistfully watching the coffee still brewing.

Yaaaay.

Now that school has started again, the only way I’m going to survive busy mornings is to force myself to plan ahead more. To save time on school mornings, I hereby resolve to live by these timesaving guidelines:

Continue reading “My Morning Sanity Savers for the School Year”