If you do not want your nanny
surfing the net or checking her e-mails from your computer tell
her. Many sites that don’t seem like adult sites (like sports sites or computer
video game cheat sheet sites) trigger pop up ads that have scantily clad women
and provocative sexual messages on them – and worse. Your nanny may not realize
this, so you have to explain it to her.
You can check the sites that have
been accessed on your computer by viewing “History” in the toolbar at the top
of most computers.
You will be able to see what sites, including porn sites,
have been accessed during the day – even the day before on some computers. This
is definitely a tool that all parents should check every day or so to make sure
that the children are safe on the internet or computer.
Write down the child’s daily
schedule on a piece of paper along with your full name, first and last, your
address and your phone number. Sometimes nannies misplace this information, and
if you have an unlisted number, they can’t reach you.
While it may be second
nature for you to be able to remember everywhere your child has to be – from a
play group, to a doctor’s appointment, to a particular shop to try on a new
pair of sneakers to buy, to a birthday party -- and what should be in the
child’s diaper bag or lunch box, and what time they like to nap -- a nanny is
probably not as intuitive about your child as you are, and will benefit from
having the information spelled out for her, by you, on a piece of paper.
In addition,
something as simple as your last name and address is sometimes not something
the nanny knows, even after a week or two of working for you.
If the nanny is going to be taking
your child to school or to a particular friend’s houses for play dates on a
regular basis, write down these places with addresses, phone numbers and
directions.
If you can afford to pay for your
nannies sick days, then do so and tell her up front. Tell her that if she
becomes so sick so often that your schedule becomes compromised you will
re-visit the issue at that time.
Spell out exactly when you do not want her to show up for
work because you consider her to be too sick. Some nannies pride themselves on
their work ethic, and will show up with a fever and a sinus infection that is
contagious. You can let her know your limits. For example, a fever is usually a
sign of a contagious infection, and if she has a fever, she
should stay home. Green and yellow mucous is also usually a sign of contagious
infection. Clear mucous is a sign of an allergic reaction and is not
contagious. These are standard pre-school rules.
