Last year, we met with the founder of the organization to discuss giving options, and I am pleased to say that a large portion of revenue from our placements are now supporting an entire boys home of 20 former street children in Kigali, Rwanda. This includes clothing, food, education and housing for the entire year!

We are thrilled that Laura will be joining the Africa New Life vision trip to see the home, and get to know each of the boys personally. It has been such a gift for me to have an employee like Laura on my team for this past decade, and I am truly moved that she was so passionate about this new project that she is travelling halfway around the world to visit! Seeing this charitable partnership come to life affirms my dream that we could use what we do – helping your children and families – to help care for children with significant needs.

We will post photos after Laura’s trip to share her unique experience.

• Healthy Baby Food
• Home Organization
• How to Be a Valuable Household Employee
• Incorporating Music into Learning and Play
• Therapeutic skills
• Household Payroll Tax and Tips

Watch the Video: Nanny Training Day Highlights 2012

So, why did we put on this training? Shouldn’t a nanny already know what she’s doing?

As with any other career, being a nanny is a profession, and nannies should always be seeking the latest developments in in their industry. They should look to experts to find ways to constantly improve their roles in the family’s home.  They should gather fresh ideas, stay current on child development education, and network with other nannies to share knowledge. This continued growth will make their time with your children more stimulating, engaging and nurturing.

At Mom’s Best Friend, we believe one of our roles is to offer enriching opportunities to our placed nannies and babysitters. For future topic ideas, please contact Laura Patterson, Director of Training and Customer Service.

• The national average gross salary for live-out nannies is $705 (which translates to $17.63/hr for 40 hours per week)
• 74% receive paid national and religious holidays
• 16% receive paid health insurance
• 30% receive reimbursement for use of their vehicle
• 11% receive a cell phone allowance
• 74% are paid their salary, regardless of whether their employer needs them to work (their employer takes an afternoon off and sends the nanny home for the day, the nanny is not docked hours)
• 68% received a holiday or year-end bonus

Additionally, here are a few ways Mom’s Best Friend stacks up with the national averages:

• 70% of full-time nannies are CPR/first aid certified (all Mom’s Best Friend nannies are certified)
• 70% of full-time nannies have a written work agreement (all Mom’s Best Friend placements are required to have an Employment Agreement)
• 68% of full-time nannies said their employers withhold employment taxes (Mom’s Best Friend families are required to withhold employment taxes – it’s the law. Please contact Breedlove and Associates for more information.)

If you have a gem of a nanny and are giving her the best salary and benefits package you can, here are ideas for other ways to reward your fabulous nanny: Austin | Dallas | Ft. Worth | Houston | Vail/Beaver Creek | Aspen

Click here to view the entire INA Survey.

Many nannies are in their twenties and early thirties, which is a very pivotal age. During these years, people often graduate from college, get engaged and married, and have children. My nanny experienced all of these events during her employment with our family! What makes these changes especially tricky is that they are often unexpected. Your nanny can’t predict the future, so she doesn’t necessarily foresee when she will meet her future husband, have to plan a move because of his job, or care for her parents if they become ill. We just experienced an unexpected situation like this when our nanny went on bed rest and delivered her baby early.

When change happens, it’s important to keep an open dialog about the implications of the events, both with your spouse and with your nanny. There are always multiple options to consider, while keeping the needs and desires of your family as a priority.  Consider some of these options:

• Can you make adjustments to the schedule on a short-term basis? Mom’s Best Friend can help you with temporary back-up childcare if your nanny has a wedding and honeymoon planned or needs to travel for a family emergency.
• Are you at a place that you can scale back hours long-term to accommodate your nanny’s changing needs? Perhaps your children are starting school and your own needs are shifting simultaneously.
• If your nanny becomes pregnant and has a baby, can you encourage her to bring her child to work? If she would like to continue working and if you feel comfortable with this option, it can be a very beneficial arrangement for both parties.

Changes are bound to happen, but being flexible and open will help you ease the transition no matter what adjustments you decide on. If an arrangement cannot be made that meets both the needs of your family and the needs of the nanny, you may naturally choose to go your separate ways. With open communication, this transition can also be made on good, respectful terms and hopefully your nanny will continue to maintain a special relationship with your children for years to come.

Professional, career nannies and babysitters have a gift with children, so this is where you want their focus to be. Their talents, expertise, and education are all related to children, and housekeeping duties are only out of their area of expertise, but can even become a distraction from the childcare they are providing. The nanny who loves children probably doesn’t love to do deep house cleaning, and a housekeeper who excels at detailed home maintenance may not have specific strength and experience with children.

When we screen candidates, their references are specific to their position – we rarely run across professional candidates who are proficient and experienced in both areas.  Just as your own job is specialized, candidates have chosen a profession that uses their strengths, so their positions hone in on their areas of expertise.

That said, your nanny CAN help to make your life easier by helping with light household duties (most often relating to the children). When we work with families to develop a nanny manager job description, we often incorporate some of the following tasks:

• Helping load and unload the dishwasher
• Tidying up with your children
• Children’s laundry
• Organizing the play area and children’s rooms
• Basic meal planning and preparation
• Grocery shopping and simple errands

We find that household employees excel when they are in a role that best suites their experience and strengths.  When your position is tailored for a specific focus, you’re more likely to find an employee who is good at their job, loves what they are doing, and will more likely be a long-term fit!

6. What happens if I hire and they aren’t a fit? What is your replacement policy? The majority of our placements are a long-term success, so this is typically not an issue. However, we know that from time to time, a match can be made that doesn’t quite work. For this reason, Mom’s Best Friend gives you a 4-month free replacement guarantee to ensure that a successful placement has been made. Even after the 4 months, we offer a sliding scale discount for future placements to reward our loyal clients.

7. Why Mom’s Best Friend versus another agency? Why is it worth it to pay a fee versus an online service? There are key differences between Mom’s Best Friend and other agencies.

• First and foremost, we have the most exceptional candidates. Our 10-step proccess screens out 90% of candidates, and takes into consideration experience, education, criminal background, and many other intangibles (See our video: Beyond the Resume, How we Spot Exceptional Candidates).
• Unmatched customer service, responsiveness and convenience including after-hours on-call availability
• Locally owned/accountable (for 17+ years) with vetern support staff and industry expertise/advice
• Membership is good across cities: Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Vail/Beaver Creek, Aspen
• Member of the 4 major industry associations, holding us accountable to the highest standards of service
• Personal consultation and customized search versus blind access
• Post-placement support including replacement guarantee, coaching/negotiations, agency tools, and resources
• Other helpful videos: 7 Tips for Choosing a Nanny Agency | How Mom’s Best Friend is Better for Families than an Online Agency

8. What is typical vacation time? What happens when I am gone? Can they travel with me? This will be unique for each family, but it’s important to remember that for our nannies, working for your family isn’t just a job – it’s their career. As such, they are treated as typical corporate employees when it comes to vacation time, sick leave, etc. Here are some of the ways vacations and travel are handled:

• Most of our families offer 1-2 weeks of vacation per year. One of those weeks often corresponds with the family’s planned vacation, so as to not have too many days to backfill.
• Some of our nannies travel with their families, but this is something typically discussed up-front. If you will be needing your nanny to travel with you, be sure to mention that to your placement manager.
• When you are traveling and your nanny is still working, families often find other projects for their nanny to do that are not directly childcare related. Some examples are playroom organization, scrapbooking, car maintenance (oil change, wash), checking mail, feeding pets, watering plants, errands, etc.

9. Can the nannies drive? Do they get put on my auto insurance? Nannies almost always have some kind of driving in their job – whether it be running to the park, to the library, or grocery shopping – there are a number of reasons nannies drive. Sometimes this involves using the nanny’s car and sometimes the family’s car is used. Therefore, we always recommend that families call their insurance provider to make a recommendation for how the insurance portion should be handled.

10. What if I find someone on my own? We know that people are often searching in multiple places, and what we ultimately want is for your family to find a wonderful nanny. The only thing that we would emphasize is that you do not skip any of the screening and hiring steps. We encourage you to do all of the reference checks, background checks, put together an employment agreement/contract, etc. If you do not have the time and/or access to complete these steps, you may utilize the Mom’s Best Friend post-placement package for this purpose: Austin | Dallas | Houston | San Antonio | Vail

Please contact us if we can help you or if there are any other questions we can answer!

1. Do you do a background check? Yes, and this is SO important! The quality of background checks can differ so much, so we constantly make sure we are giving our clients the best service available. Our background check company provides us with a nationwide history of any felony and/or misdemeanor convictions based upon the candidate’s name and date of birth. Many counties report digitally and our vendor has direct, electronic access to the records. In non-digital reporting counties, they employs hundreds of researchers and internal expeditors to access applicable record repositories. Additionally, they do a sex offender database search to offer an additional measure of protection as the offender’s county records may be sealed, records may reside in family court, or the original sexual offense may have been reduced to a lesser charge. View our entire nanny screening process: Austin | Dallas | Houston | San Antonio | Vail
2. What are nannies willing to do besides childcare? There are a variety of things that your nanny can do to help your family. However, families must remember that their first priority, and where they are most passionate and skilled, is in caring for your children. That said, families utilize our nanny managers (an upgrade from a basic nanny) for errands, grocery shopping homework help, taking children to activities, light meal preparation, emptying the dishwasher, and other household tasks that are not heavy housekeeping. View our nanny services for more details.
3. What is the pay range for your nannies? Do I have to take out/pay taxes? Our nannies typically start at $15/hr for a highly experienced nanny whom we have met personally, screened, checked references, and hand-picked for your position. You will have to play employer taxes on your nanny, and we would recommend you contact Breedlove and Associates for all questions about tax law, and/or to have them completely handle your nanny taxes.
4. How many people in your pool? How many are in my area? How many candidates will I see? It constantly varies, but as you can imagine with 17+ years in business, we have a large number of candidates, both new and returning, in all areas of our market. We also recruit in specific areas and for specific skills as needed. Typically, you will see 3-5 candidates, because that has been the perfect range for our families to narrow down, then interview, and then select 1-2 candidates for pre-placement trial time.
5. Can I be registered in more than one place? Can I be searching using multiple avenues? We are completely comfortable with our clients using various methods to find their nanny, but we find that most of them are thrilled with the quality of candidates we send them. We screen using not only our 10-step screening, but also look for things beyond the resume.

Look for the last set of questions to be posted soon!

We want you to feel comfortable with our agency before you even speak to us. One of the ways we do this is to open ourselves up to the scrutiny of the top household staffing industry associations. We feel confident in our integrity and business practices, and to demonstrate that credibility, we agree to meet the guidelines, standards, and code of ethics of the associations’ guidelines. Additionally, we love that we are able to share best customer service practices and with other high caliber agencies that are affliates of these associations.

The associations where we are memers of are:

Alliance of Premier Nanny Agencies (APNA): For many years, Mom’s Best Friend has been both a member and an active participant. In fact, both Kathy Dupuy and Kim Winblood of Mom’s Best Friend are board members of APNA. In order to become a member, APNA’s process required verification of operating practices, review of our client application, and adherance to the APNA Code of Ethics and the Standards of Ethical Practices. Mom’s Best Friend staff members contribute further as frequent APNA conference speakers.

International Nanny Association (INA): We are a long-time member of this non-profit, educational association. INA has worked to professionalize the industry by setting high standards for industry professionals and nanny agencies. INA leverages the expertise of industry professionals from around the globe to help increase awareness about the industry, to develop the professional skills of nannies, and to educate parents about the benefits of hiring a qualified nanny to care for their children.

Domestic Estate Managers Association (DEMA): The Domestic Estate Managers Association was created to provide a forum for Private Service Professionals and certified service vendors interested in better serving and protecting the best interests of their clients. The fundamental purpose of the Association is to raise industry standards.

International Association for Private Service Professionals: The mission of this organization is to unify, support, educate and represent the International Private Service Community by working to develop comprehensive occupational standards, industry-wide resource directories, advocacy panels, vehicles for networking, certification programs and recognition events.

We feel that holding these professional affiliations should assure you that you are working with an expert, accredited household staffing agency. Please contact Mom’s Best Friend / MBF Agency for your nanny, babysitter, executive housekeeper, personal assistant, household manager, senior care (select cities), and all other household staffing needs.

In order to do so, I have developed some “traditions” of my own to make sure my children don’t act spoiled around the holidays:

• Go easy on gifts for each other: My children truly get all they need, so I don’t need to buy them a bunch of extra items that aren’t really going to make them happy. I have conversations with the kids about the giving spirit of Christmas, and I try to prepare them for modest gifts – many of which are either necessities or enrichment opportunities. For example:
• Buy them the coat or shoes they already needed
• Foster their creativity by getting them art supplies, journals, or writing instruments
• Encourage their talent by purchasing voice or music lessons, sheet music, instruments, etc.
• Volunteer and buy gifts for others: The number of ways to give during the holidays is endless! You don’t have to go far  to look for opportunities – they are organized through schools, churches, banks, offices, etc. You also hear about ways to plug in on the news, on the radio, and in the newspaper constantly during the season. It can be overwhelming, so we have chosen a few as a family, and then have made them an annual tradition.
• Lead by example: The way I shop, the way I buy gifts for others, what I ask for myself, and the way I talk about Christmas, is truly what my children pay attention to. I have to practice what I preach, since my children are watching my actions.
• Buy responsibly: I love to buy fair trade items whenever possible, as well as shop local craft fairs, and buy from sellers whose products give back, like TOMS, FEED, or NoondayCollection. There are so many neat items to buy that have a positive impact on others. I also make sure as I do this, that I’m talking to my kids about why I do this.

These are just a couple of ideas that I use for my own family to keep them centered, and to limit selfish behavior during the holidays. Every family is unique, and I know you have great ideas too!