Christmas Shopping for Nieces, Nephews & Children of Family Friends

With the arrival of 1 December it really feels like the Christmas countdown has begun.

Last night I found myself in a slight panic thinking about all the gifts I still need to locate, purchase, wrap AND in most cases post to overseas nephews and nieces strewn across the globe.

It got me thinking. Santa has a relatively cushy job. Children sit down and write down exactly what they want in their carefully thought out and scripted letters to Santa.

Santa needs to simply read each letter, look at the cost of desired product, weigh up potential happiness caused by receipt of gift with potential dent in pocket, divide by the amount of time said toy will interest child. Hey presto. You have a Christmas gift your child will love!

Compare this with having to purchase a gift for a niece or nephew. It's a nightmare. No one wants to be put in the role of the aunt or uncle who purchase Christmas gifts that scar a child for life. I still remember my sweet but slightly dotty aunt giving me a pair of socks for Christmas 1980. It's hard to fake gratitude when you are a child.

Anyway point is deciding on Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews (and the children of close family friends) got me thinking that there has to be some "win-wins gifts" that is some gifts that will always be a winner for a child you may not know very well. And my thinking is books fit the bill.

Below are a collection of my preschool and early primary age child's favourite books. They have received these books as gifts over the years and still return to them with awe and wonder (despite knowing the plots by heart!)

[Please note the links for each book are to Dymock's website where you can purchase online, but other book store chains including your local bookstore more than likely will stock these books also and of course there is Amazon for those wanting to purchase overseas gifts].


Diary of a Wombat
Written by: Jackie French
Illustrated by: Bruce Whatley







In the Bush : Our Holiday at Wombat Flat
Roland Harvey













Watch Out Big Bros Coming
Jez Alborough















Aesop Fables
Charles Santore















The Enormous Crocodile
Roald Dahl
Illustrated by: Quentin Blake














Guess How Much I Love you
Sam McBratney
Illustrated by: Anita Jeram












Uno's Garden
Graeme Base












Wombat Divine
Written by: Mem Fox
Illustrated by: Kerry Agent













(Images courtesy Dymocks]

On the Job - The Nanny Diaries & Emergency Cards

Advertising, interviewing and recruiting a babysitter or nanny, ensuring all necessary checks and screening have taken place and negotiating employment contracts may have parents initially feeling like the most challenging work has been done!

However once all these steps have been completed the next step is one of the most important.

Having the nanny settle in as a key part of the family so that all parties - children, nanny and parents - are content and happy.

This means that the parents feel comfortable and reassured leaving the nanny to care for their child(ren) in their absence in the secure knowledge that their children will receive the best care possible. It also means ensuring that the nanny's new charges feel safe, nurtured and care for in the nanny's company. And finally it means ensuring that the nanny feels supported and comfortable in his /her new role.

Of course much of this relies on time.

Time for the parents to really get to know the nanny. Time for the new to nanny settle into the household and to "get the feel" for the tasks at hand and time for the children to become accustomed and feel comfortable with a new nanny or care provider.

For some children this may mean needing to become accustomed to having to be away from Mum or Dad for the first time in their lives for long periods of time.

To ease the settling in period some things that are worth considering include:

Nannies

Be punctual - nothing is worse than an employee arriving late for their first day at a new job. It sets a bad impression and immediately has you starting a job on the back foot. Prevent this happening by doing a trial run to the place of work before you start your first day, that way you will know exactly how long it takes the bus/tram/train/car to get you to your place of work. On the morning of your first day leave for work 15mins earlier giving yourself plenty of time to get there.

Know the essentials: Do you understand the full workings of the house - pets (if any) that need feeding, how to work phone, where to change baby and access nappies and wipes? When are naptimes? Do children have comfort toys or blankets for nap times? Check out Babysitterdirectory Resources area for some things you may want know before starting your new job.

Before you start your first day of work with a family ensure the family complete Consent Form for administration of medicine /medical attention and Emergency Numbers and Family Information Card and ensure you can read and understand all the information on the sheet and the information is kept in a readily accessible place.

Parents

Establish a daily feedback sheet or diary. Ensure the nanny completes a daily feedback sheet.This allows you to log in the diary upcoming activities (e.g playgroup) that the nanny needs to take the child(ren) to or issues the need attending to. It also allows the nanny to log at the end of the day or during the day nap times of children as well as how long they slept for; eating habits during the day (as well as what they ate); what activities were completed during the day (e.g park, crafts etc), the general mood of the children as well as any behavioural / discipline issues that arose. It also allows any phone calls, or medical / safety issues to be logged as well as toileting. For a sample daily feedback sheet click here.

Consider one parent working from home for first few days - while your children are getting used to the nanny if possible consider one parent working from home so that they can be on hand to deal with any pressing issues that arise.

Set up regular meetings - for the first few months it's worthwhile setting up regular meetings - perhaps even weekly - with the nanny to ensure that both parties have space to communicate effectively and address and pressing issues that arise. After a few months when the nanny has settled into the job and the trial period has elapsed, these meetings can be moved to monthly. However do not make the mistake of getting complacent and dropping these meetings altogether. Regular reviews with your nanny about his/ her experience in the job and ways you can better support each other and the children is vital to the happiness of all involved. It also helps to ward off any conflicts or concerns that may arise by both parties.

[Image courtesy Morgue File]

Letters of Offer and Nanny Employment Contracts

You have selected your preferred nanny, done the necessary checks and now it's time to get down to basics - negotiating the employment contract, deciding on roles and responsibilities and ensuring both employee (nanny)and employer (parent) meet your obligations.

At Babysitterdirectory, we often speak to parents who are surprised that they may even need an employment contract.

Many parents say they do not have a contract with their nanny as both parties prefer a 'casual' arrangement.

This works out reasonably well until the time arrives when the family goes on holidays and the nanny realises she will not be paid while the family is on holidays or indeed will not be paid when she goes on holidays. And for the parents point of view things can get difficult when there is discrepancies in responsibilities and expectations.

In general it's best to take a professional approach when employing a nanny. As an employer this means that you will need to take responsibility for drawing up a Letter of Offer and a Contract of Employment which will outline salary, hours of work, responsibilities, reasons for termination of employment, benefits, holiday and sickness entitlement and performance reviews.

Areas that you may want to cover in the employment contract include:

• Location - if you intend moving house soon don't forget to mention this.
• Hours of Work
• Duties
• Parenting style
  
• Salary
• Salary payments
• Benefits
• Basis of employment
• Reporting -who will the nanny report to? You, your partner? your ex-husband? Be clear about lines of authority.
  
• Notification of Sickness or Other Absence
• Leave
• Changes in Personal Details
• Superannuation -If the nanny will be employed for more than 30 hours a week they are entitled to superannuation. This is currently 9% of the employee's gross wage.
• Nanny insurance: Legislation requirements can differ between States. Check your relevant State Government website for more information.
• Probation Period
• Termination
  
• Harassment/racial vilification/discrimination /Violence at work
• Computer use/abuse
• Performance Appraisal
• Limits on Your Powers - if you prefer your nanny not to take your children to the houses of people you do not know without your knowledge and approval, for example members from nanny groups or playgroups then state this clearly.
  
• Confidential Information - given your nanny will have access to much confidential and private information in your household then a clear confidentiality statement is vital.
  
• Return of Employers Property
• Variations- don't forget to include details about what happens to contract in the event of the birth of another child.
  
• Acceptance

Babysitterdirectory members can view complete Example Letters of Offer and Example Employment Contract at Babysitterdirectory .

Next week: On the Job - The Nanny Diaries & Emergency Cards

[Image courtesy of www.acuitydesigns.net]

Nanny & Babysitter Pre-employment Screening Checks

You've just interviewed a nanny and you love her! What next? Below are some steps that you may want to consider before you rush out and offer him or her a position caring for your children.

1. Recap: Before you go calling your preferred nanny applicant and hiring his or her services take a moment to recap about all your applicants.

What did you like / dislike about all the applicants? What exactly did you like about the preferred applicant? What questions arose in your mind about their application? Were all your questions satisfactorily answered during the interview? If not consider calling your applicant back to re clarify certain questions. Does your preferred applicant have all the necessary skills and experience that you requested? Do they have the necessary documentation and certificates? If they do not have a First Aid Certificate for example and this is something that you feel is mandatory for you to feel satisfied hiring this applicant, are you prepared to talk to this applicant about the need for them to complete this certification within a certain period of commencing service with you, for example within 4 weeks?

2 Pre-employment screening: Once you've clarified all the above and your preferred nanny applicant still comes out on top you are ready to undertake some checks.

At this point you may want to ring your preferred nanny and tell them that you you would like do undertake a referee check and pre-employment screening on them and request their consent.

A. Some parents decide to enlist the service of a pre-employment screening company to undertake the necessary checks on their behalf including a National Criminal History Record Check (NCHRC).

To find a complete list of commercial background checking service providers conducting NCHRCs and pre-employment screening for and on behalf of its customers, visit the Australian Government's CrimTrac website.

Parents can also decide to undertake the check themselves.

Parents can seek a NCHRC through their local police station. The Australian Federal Police, NCHRC will cost $43.00 for each check for an individual. You will need the informed written consent of any person you are conducting a NCHRC. You can access the form for undertaking a NCHRC here.

B. The Working With Children Check is not the same as the NCHRC. The aim of the Working With Children Check is to make an assessment of the level of risk an individual poses to children's safety. This means that the Working With Children Checks are more extensive that the NCHRC.

For example, Working With Children Checks draw together information from various sources, but may include a primary focus on certain types of offences (e.g., sexual offences, offences related to the harm or mistreatment of a child).

For more information on the differences between NCHRC and Working with Children Checks check the Australian Government National Child Protection Clearinghouse website.

c. Referee checking - The referee check can either be something you get a third party to do on your behalf. For example a pre-employment screening company like those listed above who can charge approximately $70 per references checked. Or it can be something a parent chooses to do themselves.

A referee check may include asking the referee questions relating to the applicant's skills and experience as well as previous conduct and behaviour in the workplace.For example questions a parent may want to ask a referee include:

* How long did this person work for you and for how many days / hours a week?
* How did you recruit them? (eg newspaper, family friend, word of mouth etc)
* How many children did they care for and what were the ages of the children?
* What was their exact responsibilities and duties?
* What do you think were their strengths and weaknesses? Were their any areas of concern you would like to share?
* Why did they cease working for you?
* Would you consider hiring this person again?
* Is there anything I've left out you think I should know about?

Like all employees, babysitters and nannies will more than likely pick employers who will place them in a favorable light. Therefore try and speak to at least two referees. Ideally speak to a recent referee perhaps even the applicants current employer. And a word of caution, if a referee is a family member of applicant then the reference should not carry as much weight as if they are solely an employer / employee relationship.

Next week: What happens after the interview and pre-employment checks?

[Above is a posting which is the first in a series of postings about interviewing and hiring a babysitter or nanny.]