When I first moved to Seattle years ago, I was a single mother of one without a solid network of friends. I was able to find a home daycare for my son – but it didn’t open until 8 am. I had to be at work at 6:30 am each morning. How was I going to find child care for just two hours each day, and find someone reliable and trustworthy?!

morning nanny

I put up several ads seeking a nanny for two hours each morning, hoping to connect with a college student looking for work before their classes started.

I ended up getting only one response to my ad, and it turned out Nanny Becky was an excellent match! I was really lucky that the only person to respond worked out well, but I have no idea what I would have done if it hadn’t.

Years ago I was flying rather blindly when it came to working with a nanny. I had little idea for how to connect with a nanny who might be looking for a very part time position. I had zero clue of what I should offer to a potential nanny to make two hours of care each day worth his or her time. And, I didn’t know much about what a working relationship with my nanny might look like.

Finding a nanny to provide before and after school care is the most challenging types of care to find. It’s an uphill battle from the start that involves:

Continue reading “Eight Tips To Find Before and After School Care”

 

how much to pay nanny

In our ongoing quest to provide current and accurate information about child care pay rates in our region, it’s time to update our Caring for One Child Pay Rate Survey!

We last surveyed our members about sitter pay rates in May 2018. You can find the results of that survey here.

Today we present our May 2019 Caring for One Child Pay Rate Survey!

Continue reading “May 2019 Pay Rate Survey: Caring for One Child”

 

A friend and I were chatting several days ago and we found that we had both fallen into a routine of easy, predictable, same old outings with our kids. We had our favorite parks and playgrounds and planned to visit them with our kids several times each week.

I decided it was time to up my game and find some new things to do!

seattle's child app

Sooo, I was pretty thrilled when I found the new Seattle’s Child app. Where has this been all my life?! I didn’t have to search multiple places to find upcoming activities relevant for families. I didn’t need to make a sticky note list of cool things to check out later (that I would probably lose anyway).

With this app you can find current events which conveniently link to websites, put an event on your calendar with the push of a button, keep track of favorite events or activities, AND you can open it up while out and about and find nearby areas of interest in real time. And this only scratches the surface!

Continue reading “Awesome New Tool for Families and Providers in the Seattle Area + FREE Giveaway!”

 

When you are a family (or nanny) with kids in Seattle, it’s crucial to have plenty of great indoor places to take them when it’s too rainy or cold, or when the air quality isn’t great. And to have a good plan in place for school-aged children with camps during the various breaks during the school year. Or just to change up your regular day to day routine!

The Pacific Science Center is our go-to place out of the hundreds of indoor play options around the area. It’s relatively close to our house, it’s clean and the staff are really friendly and helpful, and it’s one of the few places that can entertain my kids spanning the ages of 1-11 years. Also they have coffee (for me), and dinosaurs (for my kids) for the win!

pacific science center coupon

Honestly, these things alone are enough to make us absolutely love this place. Not to mention, there are so many great hands-on exhibits there for the kids to check out. I realized the last time we were all there that I probably could be getting even more value out of our annual membership there. (Upon exploring this, I could be getting A LOT more out of membership!!)

Read on to the end to find out how to redeem your FREE PASS from the PacSci!

Continue reading “Exclusive Discount Offer from the Pacific Science Center – May 2019 ONLY!”

 

I often get questions from parents about things that come up when working with their nanny. Some of these things seem like they should be little things, but they are NOT. Don’t let these nine little things sneak up on you and put a hitch in the relationship you have with your nanny.

nanny eating family food

Nanny Eating Family’s Food

It never occurs to some parents and nannies that this could turn into an issue. I often see the topic of food come up from both parties.

Some parents have an open fridge/pantry policy. They may even go so far as to ask the nanny what kinds of foods she would like to have around to eat during the week. If there is anything that’s earmarked for something specific, like leftovers intended for dinner, make sure to label it or communicate that to your nanny.

I have heard some parents are surprised by their nanny eating the food at their house. If this is you, make sure to discuss with your nanny. It can get weird and become a big “thing” if the relationship progresses and food becomes a sticking point for any reason.

Some families have kids with food allergies or special diets. I have seen one instance where the family’s food requirements meant the nanny was only able to bring foods that were specialty items. This made the food more expensive than what the nanny normally purchased. If you have any specialty requirements like this, consider always allowing the nanny to eat what’s in the house or giving her a specialty food stipend.

Continue reading “9 Little Nanny Things That Can Become Big Things”

 

If you have children, at some point you will need backup care. Perhaps it’s to cover care when your child is too sick to attend daycare or school. Maybe you are a stay-at-home parent who needs to attend a daytime appointment without your little helper, or perhaps you are unable to care for your child due to an illness or injury. Or your regular nanny might be planning to take a well-deserved vacation and you need to find coverage for a couple of days or a week.

need a nanny now

In a perfect world you or your spouse have the flexibility to stay home with your child, or you have a family member who lives nearby and can provide care on short notice (those of use who don’t have these things collectively envy you – just a little 🙂 ). But if you’re like the many Seattle residents who don’t have an established system for backup care, what do you do?

Nanny Parent Connection was created out of my own need for child care resources as a parent. We have continued to add more resources for parents and nannies like background checks and payroll services. We also offer backup child care resources with our Last Minute Care Text Service and our Verified Care Provider Service. These are excellent options for parents to find care in a pinch, and also for care providers to pick up extra hours when they are between nanny positions or have free days in their schedules.

But if you are in need of last minute or back up child care, which system should you use? Read on to find out!

Continue reading “When and How to Use our Verified Care Provider and Last Minute Care Text Services”

 

Early March was COLD. The kind of cold that my toddlers don’t last long outside in because they refuse to wear mittens. They soldier through holding onto the cold chains of swings at the park for about 10 minutes before they tap out.

Although it was still on the colder side one particular day, finding another indoor play activity wouldn’t allow us to soak up some needed sun. The kids and I needed to get OUT of the house and do something a little different.

kelsey creek farm

Visiting Kelsey Creek Farm in Bellevue with my kids had been on my to-do list for several months. Our plans to go had been scrapped several times because twins, nap schedules, and a finite mental bandwidth are real things! Heading to Bellevue from Seattle with three kids ages four years and younger, with lunches and snacks, water bottles, diapers, etc. took a little extra preparation but we finally did it. I only wish I would have gotten my, well…self, together sooner on this!

Continue reading “FREE Activity: Our Visit to Kelsey Creek Farm”

 

Over the past year, we have asked our members to complete pay rate 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, sitter, part-time, etc).

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

We wanted to take this opportunity to update the pay rate information for caring for three children as it has been over a year since we last surveyed our community.

Today, we present the results of our March 2019 Caring for Three Children Pay Rate Survey. Has the average hourly rate increased or decreased? Continue reading to find out!

What are you paying or being paid to care for three children from the same family? Comment below!

Continue reading “Caring for Three Children Pay Rate Survey Results – 2019 Update”

 

three children pay rate

In our ongoing quest to provide current and accurate information about child care pay rates in our region, it’s time to update our Caring for Three Children Pay Rate Survey!

We last surveyed our members about sitter pay rates in March 2018. You can find the results of that survey here.

Today we present our March 2019 Caring for Three Children Pay Rate Survey!

Nannies – have you provided child care for three children from the same family in the past year? Parents – in the past year, have you employed a nanny to care for your three children? If so, please complete the survey below. Should only take about one to two minutes to complete.

Continue reading “Pay Rate Survey: Caring for Three Children”

 

I see it all of the time: parents expecting their first child asking about child care in Seattle. The one piece of advice all seasoned parents in this area will give is GET ON THE DAYCARE WAIT LISTS NOW!

set up a nanny share

Child care around Seattle is no joke. You literally have to get on wait lists before your baby is born to have any chance at getting a spot in daycare. (I have heard that sometimes the stars align and several lucky people get right in to their first choice when they need care. But I have also heard that some people are on wait lists for YEARS.) This recent Seattle Times article recommends getting on wait lists if you are even thinking about conceiving.

So, what can parents do? Some make the choice to tighten the budget and have one parent stay home. Others can afford to employ a nanny of their own. The lucky ones have family members nearby who are willing and able to help out. Many parents choose to go the nanny share route, either intentionally or by default once they realize how difficult it can be to find an opening in a care center (especially an infant opening!), or how expensive it can be to shoulder the entire cost of employing a nanny alone.

Other parents seek out a nanny share so their baby can get the socialization benefits of having a regular playmate around. Nanny shares take a little work to set up, but they can be an excellent alternative to daycare and can make employing a nanny more affordable. (To note, while nanny shares are an excellent childcare option, they are not actually legal childcare arrangements in the state of Washington. Learn more about that by clicking here.)

Continue reading “How To Successfully Set Up A Nanny Share”