If you have been active in our Facebook community over the past couple of weeks, you probably noticed strange hashtags being used in some posts. What are these, what do they do, and how can I use them?

One of the issues with a large community such as ours is that it can be difficult to find certain types of child care using the Search feature of our Facebook group.

Facebook child care

Example: While you may want to find nannies or families looking for “part time” care, not all members use the term “part time” in their post meaning that you may not be able to find those families or care providers.

In an effort to expand the results you see when utilizing the search feature, we have started to add #npc hashtags to posts to standardize certain types of care opportunities. 

Continue reading “Search More Efficiently. Use #NPC Hashtags!”

 

Want to do something a little bit different with your nanny kids (or own kids)? Need a day or evening out with your girlfriends? Check out the West Seattle Art Nest!

west seattle art nest deal

Get creative with their endless crafting options aka “artsploration” (art + exploration… I see what you did there!) with their open studio or channel your inner Picasso in their Paint Room and Splatter Room.  YOU GUYS – THEY DO ALL OF THE PREP AND CLEANUP FOR YOU!  Just go and have fun!  Read on for a SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR NANNY PARENT CONNECTION MEMBERS!

Continue reading “West Seattle Art Nest – Special Deal for Members!”

 

Between school, playdates and activities, let’s face it – your nanny is likely driving your children around A LOT. Some families are able to provide a car for the nanny to shuttle the kiddos around in.  More often, however, nannies are using their personal vehicles for these trips. 

Check out these tips for parents (and nannies) before your nanny hits the road with the kids.

nanny driving the kids

#1: DMV Records

I recently was helping a mother with her search for a nanny.  I was happy to receive a message from her saying she had found a nanny, pending a background check! 

Several days later, she let me know that they were continuing with their search ☹️

Continue reading “Nanny Driving the Kids? Step on the Brakes and Read these Six Tips!”

 

Hearing your ideas and suggestions on how to improve our community is so important to me. That’s why I am excited to announce that we just launched our nanny contract and payroll service features!

Nanny Contract

A simple, easy to understand contract is key to avoid confusion and clearly set expectations between your care provider and family. Unfortunately, many nanny contracts are filled with confusing legal jargon which many of us don’t understand. On top of that, many of the “free” nanny contracts available online do not account for the specific laws and regulations of Washington state (i.e. paid sick and safe time).

To help you and your care provider get off on the right foot, we worked extensively with our attorney to develop an easy to understand contract which covers all of the laws specific to our state. Will your nanny be employed in Seattle? This contract has you covered.

Many of you have shared with me that one of the most frustrating problems with online nanny contracts is that you can’t easily edit them. We are providing this contract in Microsoft Word format so that you can customize any part of it you like. Want to add something specific to your family? No problem.

We’ve also included placeholder text in the document to ensure you aren’t missing something important. Use of family car? Check. How to handle a child’s allergy? Check. Paid holidays? Check. Sharing pictures of your children online? Check.

Laws that affect household employers like you are changing rapidly. That’s why we are monitoring what our elected officials in Olympia are doing and will update this contract with any changes that may affect your family.

We all know, attorneys aren’t cheap. But we leaned on ours and worked out a great deal for you. Download the contract for $29.99 or FREE if you have a Family-Annual membership. If you’ve looked at other nanny contracts, you know this is a great deal!

To learn more or check out a sample of the nanny contract, click here. 

Payroll Services

I’ve heard horror stories from some of you about experiences with payroll service companies that aren’t familiar with our laws in Washington. We’ve partnered with one of the premier accounting firms in Washington to bring you affordable and comprehensive payroll services. Growing Numbers Accounting & Bookkeeping is located in Seattle and Spokane and is owned and operated by three local women – Alexis, Aly, and Becki.

They have over 20 years of accounting experience and know the ins and outs of payroll laws and regulations in our area. I know because I have had the pleasure to work closely with Becki over the last couple of months on a myriad of nanny pay issues – she knows her stuff!

They literally handle everything for you. All you have to do is report the number of hours your care provider worked that pay period. They notify all appropriate government agencies, request an Employer Identification Number for you, file your quarterly tax reports, remit tax payments, and handle all end of year tasks. They will even pay your provider if you have a business bank account.

Paying your provider correctly when using a nanny share is COMPLICATED. They have a great option for nanny share families too!

Nanny Parent

Before we established our partnership with Growing Numbers, we took a hard look at many of the payroll services that some of you are using. We wanted to offer our members a comprehensive, local solution that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Not only is Growing Numbers the most reliable option for local payroll services, they are also VERY affordable.

Check out the comparison table below – Growing Numbers is over $300 cheaper than two of the more popular alternatives out there!




Care.com® HomePay℠

$210

PER QUARTER

$100 Setup Fee

$100 Annual Documentation Fee

Annual Cost = $1,040*

Headquartered in Massachusettes


$169

PER QUARTER

$99 Setup Fee

$50 Annual Documentation Fee

Annual Cost = $825

Headquarted in Washington

Women Owned Small Business

BEST VALUE!




Homework Solutions, Inc.

$215

PER QUARTER

$100 Setup Fee

$100 Annual Documentation Fee

Annual Cost = $1,060*

Headquartered in Virginia


 

To learn more about payroll services or to get started, click here. 

Many of you have messaged me asking for more information on our background checks and when they are going to launch. We’re just starting our final testing and hope to activate the system before the end of March. I will share more information on pricing and options soon.

Have a new feature you would like to see from Nanny Parent Connection? Email me to discuss! 

 

Recently in my Facebook travels I came across an intriguing new baby product:

Baby socks that don’t fall off! 

What? No way! I was immediately drawn in because that is a steep claim.  I can’t tell you how many times each day I am retrieving socks that have fallen off and tucking chubby little feet back into them.  With twins it’s crucial to minimize the amount of unnecessary work in a day because there’s already too much to do. 

I decided to put these socks to the test to see if they really did live up to their claim.

Squid Socks sent me several pairs of socks to try out with my babies.  What makes these socks unique is that they have silicone dots on the inside of the cuff.  This is what magically keeps them from falling off. 

socks that don't fall off
Cute socks!

Continue reading “Parents/Nannies Rejoice! Baby Socks That Don’t Fall Off + 20% Off Coupon!”

 

Over on our Facebook group page, we recently surveyed our members to gather some current data regarding part time pay rates for one child. The results are in!

As the graphic below states, please DO NOT use this as a definitive guide for part time nanny pay rates in our area. We did not ask respondents to include variables such as driving duties, exact number of hours worked, the specific location in our area where the care occurred, etc. Use this as a general idea of current trends in the Puget Sound region.

As you can tell, there is a vast difference in part time pay rates across our region – ranging from $14/hour to $25/hour. Parents – what do you pay your nanny for part time care for one child? Nannies – what are you paid per child for part time care? Comment below!

Continue reading “Seattle Area Nanny Pay Rates – Part Time”

 

Another School Shooting?

When I see it on the news, my heart sinks into my stomach.My inner voice screams over and over again:

This shouldn’t be happening to our kids.

My outer voice is united with every parent: HOW DO WE MAKE THIS STOP?!

Washington is no stranger to school shootings.  It was only four years ago when a Marysville-Pilchuck High School student killed four of his peers with his father’s handgun. And just this week, an observant grandmother foiled her grandson’s plot to kill classmates at ACES High School in Everett.

Many people have ideas about how to end school shootings, yet our government does nothing.

keep kids safe school shooting

I write this today as a parent at my wits end, unsure of what the right answer is, but with a strong desire to do something.  Without a doubt, policy change is coming.  It has to. But how many more young lives will be lost before our elected leaders end the debate and act?

Continue reading “School Shootings: How to Keep Your Kids Safe”

 

By far, the #1 complaint that I hear from parents in our area is how difficult it is to find a part time nanny. The days of parents working almost exclusively 9 to 5 are gone. Today, many of us work unusual schedules or telecommute which allow us to spend more time with our families. Yet we still need regular child care. Just not full time.

find a part time nanny

Why is Part Time Care So Hard to Find?

Here’s the reality: our area is growing and FAST. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, more than 1,000 people are moving to the Seattle area EVERY WEEK! The vast majority of people moving to our area are doing so because they were hired by Amazon, Microsoft, the University of Washington or one of dozens of other organizations that are currently on a hiring spree. These people sometimes come to Seattle with their families or with plans to start a family here.

Rarely have I met a nanny who moved to our area to….be a nanny.

Continue reading “How to Find a Part Time Nanny”

 

With the new year, comes a host of new laws and regulations that affect us in the child care world. There has been much discussion and back and forth within the community about minimum wage laws, paid sick leave, and mileage reimbursement. I put this article together to help clarify for all of us (including myself) how to best navigate these changes.

Paid Sick Leave

(Thank you to Nanny Parent Connection members Becki Brack (who is a CPA) and Cara Nina (one of our marvelous nannies) for granting permission to share some of the below information.)

New minimum wage and sick leave laws went into effect in King County on January 1, 2018.  Sick leave is now accrued at one hour per 40 hours worked.  The new minimum wage in Washington State is now $11.50 per hour and $14.00 per hour in the city of Seattle.   Another change employers should be aware of is the new IRS mileage reimbursement rate of 54.5 cents per mile.  If you employ a nanny, these new laws and changes apply to you!

Continue reading “2018 Law Changes You Need to Know About”

 

I'm A Nanny, Not A HousekeeperBig thank you to The Nanny Counsel (Brooke Weglarz) for sharing this great article with us! You can learn more about Brooke’s business by clicking here. Thanks Brooke!

I want to start this article with a question for parents: Would you ever ask your house cleaner to change your child’s diaper, or take your child to the park, or prepare and feed your child lunch, or pick your child up from school, or assist your child with homework, or take your child to the doctor, or research and plan a developmentally appropriate sensory activity, or set up and host a play date, or sleep train your baby?

I bet your answer is a resounding “No”.

Why then, do parents often ask and expect nannies to take on house cleaner roles? If you wouldn’t do the reverse and have your weekly cleaning person take care of your child, why then is it okay to expect your nanny clean your home? A nanny and a house cleaner are two VERY different jobs and generally speaking, most nannies don’t decide to become a nanny so they can clean houses — they decide to be a nanny because they love children and are passionate about investing in them.

Continue reading “I am a Nanny, Not a Housekeeper”