Hi everyone!
I’m excited (and honestly, a bit nervous) to release my first video blog post, “Six Questions To Ask A Nanny Before Inviting Into Your COVID Bubble”!
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been writing and publishing blog articles to help parents and care providers learn more about the different aspects of in-home child care.
Most of the blog posts I have posted take a solid 10-20 minutes to read. If your days are like mine, you may not have that kind of time to sit down to read a blog article.
My hope in switching my written blog to a video blog is to make this information more easily accessible and enjoyable to digest 🙂
I have some big plans for this video blog series such as interviews, product reviews, tours and even some contests.
I’d love to hear any comments/feedback about how I can improve these videos as well as your ideas on topics you’d like to see me cover in future videos. Just comment below! (and yes, I’m working on not being so nervous in front of the camera!)
Thanks for checking this out and if you found it useful, please subscribe on YouTube and share with your friends.
Don’t forget, you can reach me directly via email by clicking here or by calling/texting (425) 243-7032 if I can help you. Talk soon!
A transcript of the video is below:
“Hi, I’m Laura, the founder of Nanny Parent Connection. Today I’m going to talk to you about six important questions that you need to ask your nanny before you can safely welcome them into your COVID bubble.
Families have been turning to nanny care, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic has begun. Daycare centers have been closed and everybody knows what’s happening with schools.
A lot of distance learning is happening and parents just can’t access the care at the same level that we had before COVID. A lot of families are not feeling safe having their children in a group setting right now. Maybe they are not feeling safe because they have a high-risk family member in their household and they’re trying to do everything they can to keep people safe in their bubble. So, nanny care becomes an attractive alternative because you can really ensure that you’re minimizing your exposure as much as possible. And to do that, you need to have a really good understanding that your nanny’s COVID precautions are in alignment with your own. So how do you find that out?
Here are the six questions that you need to ask your nanny.
The first question is: Is your nanny following CDC guidelines?
They should be following all of the guideline recommendations for masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, minimizing travel and gatherings. It’s really important to get an understanding of that making sure your nanny is utilizing hand sanitizer if they have to go out to the grocery store. Masking up if they need to be close proximity to others, Ideally minimizing any gatherings and any travel. Discuss those topics with your nanny, get a good sense of how they navigate their daily activities within those CDC recommended guidelines for COVID safety.
The second question you need to ask your nanny is: What type of living situation do they have? How many housemates do they have?
You don’t need to find out about their exact relationships with these people, but you need to have an understanding of how many people there living with. Do those people work from home or take online classes? Do those housemates know how to maintain a small social bubble? Get a good sense of how tight the ship is running so to speak in that nannies household. You want to make sure you’re understanding what other housemates are going out and doing during the day in order to feel safe welcoming your nanny into your house.
The third question you’re going to ask your nanny is: What types of things are they leaving their house for?
Do they only leave for the essentials like groceries, medical or dental appointments? Are they leaving for outdoor gym classes? That would probably be okay. Are they going to indoor gym classes? Some families might not be okay with that. Do they enjoy dining out at restaurants right now? Are they going to the salon regularly? You want to have a good understanding of the types of things that your nanny’s leaving the house for, this could even include travel plans. Some people are getting back online with travel, some families aren’t comfortable with that. If your nanny does travel, you’re going to want to have a discussion about the quarantine period afterward, but some families might not be comfortable with that at all. Find out if your nanny has travel plans, find out what types of things are leaving the house for, so you can get a good understanding of risk exposure.
The fourth question you need to ask your nanny is: Who are they seeing weekly with a mask on?
Are they hanging out with friends, going on walks, working on projects together – with a mask on? If they make it clear that they are wearing a mask when engaging in these activities, that should give the family a level of assurance that their nanny is following the COVID guidelines.
You want to also kind of get a good sense as the nanny is talking about their travels through the week, they could tell you a little bit about their week and what they do. That will not only allow you to understand they’re being responsible for wearing a mask when they’re seeing other people, but it will also give you an insight into how many people they are seeing during the week. If you can, definitely find out how many people the nanny is seeing with a mask on each week.
Fifth question you want to ask your nanny is: Who are they seeing each week without a mask?
This would likely be any housemates, maybe the dentist if they have to go out for an appointment. Although masks are required for medical visits, to the grocery store, etc. Get a good sense from your nanny who they are seeing without a mask each week.
The sixth question you want to ask your nanny is: How do they get around?
Do they use public transportation? Do they have their own vehicle or do the bike or walk places?
Families have different levels of what they’re comfortable with. Right now, most families do want their nanny to not be utilizing public transportation If possible. Find out from your nanny, if they are using public transportation, what they’re doing to keep themselves safe on the bus. Do they bring hand sanitizer with them, or are they using a mask or double masking? You need to find out how your nanny gets around town.
I hope that with these six questions, you feel confident about screening your nanny for the level of COVID precautions they are taking. It’s very important for everybody to be on the same page. Ultimately the family gets to decide what they are or are not comfortable with when bringing a nanny into their home. Also, a nanny is going to want to have a really good understanding of the family’s COVID precautions. They have people in their bubble they want to keep safe, and so it goes both ways. Everybody gets to decide what they’re comfortable with right now, but I think with all of these questions, it’s important to note that the nanny might want to ask these questions to you as well in order to keep themselves safe.
I hope everybody feels a little bit more confident in the screening process for finding out the level of COVID precautions that your nanny or your nanny family is taking. It’s important that everybody is on the same page so that you can maintain a level of trust once you all join the same bubble.”