Nannying for a single mother – how to make things work

Raising a kid on your own is a demanding task, especially if you’re a woman. While it’s not a bed of roses for fathers, either, men are more likely to deal with the social and economic issues. This is mainly so due to the inequality in society. Women often have lower salaries or they don’t have a job at all. In that situations, it’s not easy to look after the children.

On the other hand, if you have a job, you often don’t have enough time for your kids. This is where collaborating with a nanny can help you a lot. Here are six valuable tips for single mothers who need to hire a nanny.

Setting a weekly schedule

One of the most important things for every single mother is to establish a weekly schedule in advance. When you know what you and your children are going to be doing at what time, it’s easier to prepare everything on time.

What’s also easier is to include the nanny in your system. The word system is extremely important here, because this is something children need at a young age.

For instance, you can sit down on a Saturday afternoon and write a basic plan for every day in the following week.

Since the time your kids spend at school or kindergarten is more or less fixed, you can arrange all things around these fixed activities. You can use one of the family calendar apps, as well.

In line with that, write a menu for each day of the week, so that you can do the shopping during the weekend.

If you’re planning to take the kids outside after school or have the nanny do it, make it sure you put it on that weekly agenda.

Our two cents: consult your nanny when you’re making this schedule to avoid any misunderstandings. When she knows each and every detail about your kids’ obligations, she’ll be able to plan her time, as well.

Maintaining healthy diet

The degree to which a single mother need to juggle their family and business obligations is often enormous. When you’re trying to make ends meet, some things can slip under the radar, such as the food your kids eat.

Not all mothers can create a weekly eating plan, or cook every single meal.

That’s why it’s important to stress out the necessity of healthy diet to every person which looks after your kids. Sometimes it might be your friends or relatives, but most of the time it will be their nanny.

Let them all know what types of food you want your children to eat, and what meals to avoid.

As for the nanny, it’s crucial to take some time and planning during the nanny recruitment. Since you’re probably going to work with experienced governess agency advisors who will help you find the right nanny for your needs.

It’s important to discuss the diet while you’re interviewing these candidates so that they know that this is the matter of great importance.

Finally, it’s fair to inform them that they’ll need to prepare meals for the kids from time to time. Make sure that the number of these weekly cooking tasks is defined in advance. That way, both parties will know what their obligations are.

Leaving kids with a nanny on weekends

Busy mothers sometimes have to go away for business. These can be daily business trips, but sometimes they might need to spend a few days on the road.

In that case, you’ll have to leave your kids with your nanny for a longer period of time. What’s extremely important here is to tell your nanny a bit in advance about that period.

If you have a live-in nanny by your side, then it won’t make a big difference. You should announce your business leave in advance, though, so that she can rearrange her private plans.

It goes without saying that you need to leave the nanny some extra money, just in case of emergency. Also, take care of the groceries for the time you’re gone and have your home cleaned before you leave.

What’s more, having a regular routine and schedule will be more than beneficial for both the nanny and your children.

Since this is a delicate matter, some nannies might find it hard to cope with that much responsibility. Truth be told, spending a few days in a row with kids is among the most demanding task for nannies.

Because of that, you should learn more about what nannies want before you hire one to help you with your kids. That way, you can define in advance what kind of nanny your family needs, especially if you do a demanding job.

Including your ex-husband

Divorced couples have all sorts of relationships. Some people are able to set apart in a civilized manner and such couples usually maintain normal communication. They even share their responsibility for kids equally, even though they don’t live together anymore.

Others don’t manage to reach that level of sympathy for each other so they don’t even talk after they get divorced.

Regardless of your situation, you need to include your ex-husband in upbringing, mostly because kids need to have a father by their side, as well.

But this is also important if you want to maintain a long-term collaboration with your nanny. Many busy mothers have to stay at work long hours and work even on weekends. Even if you hire a real Mary Poppins, she could burn out if her job includes staying with your kids 24/7.

This is why it’s also important for your kids to spend some time with their father, as well. Naturally, reasonable fathers will have a strong wish to spend some time with their kids. But even if your ex-husband isn’t that reasonable, he should take over his share of responsibility.

If that’s not possible for some reason, try to include your friends or relatives. It will help your nanny have some rest and, what’s more, children will benefit from spending some time with other close people.

Conclusion

After you get divorced, you’ll have to restart many things in your life, to be able to organize it as a single mother. Nevertheless, it’s better to bring a bad marriage to an end and fully commit to your children. However, single mothers who work will have to find the right balance between their career and their kids. Working with a professional nanny can make this entire process easier. Therefore, hire a nanny who will be able to look after your kids in accordance with your plans and make your life easier.
 
 
About the author

Anne Harris is an HR specialist working for londongoverness.com. She recruits nannies, governesses and other childcare professionals, ensuring top-notch services for parents worldwide. In her free time she likes reading about education, and children’s welfare, as well as visiting sports events.