When welcoming a new nanny into your family, it’s crucial to establish clear guidelines and expectations. This not only ensures a smooth transition but also helps in building a strong, trusting relationship. Here’s a comprehensive guide to get you started on setting house rules and guidelines for your nanny. Feel free to personalize it based on your family’s needs and childcare beliefs.

Your Next Steps:

1. Copy the text below and paste it into a document.

2. Review and customize the rules to suit your family and situation.

3. Discuss the rules with your nanny and address any questions.

4. Print two copies of the rules, sign both, and keep one copy each.

5. Create a nanny contract.

6. Consider signing up for a payroll account to simplify payment and nanny taxes.

7. Ensure your new nanny has everything needed for their first day.

Note: This document should be collaboratively developed by you and your nanny, evolving as your children grow and their needs change. The goal is to fill out this document at the start of the relationship and update it as trust deepens between you and your nanny.

Family Philosophy:

Describe your family values and parenting style. Discuss what makes you happy and playful, as well as the areas where you are strict. Explain what is important to you, such as balancing attention between multiple children, encouraging creativity, maintaining discipline, promoting playfulness, and staying organized and prepared.

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Discipline Style:

Outline your approach to handling bad behavior. Explain your stance on spanking, time-outs, or any other discipline methods you use. Provide examples of behaviors that warrant moderate discipline versus maximum discipline.

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– Hitting: ____________________

– Swearing: __________________

– Throwing: __________________

– Biting: _____________________

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

Positive Reinforcement:

Explain how you plan to encourage and reward positive behavior.

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House Rules:

List behaviors that are not tolerated. This helps ensure consistency in raising your children with the same rules in mind.

– No hitting

– No biting

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

– ___________________________

Eating/Food Preferences:

Discuss meals and snacks, and how you want your nanny to prepare foods throughout the day. Instill your goal of raising healthy kids with instructions on teaching good eating habits.

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Breakfast Examples:

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Lunch Examples:

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Snack Examples:

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Dinner Examples:

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Ideas for Activities/Type of Play:

Discuss how engaging and creative you want your nanny to be. Mention any enrichment classes you are paying for and if you are providing a weekly budget for activities.

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Weekly Budget: $_______________

Sleep Preferences:

Discuss your child’s sleep habits and how you prefer the nanny handle things like swaddling, pacifiers, attachment objects, and sleep techniques (e.g., “Ferberizing”). Explain how you want your nanny to be a partner in this process.

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Keeping Schedules:

If keeping your child on a schedule, describe the importance of maintaining this schedule. Provide reasons for acceptable deviations and how you want your nanny to handle such situations. (For example, if the child isn’t napping, should the nanny allow the child to “cry it out”?)

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Communication:

Specify how you would like to hear from your nanny throughout the day. Outline acceptable forms of communication and frequency. Discuss how to address any concerns that arise.

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Vacation:

After providing your nanny with a certain number of paid days off per year, describe how vacation days should be requested. For example, do you choose one week and the nanny chooses another, or do you select both weeks off?

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The Nanny/Family Relationship:

Outline how you would like to learn and grow from each other. Describe how much checking in you will require, how much managing you will want to do of your nanny’s daily schedule and before or at the end of each day. Describe how you will handle your role when you are in the house (is she in charge or should the kids come to you?), how often you will want to check in for a performance review (and if there will be a monetary raise involved), and how you want her to feel within your family.

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Signatures:

Employer hereby agrees to be fully bound by the terms of this contract.

Employer Signature: _____________________________________

Printed Name: __________________________________________

Date: _______________

Employee hereby agrees to be fully bound by the terms of this contract.

Employee Signature: _____________________________________

Printed Name: __________________________________________

Date: _______________

Thank you for joining us at In Your Circle™. We hope you found this guide helpful!

Warm regards,

Liza  

Founder, In Your Circle™