5 Important skills your Nanny Should have

As parents, entrusting someone with our children requires 100% surety that our children will be safe, loved and cared for in the best way possible.  While some skills and characteristics of a nanny are non-negotiable, such as patience, honesty, and love and respect for your child, there are foundational skills that can really enable your household (and subsequently, your children) to thrive.

At Strong Start, we believe in training nannies so  they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to execute their work as professional caregivers.  Here are the Top 5 Skills we look for our nannies to achieve in our Foundations Training:

1. Ability to Communicate

Good communication is the single-most effective tool in creating a healthy and happy household.  Nannies who communicate well with their employers and use reporting sheets to track their days offer parents ease and comfort in knowing, exactly what (and how much) their little ones ate, how long they slept, which play activities they engaged in, any new skills they developed and any incidents that occurred.

As parents, knowing that you are receiving full disclosure of your child’s day offers a deeper level of trust and security when away from your child.

2. Knowledge in Child Development & Play

While nannies have a general understanding of major developmental milestones, a professional nanny will have access to a repository of play activities to stimulate your child’s development.  From working on fine and gross motor skills to exploratory play and make believe, a nanny should be able to set up age appropriate play activities to keep the days’ activities stimulating, fun and fresh!

Further, knowledge of developmental milestones helps nannies understand some of your child’s experiences; for instance, understanding the reasons behind a tantrum enables your nanny to be equipped with tools to address emotions in a positive and productive manner.

Read More: 5 Life Skills you Wish Your Nanny Had

3. Practicing Good Hygiene

While it is not possible for nannies to prevent the spread of all infections, they can be working to create a hygienic environment to minimize the spread of disease. From properly sterilizing bottles to ensuring that toys and play areas are kept free of dust and germs, a nanny plays a large role in ensuring that your child has access to a healthy and clean environment.

4. Ability to Schedule & Plan

A qualified nanny knows how to plan ahead, create a schedule, prioritize tasks and execute on the day’s schedule.  In the event that you prefer to create the schedule and tasks, your nanny should be able to promptly follow through on the schedule (with some flexibility).

 5. Trained in First Aid & CPR

It is alarming that there are so many nannies currently working without First Aid & CPR training. As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children’s caregivers know how to handle an emergency if one should ever arise.

First Aid & CPR certified training courses are available throughout Nairobi; nannies should initially attend a full, certified First Aid & CPR training – and repeat annually.

Read More: Sample Nanny Chore List
Would you like to offer your nanny training in child development, hygiene, communications and more? Please visit Strong Start’s website to review our training, including our introductory Foundations Training, starting on Saturday May 21st!