The Nanny Alliance of Wisconsin

National Nanny Training Day!!

When - April 28th 9AM -4PM

Where - Maggiano's Restaurant 4999 Old Orchard Center Skokie, IL 60077

How Much - $49

What - 6 amazing workshops centered on caring for your charges and being a nanny.

Extras - Lunch is included and there will be door prizes!!!

Need more - There is an option to stay for a 7th!! workshop at the end of the day. Cost for that extra workshop is $15

Details - The Nanny Alliance of Wisconsin is teaming up with First Class Care Academy of Chicago, IL to participate in National Nanny Traning Day!!! We know it will be incredibly educational, fun and we hope to meet lots of great new nannies!!! (see schedule below)

Travel - Nanny Alliance of Wis members can receive FREE travel down to the conference via our carpooling but anyone wishing to travel with us is welcome to join the carpool and chip in $7.50 for gas. If you are attending and want to participate in the carpool please email me at mommananny@gmail.com or call me at 414-241-7322. If you are willing to drive for the day, please let me know that too.

Registration - Participants need to register on their own by clicking HERE. Go there for more details too! Let me know if you are coming even if you do not want to participate in the carpool.

Schedule:
9AM – Landing Your Dream Job by Standing Out from the Crowd
10AM – Music for Everyday with Little Miss Ann
11AM – Intro to Bullying
Noon – LUNCH provided from Maggiano’s
1pm – Homework without Tears, Battles and Headaches
2pm – Toddler Sleep and Potty Solutions
3pm – Sleep and Nursery Safety
4pm – Happiest Baby on the Block (Add on session – additional $15)

Losing the Family Pet

Re-posted from Best Nanny Newsletter

By H.J. Fracaro

For many children their first experience with death is the loss of a pet. Although it is devastating for children of all ages, it does allow them to understand the process of death and grieving. They observe the deceased will not be coming back and find a way to cope.

If a pet has to be put down, it is best to allow the child to say goodbye first. Give them truthful, uncomplicated answers about the process and help them remember the positive impact the pet made on their lives.

To read the rest of this article please click here.

Toxic Stress on Children

One of our good friends Deborah McNeils is speaking at and event coming us here in Milwaukee called "Toxic Stress in Childhood: The impact on brain development in young children. Deborah has spoken at several of our educational events over the years and will be a presenter at the INA Conference May 3-6th in Las Vegas.

Early childhood adversity and toxic stress can have long lasting effects, even disrupting the architecture of the brain, according to recent research. What are the emotional, behavioral and physical effects of profound, consistent stress in early childhood? What types of intervention strategies are effective in addressing toxic stress? Join us for a compelling discussion of this issue affecting thousands of children in our society.

Cost for the 1 day event on March 8th is $35. Click here to register online. If you would like a to register via mail please email me and I will send you the form mommananny@gmail.com

Presenters include:

David Cipriano, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
(Opening Remarks)

Deborah McNelis, M.S.-ed.
Early Brain Specialist
Owner, Brain Insights LLC
Author of: The Brain Development Series,
Naturally Developing Young Brains and
Love Your Baby App

Veronica Gunn, MD, MPH, FAAP
Medical Director, Community Services
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin

International Nanny Association's Annual Conference

Each year the INA puts together and AMAZING educational and social experience for nannies and nanny placement agencies that want to learn to improve their skills and professionalism.

This year's conference is in Las Vegas, NV May 3-6th. Registration is now OPEN with an early bird rate of $295.

There is even better news if you are not yet a member of INA or have only been a member for 6 months. You are eligible for a 50% discount on the conference registration.

The conference is being held in the beautiful Tuscany Suites & Casino. Rooms are reasonably priced, will go quick, and must be booked directly through the hotel - so don't DELAY!!

This years workshop topics include:

Sibling Rivalry
Staying Connected to Our Middle School Child When They Need Us Most
Recognizing and Dealing with Food Allergies in Newborns
Newborn Care Basics
How to Create a Social Media Strategy
How Families Hire 2.0

In total there are over 25 workshops for nannies, newborn care specialist and nanny placement agencies. If you have never been to INA or it has been a while, I highly recommend you give it a try. You will NOT be sorry. For more details and to register go to the INA web site!

Indoor Activities - Beating the Winter Doldrums

Enjoy this re-post from "Nannies from the Heartland."

This winter has been anything but typical – however, winter weather can be down right nasty, which means spending the day indoors with children who long to be active. No worries – here are a few suggestions to keep everyone active and moving even on those “indoor” days.

• Bowling Bash
• Micro-Mini Golf
• Indoor Obstacle Course
• Soccer
• Penguin Parent
• Ready, Aim, Toss
• Dance Party
• Sardines
• Shuffle Bump

Click here to learn all about these fun inside winter games.

How can I ensure my child feels loved?

A re-post from Your Parenting Questions about LOVE - I thought appropriate for today.

Every human gives and receives love in different ways. The same is true of children. Gary Chapman wrote a book entitled The Five Love Languages of Children. In it he describes 5 different languages or ways we humans can give and receive love. Quality time, physical touch, acts of service, giving/receiving gifts and words of encouragement. It is very common for a parent to try to communicate love to a child in a way that the child can’t understand just as I would understand very little if you spoke to me in German.

If you as a mom express love to your family by keeping the house clean and you wonder why your 14 year old son does not appreciate it, consider it might be because it is not a way he CAN feel love. If he feels loved through words of encouragement rather than acts of service, the efforts you make to show love though cleaning will not be “heard.” Instead try telling him how proud you are of the things he is accomplishing and make an effort to show you care through your words.

To read the rest click here.

Super-star Study Box

I personally LOVE to organize and therefore this is one of my favorite blogs. I thought this particular post would be a great idea for those nannies that have school age children. Enjoy.

I have tried about a bazillion and one ways to organize kid's school paperwork throughout the years, and this time I think I finally have a system that I will love for the rest of their years. It only took me five years of trying different things to get to this point, but I am excited to report that it is an easy and WORKING system!

First, let's take a quick second to reflect on my attempted methods:

Counter Top Piles: Pile current/important papers on the counter
Magnets to the Fridge: Attach current/important papers to the fridge
Personal In-Boxes: File current/important papers in a personal in-box
Household Management Binder: Keep current/important papers in plastic sleeves in the binder

To see the rest of this amazing post and more from "i heart organizing" click here.

INA 2012 Survey

Please take 5 minutes to fill out this survey. It is valuable to the nanny industry and in years past the survey has been featured on several media sources. INA really wants to gather the information from many in-home childcare sources. Thanks.

2012 INA Nanny Salary and Benefits Survey

Each year, the International Nanny Association conducts the INA Nanny Salary and Benefits Survey to gather important data about salary and benefits for nannies.

By taking the survey and by sharing the survey with nannies you know, you are helping INA to gain an accurate picture of the employment trends in our industry.

If you are a nanny, please take the 2012 INA Nanny Salary and Benefits Survey. If you are an agency owner or staff person, please share the survey link with your nannies.

http://www.nanny.org/2012SalarySurvey

Thank you.
Michelle LaRowe
Executive Director
INA Membership Services

Great Internet Workshop Opportunity!!

How to Effectively Handle Emotionally Charged Situations and Difficult Personalities With Professionalism, Compassion and Tact

Every nanny at one time or another has to tackle a tough conversation with a parent. It may be as commonplace as saying no to a too often favor request or it may be as serious as recommending they have their child evaluated for a developmental delay

These situations are often difficult to tackle and frequently lead to conversations that are overrun by emotions, easily lose focus, lack resolution and leave both parties feeling upset.

During this webinar, attendees will learn eight simple-to-use, practical communication tools that help calm people down, build rapport, keep the conversation on track and focus on solutions rather than blame in emotionally charged situations.

Attendees will also learn real world strategies to help them manage their emotions and maintain their professionalism when faced with parents’ common yet difficult-to-handle reaction patterns like anger, aggression, defensiveness, blaming, denial, or over-the-top-drama.

The last part of the session will be a Q and A session to craft conversation starters for particular situations and demonstrate how the tools work together in real world conversations.

Click here for more details.

Naptime is great!!

Naptime is much more than providing rest for a child ... and a break for parents! Children's developing brains need adequate amounts of sleep for healthy brain development.

We all know what it is like to deal with an over tired child. The reason for the behaviors we experience is due to a child not being able to handle the results of inadequate amounts of sleep. First of all the child still has an immature brain. It hasn't developed enough to provide the ability to deal with feelings of brain systems being out of balance. This is even difficult for adults. Getting enough sleep helps keep brain systems in balance. When children have had enough sleep it enhances cognitive functioning and moods.

Read the rest of Deborah's article HERE

Children who hate to do homework

My child hates to do homework. How can I help? - by Marcia Hall of Strong Roots Family Coaching

I remember coming home at the end of a long day at school and being so exhausted that I did not want to even look at a school book. I was lucky, when I went to school (many) years ago, we had a normal amount of homework. I was able to get most of it done at school. Today for better or worse, our children tend to have so much homework that they often could spend most of their precious time in the evening finishing it.

I don’t blame children for not wanting to do home work after a long day at school. No matter what age, they need some time to be kids – even when they are 17 years old. When you add after-school sports and other activities to the equation you have an overload.

Click HERE to read the rest.

Love is a Primary Need

Love is a primary need by Deborah McNeils of Brain Insights

Did You Know...?

...... feel good chemicals are released in the brain through loving interactions.

....... families and cultures that express warm physical affection have fewer issues with anger and aggression.

..... Researchers who examine the life histories of children who have succeeded despite many challenges, have consistently found that these children have had at least one stable, supportive relationship with an adult early in life.

Click HERE to read the rest.

Simplicity in Parenting

If you really want a happy kid by TeacherTom

If you really want a smart and happy kid, watch him. Just hang out while she's doing whatever it is she's doing.

Try to not ask questions unless you're genuinely curious. Try to not praise unless you're genuinely impressed. Try to not boss him around. When your agenda conflicts with hers, try to understand when she behaves as if there is a conflict.

Click HERE to see the rest!

Helping children grieve

By: Trisha Knueven at Cincynanny

As a nanny I have cared for three children who have lost a parent to death. I searched for answers on how to help these children long-term and came up short. The questions I set out to answer were:

-How does this significant death affect a child years later?

-How can I help the child?

-What is important to know about child grieving in order to support the child?

I found several great resources at my local library including a book I read cover to cover called Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies by J. William Worden. This book is mainly the conclusions of a Child Bereavement Study conducted by Dr. Phyllis Silverman and the author studying children between ages 6 and 17 who lost a parent to death. The study followed the children for 2 years after the death and compared them to a non-bereaved sample of children. Each chapter ends with a bulleted summary.

Click HERE to see the rest.

Presenting Nanny Marcia

Each month you will get a change to meet one of the many nannies that are part of The Nanny Alliance of Wisconsin. Today you get to meet the new director, Marcia Hall.

Why did you become a nanny and how long have you been one?

a. I have always loved working with children. My parents were both teachers and from an early age babysat children in my neighborhood. When I was a junior in high school I considered becoming a teacher like my parents but wanted to instruct in smaller groups. I loved the idea of being a nanny and found the English Nanny and Governess School. In 1996 I attended and graduated. I have been a Certified Professional Nanny ever since.

What is your current nanny position like?

a. I care for a 5 year old girl in preschool 3 mornings a week and a 9 year old boy in school full time. They live in Mequon and I am blessed to be able to take my 3 year old daughter to work with me. The children love to play outside, do art projects and go on “field trips” to the zoo and museums. The 5 year old loves all things “stuffed” and the 9 year old loves all things Legos.

Why do you enjoy what you do?

a. I love being a nanny because I am able to shape the way children are raised. All of the families I have worked with have been very unique. I am not only able to help families find the best parenting approach for their family but I am able to help them implement those techniques. I love being able to do that.

What is one of your most memorable moments as a nanny?

a. On Sept 11, 2001 I was working for a family of 3 boys in Whitefish Bay, WI. Mom and dad were on a trip in Canada when the tragic events happened. Of course we all know that the events of that day meant that mom and dad would not be able to return home for some time. That week will always be a bittersweet memory for me. I was able to help the children through understanding the tragedy but also give mom and dad piece of mind that their children were in good hands. I really believe that by experiencing and working through that event my relationship and bond with those children and their parents that will last forever.

What is your favorite activity or place to go with your charges?

a. We love to go all over the place but I think my favorite thing to do with them is crafts in the home. Their excitement is so great and I love watching their little faces light up when they are proud of the work of art they have completed.

What is one way you would like to grow as a nanny or what is one thing you would like to learn more about for your nanny career?

a. I would really like to understand more about autism, ADD and ADHD and how to help children and families deal with these issues. These are issues that face a lot of children today and parents have a very hard time dealing with.

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