Top 15 Nanny Skills to be best on the Job

Top 15 Nanny Skills to be best on the Job

If you are looking for how to be the best nanny around, the skills and qualities provided in this post are necessary to develop.

But, let’s look first at what nannies do.

Who is a Nanny?

A nanny is a child care specialist who works in a family’s private home, to provide the highest degree of customized child care and to give personalized attention to the family’s children.

The job requires a great deal of skills and qualities and certain level of education to be good at it.

Nannies perform various tasks which include tending to the basic needs of the children they take care of, meal planning and preparation for the children, laundering and caring for clothing belonging to the children, organizing play activities and outings, setting behavioral guidelines, and providing discipline when appropriate.

Nannies work in different environments, providing child care services for homes, offices, hospitals, and schools.

15 Skills and Qualities to be Successful as a Nanny

1. Reliability and Trustworthiness. Nannies must be reliable and trustworthy. Parents must rely on them to fulfill their duties and also meet terms of working relationship. Parents want to make sure that they trust and count on their nannies very well to do their job as required and provide better care for their children.

2. Academic Skills. It is quite expedient to look for certain criteria such as certification and classes in a nanny before they can work for you. This will make the nanny to be qualified enough to take her job very seriously. A nanny with basic skills test and years of experience is better than a newborn care specialist. A nanny without academic skills might consider attending adult learning evening courses within their locality for acquisition of mathematics and literary skills.

3. Pediatric First Aid. Every nanny needs this skill to be able to administer CPR, help a choking child, and deal with bleedings and burns. Knowledge of first aid will make parents to feel relax and have confidence in the nanny as being competent to take proper care of their children.

4. Communication Skills. Parents and nannies should communicate effectively with each other. Nannies should confidently ask questions when they’re unsure of directions or expectations of parents for their children. This will help them to get all information about the child. Parents should be open to answer any question the nanny might ask, to make sure that she doesn’t get confused.

5. Background Check. There are works references that nannies are expected to provide. The employer might like to investigate the criminal and driving records of the nanny they are seeking to employ. Most employers hate smokers and drunks. Some prefer nannies from age 21 upwards, while others might insist on employing those with high school diploma.

6. Problem Solving Skills. Nannies should be able to point out complicated issues and evaluate options necessary for providing possible solutions. They are required to review related information to help develop alternatives for solutions. Not every problem should nannies communicate to their employers: they are expected to tackle some issues alone without external intervention.

7. Love of Children. Nannies should have great and genuine love for kids. This characterizes their professionalism a great deal when they enjoy working with children. Nannies that have love of children enjoy their work more than those without it.

8. Active Listening. Nannies should be able to give full attention to what other people are saying. They need to carefully understand the points others are making before asking questions. If they interrupt or ask questions it should be at appropriate times.

9. Experience. With more experience in a nanny’s job, you can choose how you want to work. Most employers look for nannies with at least a year of experience. If you have more years of experience you stand a better chance for employment than those with less years of experience.

10. Cooking Skills. It is a big advantage when a nanny has some cooking skills, because her job might require preparing food for the family depending on her job description. The nanny’s services might be needed most evenings for cooking the family’s dinner. She doesn’t have to visit the kitchen all the time to avoid distraction and being far from the kids.

11. Collaboration Skills. For nannies to be successful in their job, they need to learn to be a team player with parents and other staff members. They should help out when and where necessary, and must not always depend on their own ideas but learn to consider other people’s viewpoints.

12. Influential Skills. Nannies should influence the children in their care positively and must commit to making a positive difference in their lives. They must acknowledge the importance of their work as a nanny and therefore should learn to interpret their roles in the best way it will benefit the children.

13. Memorization Skills. Before the employer leaves for work in the morning, they usually place requests upon requests of tasks to be completed. It is only nannies with memorization skills can recall all the requests made, and execute them properly.

14. Sense of Humor. With a great sense of humor, nannies can manage their demands and charges easily. If they can be positive and appreciate little moments, they are more likely to excel.

15. Respectful and Well Mannered: Children are quick to learn different behaviors from various people, whether good or bad. They learn from their parents, grandparents, teachers, nannies and peers. That’s why nannies must have high morals; respect, and good manners to help the children they take care of grow up with the same characteristics.

Nanny Skills for Resume

If you are writing a resume for a nanny job, the skills and qualities given above can help you in completing the core competence part of the resume.

The core competence or skills section of the resume is where you state the skills and qualities that you have to succeed as a nanny with the organization you want to work with.

Conclusion:

If you are a nanny who wants to be best on your job or employer who needs the services of a good and qualified nanny, then the above skills and qualities will be useful to you.

Employers can look for a nanny with much of the above qualities when hiring to increase their chances of getting the best nanny available.

Did you enjoy this post, or have other skills you consider important to the success of a nanny? Please share them in the comment box below.