If you are about to embark on your first ‘holiday nanny’ job role, we’ve have compiled 5 top tips to help you survive and to help you provide the best service to your holiday family.
1: Be prepared for anything and everything!
As a holiday nanny, it is so important to be prepared and to make a good impression. You should know the ages and sex of the children you are going to be caring for, so I would recommend creating an activity/craft bag for the trip. My bag usually contains colouring, cut and stick materials, travel board games, Dobble, a few books, stickers, play-doh and bubbles. All of these items are fairly small and light, so they don’t take up much room in my bag and provide endless amounts of fun. If you would like to gain some serious brownie points; A plane friendly activity bag, for the travel day, is also a great way of keeping children entertained on a long haul flight and distracting them away from the screen
2: Communicate with your family
After your interview, the next time you meet your ‘holiday family’ will be on the first day of your trip. So, therefore, it is so important that you communicate with your family. The agency will pass on the details of the family and it is really encouraged to ask any questions you might have before you go. Questions such as; children’s interests, have they had a nanny before, dress codes, are you going to be sharing a room, are you going to be expected to drive? All of these are really important questions to cover because it helps you and the family feel prepared for the trip, and it will make the family feel reassured to have such a thorough nanny who is taking an interest in finding out about the family post trip.
3: Dress appropriately for the style of job
I learnt on a recent holiday nanny job how important it is to ask the family if they have a dress code to follow. This job was classed as a ‘VIP’ job in the Caribbean, so when I was gathering my normal ‘nanny beach clothes’ together; shorts, vest and beach dresses, a friend, who is an experienced worker on a superyacht, suggested asking the family if there was a dress code to follow. I was so pleased I did ask because they asked me to wear ‘boating’ wear, such as a navy polo shirt and khaki short combination and to dress modestly. So, therefore, I bought a rash vest and swimming shorts to wear in the sea.
Initially, I was very self-conscious of my uniform, as I had never had to follow a dress code before, but the feedback I got from the family was so worth it. Even though I ended up being the only nanny wearing a smart uniform, I felt and looked the part, which made me feel confident whilst working alongside high-status guests.
So in conclusion to this, it is always worth asking the family if there is a dress code to follow. You can never sound or be too prepared for a holiday nanny vacation.
4: Be flexible and muck in
Sometimes a job of a holiday nanny isn’t just playing with the kids, swimming with them, taking them to the beach. Some parents really do love the opportunity to spend special times with their children doing these activities too! So, therefore, you should be ready and flexible to offer any kind of help when you may feel at a loose end. As It is quite common to find yourself with suddenly no children to look after! Depending on your package, being child-free doesn’t always mean you can put your feet up, you should use your initiative and have a scan around to see if anything can be done. Children’s laundry, meal prep, bath time prep etc, small offers of extra help never goes unnoticed, and you will reap the rewards at the end of the holiday with a fantastic reference and maybe a tip!
5: Be happy
Work with a smile! There will be moments where you might be feeling fed up, but you have always got to remember that it is only for a short duration, and you will never have to see them again, after saying goodbye at the airport! I find it helps to take your exercise gear with you, so you can fit in a run or a HIIT workout, or go for a power walk with the pushchair to get some head space. I like to treat Nanny holidays as a retreat. You’ll most likely be somewhere beautiful, possibly hot, with fresh food and no alcohol consumption! So just embrace the whole experience, you will always come home with a story to tell!