Episode 3: Just Text Me

I agree that technology can be helpful to stay in contact during the day, but it is not a substitute for the level of trust that you need to have in your nanny.

I am a fulltime caregiver, and to an extent I agree the texting and taking pictures through text is great. I do it, but it should not be a substitute for communication between caregiver and parents. Nothing upsets me more when a child is really sick and I can not contact the parent. Texting and or cell phones are not always reliable. When I start providing care for a family I always stress that if its something important such as an illness of a child, medication concern ect... I will call. Always have a work number, or some other form of communication through out the day. I write journals on each child, I find this helps also for when a different parent is picking up than dropping off, so they know how their childs day was and what to expect the rest of the day to go such as temperment, diapers, feeding habits ect... I only care for two or three children so I find this rather easy but it may be harder in larger situations.But the families I work for love it! I also keep photo albums so the kids and the parents can look through them as time goes on just like at home. I work for most military families so this is important to them.

I am a daycare provider, so I can appreciate what the other families are saying.
One thing that a few of my clients have done to keep up with how their child is doing is send me a brife, text message during the day. This helps Parents stay connected & a few times out of the month I also send them a text picture of their child so they get to track the growth, & progress of their child. If at anytime they have a concern I meet their concern! This is about building a positive business relationship ! After all this is about the well being of their child and if it was mine I would want to feel confident about my care giver too!! So "Send Me A Text" is my motto!!!!
www.arleensdaycare.vpweb.com

I am a daycare provider, so I can appreciate what the other families are saying. So I agree to what y'all say. gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

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i think if you are open to be that type of communication and its up to you. it can to be a pain in the butt sometimes, as a nanny you want to be able to call them, but i think some families are taking advangtage of the cituation. some families want you to have a cell, full covered insurance and drive their kids in the nanny car, so i come to the conclusion.... what if the nanny can not afford those things???? gas is not cheap, neither is full coveage, not to mention people cell phone plans go with minutes and texts packages where you got to pay each seperate, i have att, minutes are seperate than texts and when they are getting bitchy about those things thats when you dont want to work for that particular family. just saying

even when your board you can just text or email your friend and family and just talk bout crazy stuff

I am a nanny & have been for many years. Everyone has a different way of communicating towards others! I sometimes do the same . Tex via email or keep a log book or just have my phone on me 24/7 when I am caring for the child/children.

I am a nanny, I send email and picture to their mom, most that time when we're at that zoo. or other trips. and I call her for only emergency, or when children they're very sick, most that mother have confident, where I take care they children. or I getting a routine with them, course I have on my experience, some call any time to hear if that children cry, or some time came back and different hour. to see what I do. I think comunication is very important with thy parents to be confident how take care...or what your children doing during that day...something thier're call to talk with them and some children don't like other love to talk with mom...comunication with parent doing confident togheter how take care your children...

i have a 7 month old so i can relate, it was so hard for me going back to work or leaving him with anyone i alway feel that am going to miss some thing cutie that he did through out the day lol

I'm a nanny of a VERY active 9 month old boy. The boy's mom will typically only leave for a few hours during the days so she pretty much always knows what's going on anyways. I keep a daily detail journal (feeding, sleeping, pooping, all very imp to a growing baby's development). I also make sure to ask her the imp questions about his routine & what's happened so far that day when I first arrive, then before I leave for the day I will always let her know the important stuff that happened throughout the day. I made it a point to know the baby & the mom very well so I know what her main concerns are about the baby's care, I make sure I update her on those things daily. The baby's dad does travel sometimes frequently for business so he enjoys reading my daily detailed notes when he gets back. His wife keeps him plenty updated & sends him pics of the baby. Sometimes, either parent will text me but all of my attention goes to the baby. So if we're just hanging out playing, then I can text back; but if I'm feeding the baby or putting him to sleep then I won't even know my phone went off b/c my main focus is on the baby's care, that's my job after all. I have mixed feelings on taking pictures & texting them to the family. Even though I would never do anything inappropriate with the pics, it still feels somewhat creepy taking pics & then having them on your phone of another person's baby. Like I said, the mom is around enough to know daily what's going on & she keeps her hubby very well updated so I guess I don't feel the need to take pics. If I ever were to take pics of the baby, I think I would have to have a convo w/ the parents first to make sure it's ok with them & set the guidelines, aka just take pics when the baby is doing something cute/sweet/funny.

I am a nanny to a great family whom I strongly believe they trust me and we could discuss anything. I feel this is key when spending so much time in their home and with their precious children. I often text the mom and send pictures so she can see how the day is going and the fun things were doing.. It's not just a job, it's like extended family when your a full time nanny and being with the kids daily.. I love being a nanny, and being needed..

Technology is a double edged sword...!!

I LOVE being able to text parents with pictures of their kids, and any questions I have. As a nanny, I don't find it necessary to call them throughout the day. I trust myself and my judgement just as much as they do. However, when there's an emergency I can always reach them. With that said, I would never choose texting/sending pictures over caring for their children. The most important thing for me, and them, is making sure their children are safe and cared for. Also, with text messaging/sending pictures there always needs to be permission to do so. I've never had an issue with this before, but I've heard stories of nannies/babysitters taking pictures and posting them on Facebook/Web pages. If there's permission, that's great-but it is SO important to know your boundaries.

I don't know what I or the parents of the kids I watch would do without texting!

One of the moms I babysit for mainly communicates to me through text message. When she wants to find out my availability, she will text me. When she wants to know how bedtime went, she will text me. I am not bothered by this at all. In fact, I think we have a closer relationship because of it. Texting is not formal communication, so it makes me feel like she trusts me and just likes hearing from me.

I love it when the parents I nanny for get excited to see the awesome activities I do with their children when they are at work. The parents adore the pics and just love it when I send them one or two each day. It brightens their day to know that their childen are in good hands and are having a great time learning and having fun. Although I like the idea of texting, I am a bit old fashion and still like to have that "real" phone convesation especially when or if an emergency occurs. Communication is the key to success which ever way it works keep it up:))

We have had two nannies and both sent texts throughout the day and I love it! I still feel connected and know what my son is doing. The nanny offered to help me figure out how to use GPS on her phone to track where they are at during the day but that was more info than I needed. I work in a school and am in and out of meetings with students but getting the texts has been a great way to check in when I am free. LOVE IT! Thanks to all the nannies who put in that extra effort.

I am also a nanny. What ever happened to the old fashion way of communicating, the phone and using a journal for your families. I'll do the occasional email ,but texting is out for me. I have always had the trust of my families and they were grounded in their parenting skills and relationship they had with the children. They just went to work missing their children,but knew the kids were well taken care of. Secure in knowing I would contact them if any thing important popped up.

Im a senior caregiver but also take care of children sometimes, and I think its very important to be in contact with the parents at all times, therefore text is an easy way to keep in touch. I not only text or email my family members on a regular basis, I find these such a convenient way to discuss any daily situations that arise when you're in someone elses home and you're responsible for their children or even seniors. So I must admit I dont know how we ever went without cell phones or computers all these years. I dont ever go shopping with my grandchildren without my cell phone, because its just so much easier to keep in touch with family members and feel comfortable to have quality time with them. so lets just say THANK GOD for cell phones, computers, emails, im and email.. Janie T.

I like care baby, but i speak spanish, if not problem i can do it...

I am a nanny of twin boys i have them all day, 5 days a week some weeks, and when i started i asked the parents do you want me to keep a book or what ever of how the kids eat/sleep/ poop...they were 4 mths when i started...she said no...so every once in a while if the boys have tried a new food, now at 6 mths, or if they have had a weekend with the grand parents and are sleeping all day she sends me a text to check up...as a teacher her self, she cant call. but it is nice to know if she may be late because of a meeting with a parent or another teacher. and she likes the pictures...

Hello,

Technology can be convenient and necessary depending on the circumstances.

I am a nanny, and texting ruined the working relationship I had with the family I was working for. They knew that I was text savy and would text me constantly about work related things when I was off the clock on the weekends. They would get mad at me when I did not respond right away and they would not listen when I said to call me over the weekend if they needed something important. I eventually had to quit the job because the people were unable to let me have a home life, and it was ALL due to texting.

I see texting in moderation as a key to nannying and as a public school teacher I also text parents to communicate. I appreciate a few texts now and then outside of work of how the kids are doing, and parents have shared photos with me as I truely care for their children. On the one hand on my summber breaks it has been very convienent to set times and confirmations for tutoing and caring for students. However, with another family I nannied last summer I was with child in the movie theatre and by the time I had driven home and returned the mom was so angry that she couldn't get ahold of me on my phone. I have had both positive and negative experiences. Therefore, texting in moderation is helpful.

I agree to this because they want to keep in touch how their kids are

How do u get to babysit

I'm not a professional nanny, or childcare giver yet, but sending text messages & emails are as normal as it gets for these modern day moms.

thanks you very much

To all the child caregivers "kudos" on keeping mommy and daddy in touch, i remember as a working parent yeaaaars ago how uncertain i felt about the well being of my children, and my comute home or concentrating on my job was well almost nonexsistent, thanks to technology by all means text, text, text, and pleas send them pics, to the nanny who feels uncomfortable about taking pics u can allways delete, to the nany who felt she no longer had a private life, those parents are propbably missing some type of info that was failed to be passed on to them by you and they obviously were concerened. nannny on :)

HI I AM A CHILD CARE PROVIDER AND I FEEL TEXTING PARENTS IS APPROPRIATE IF THEY CHOOSE TO USE THIS AS AWAY FOR ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATION. SO ITS TOTALLY UP TO THE PARENTS.

I'm a full-time caregiver and I would not even speak to the parents if it were not for email and texting! They are both very busy with work during the day and I help them stay connected with pictures, videos and updates. And I also let them know where we are going and when we have returned from say, the library, the park, a walk etc. I also use to help document falls and accidents should they happen. I tell them exactly what happened and take a picture of the mark/bruise. I'm all about the CYA mentality especially when you are caring from someone's child.

I think using text is a great way to stay in contact with parents while they are at work and cannot take phone calls.

What really supirses me are some of the responses here... the lack of grammer, spelling, and puncuation. I am by no means a genius... but just from reading some of these I would never let some of these people watch my child for any amount of time!

I dont like to be texting while babysitting I prefered a simple call! better like that.

Teresa B.

I text, send pics,journals & emails as well. But the primary for me is scheduling a sit down with both parents on a monthly or bi/monthly basis to discuss on child's milestones or any concerns.

I believe communication with the parents is key while providing childcare services, and with today's technology there are many ways to keep parents updated on the many milestones their little ones achieve while they are away! Whether it be via txt pictures, funny and heartwarming videos, keepsake picture cards or personalized crafts, any of these are always added value to parents and the proud little ones who authored or stared in them! Might I add the bonds created between you, your little ones and your parents are priceless when showcasing their meany feats and talents!

I am a full-time nanny with a full schedule of clients (I work for other families as an occasional caregiver if the parents need a date night, have a doctor's appointment, etc.) and encourage parents to use whatever means of communication they desire to contact me. At the same time, I do realize this comes with the responsibility of being accessible to families at all hours. I've never had a family abuse my "open door" policy by calling/texting/emailing me constantly or late at night/extremely early in the morning, but if I ever encountered that scenario, I think good communication is key: let them know that you understand their needs, but as a human being, you also have needs of your own and may not always be accessible to them AT THAT MOMENT. I've found that usually those families who require lots of "maintenance" make it very clear from your first few interactions that they will require you in that capacity. It's always good to nip the issue in the bud and just tell them if you are uncomfortable (in a professional way) - chances are, they don't realize what they are doing. It all comes down to having a good working relationship and fostering the best environment for children.

If I am watching children while a parent is away on a trip (especially their first time away from their children) I try to send them pictures when I can - I always get positive responses! If I am working for a client that has a very young firstborn child I also send LOTS of photos when they are interacting with toys, music, sensory tables, etc., because new parents seem to LOVE having as many photos of their child as possible. Taking videos can also help demonstrate what the child has learned from you while in your care - what parent wouldn't love a video of their child singing their ABCs for the first time? It's a nice way to display that you acknowledge and respect their position as your employer, and it's also a nice way for them to be involved with memories they wouldn't have been able to experience otherwise.

I'd definitely say that at the outset of a business relationship, you shouldn't rely on texting too much (unless you get the feeling that parents wouldn't mind communicating in this way) because it tends to convey a lack of professionalism as opposed to calling or emailing a client. As you progress with your working relationship, I think texting can become more and more acceptable - Just make sure to keep it related to the children only! :)

I am a part time babysitter. I do texting to the parents, and only call them if it's an emergency. I also send new parents pictures if I have never sat for them before or if they are a little nervous about a new sitter. This puts them at ease. I'll also respond to texts if parents ask me if I'm able to babysit. But at the end of the day, I do talk to the parents when I see them about how the day went, and let them know everything I can. I still feel that open communication is the best form at the end of each day.

I'm agree with the Tex messages, i think it is a very help full tool to communicate with the parent.

Text messages are VERY useful in communicating with the families I babysit, clean and pet sit for.
I can be reached anytime or anyplace so I never miss an opportunity and the care seeker can check on how things are going