You’re no doubt already aware of the myriad benefits of nanny hire – from the flexibility and high- quality, personalised care offered to the potential cost benefits, especially if you have a larger family or complicated schedules. But what you may not have realised is that you don’t have to enjoy these advantages as a full-time, permanent arrangement if that’s not what you want.
There are just as many benefits to short-term nanny hire for school holidays, especially, for example, over the long summer break and if you don’t have help from, say, grandparents on hand.
Here, we look at some of them:
1) The advantages for working parents
If you’ve usually taken annual leave to look after your children during the school holidays, but not felt entirely happy doing so, a nanny could provide the perfect solution. You won’t have to use up precious holiday days for childcare – or request unpaid leave. And if you want to take on extra work commitments, or ask for some overtime, you’ll have greater flexibility to do just that. You’ll also have peace of mind in knowing that the kids are in safe hands at all times, so you can give your work your full attention while you’re doing it, reducing stress and improving your work-life balance.
Equally, if there are two of you, you won’t have to do that juggling act where you take it in turns to have weeks off to look after your little ones. That doesn’t give either of you a proper break. With a short-term nanny, you can use your annual leave for proper holidays instead.
2) A nanny could travel with you
If your nanny comes on holiday with you, you’ll have a reliable babysitter on whom you can depend, providing childcare and babysitting so that you can, say, go out for a grown-up dinner as and when you wish, and design your own holiday schedule. More families are using this option than you may have realised – it’s not just something the super-rich do. A temporary nanny can also ease some of the potential strain of travelling with young children, or step in if your regular employee either can’t come with you on holiday, or prefers not to.
And if you’re travelling with another family or two, you’ll have another pair of hands and could nanny-share. Agree hours of work in advance, ideally in writing, plus all other ground rules.
3) Benefits to children
Children can spend time where they’re happiest – at home – rather than being farmed out to holiday clubs or friends and relatives. So there’s consistency and flexibility of care plus a structured routine, albeit a different one to the normal term-time regime. They receive one-to-one attention from someone with whom they will quickly form a bond. Nannies provide fun, engaging activities for kids and take them on playdates or similar outings, giving children a structure to their free time while ensuring that learning and development don’t stop completely during the breaks.
And you can always hire the same nanny for multiple school holidays, increasing the consistency of
care still further.
4) When other things are going on …
School vacations can often be a busy time and you may have other stuff going on, such as summer parties, weddings and graduations or other gatherings involving friends and family. You might want to go away overnight child-free. You may even be moving house over the summer or find yourself in between childcare providers. In all these situations, short-term nanny hire can offer the perfect answer.
Talk to Fox & Cubs
Fox & Cubs is a boutique nanny, newborn care and private staff agency providing families across London with handpicked matches. Register now for Easter and summer holiday temporary nanny provision. We don’t charge registration fees and will send you staff profiles, tailored to your individual requirements, from the day you sign up. What’s more, we appreciate that everyone’s family and needs are different.
Start the search today – call 020 3838 2588 or email families@foxandcubs.com.
