Blog
The 6-Month Check-In for a Nanny Role That Lasts
Around the five- to six-month mark, many nanny-family relationships have settled in and the training period is complete. Between work, parenting, and managing a household, there’s rarely a moment to evaluate how things are going. Although professional pay and benefits...
How Can Small Businesses Support Transgender Staff and Customers?
A customer once told me she only wanted to work with “biologically female” sitters and wanted me to send her headshots of potential babysitters, so that she could assess if they “looked like biological women" to her. I remember feeling so insulted by the customer’s...
5 Things Homeownership Taught Me About Supporting Families
In 2022, my husband and I bought our first home, and it gave me insight into what many of our childcare clients experience as homeowners. 1. I experienced how managing a household adds to the load. Owning a home is a point of pride that also includes a never-ending...
The Harm of the Phrase, “A Nanny is a Luxury.”
While often misunderstood as symbols of wealth or status, nannies are essential members of the US childcare workforce, enabling many parents to work and playing a key role in the family's well-being. The phrase "A nanny is a luxury" persists within my industry and...
The Big Back Injury!
One year ago in February 2023, I suddenly found myself depending on a walker just to get to my kitchen. I severely herniated a disc in my lower back while bending to pick up my dog's bowl, an injury brought on by years of use, particularly by my work in childcare. The...
Strong Interview Questions For Nannies.
Even seasoned HR professionals can find interviewing nanny candidates for their family to be uniquely stressful, and the weight of ensuring the well-being of your child makes this process distinct and more challenging. Consider utilizing some of the questions below....
10 Tips for Hiring an After-School Nanny
August is a busy time as parents work to secure an after-school care for the coming year. The scarcity of after-school care options is a major issue that deserves discussion on multiple fronts. In this article, we focus on the decision to hire a part-time after-school...
Why is it Hard to Keep Babysitters?
You are polite to sitters, you pay a good hourly rate, your kids are respectful, and they're great kids! Still, you have gone through several sitters or nannies in the past year and sometimes you feel like no one wants to work anymore. Is there anything you can do?...
Odd Video Interview Errors And How to Avoid Them
As the owner of a childcare agency, I have had the privilege of interviewing hundreds of applicants for nanny and babysitting positions. Since 2020, virtual interviewing has become common and I'm so glad for this time-saving efficiency. I have also experienced some...
Breaking Stereotypes: The Importance of Men in Babysitting and Childcare Positions
Gender biases do not help parents to make informed decisions. As the owner of a babysitting agency, I am disheartened when parents believe the stereotype of male childcare workers as potential predators. Many parents would be surprised to learn that this inaccurate...
An Inclusive Business: My Stories, and 6 Practical Steps To Take
I founded Babysitters Of Boulder with a simple purpose: to connect busy parents and trustworthy childcare providers. Early on, I was unaware of the challenges that would arise in matters of inclusivity. It was only when confronted with discrimination that I began to...
What Does the Nanny Do While My Child Naps?
I find that parents are in one of two camps with their initial understanding of this question: parents who assumed the nanny would simply hang out at the house and they thought that they'd pay less during this time and parents who thought the nanny was going to mop,...
Which Days & Times Are Best or Most Difficult to Book a Sitter?
What's going on behind the scenes in the Babysitters Of Boulder master calendar? Here are some solid trends worth knowing: Busiest day for babysitting requests, and days that sell out: Tuesdays and Wednesdays! Most popular evening sit time that gets claimed super...
Calling Out Sick Guide for Parents, Nannies & Sitters
Parents typically aren't frustrated by the fact of their nanny calling out sick - parents do understand that nannies and babysitters are humans who can get sick. It's about how the callout is done. Here is what frustrates parents: callouts that occur less than two...
Understanding Cancellation “Fees”
A chronic inequality that exists between childcare workers and parents is that the worker should be on time and reliable, however if a parent has to cancel a booking the worker is often not paid. If they are paid, it's typically a nominal amount. When a childcare...