How to Make Traveling With Your Nanny a Breeze
Traveling with your nanny can be easy peasy lemon squeezy… if you follow these tips.
Can you have too many vacations and adventures planned in a year? Absolutely not!
Travel is something that many families ideally want to pursue, but hesitate due to the seemingly inevitable anxiety that comes with taking a family vacation. For families that have the help of a nanny, the decision to take the leap is a lot easier.
Nannies help make family vacations feel like smooth sailing by helping with all aspects of a trip, including:
Child-related packing and trip preparation
Day-to-day care of children (giving you more intentional family time)
Flexibility
Free time and date nights
After trip organization
Overall, nannies help create a more relaxing and enjoyable vacation for everyone! How do you successfully travel with your nanny? Here are seven ways to make traveling with your nanny a breeze.
Give Your Nanny Plenty Of Warning Before A Trip
You may think anyone would jump on the idea of a “free vacation”. Nannies have lives too. They will likely need to tie up a few loose ends before setting out for paradise. Letting your nanny know about a trip as early as possible is the best way to ensure they have ample time to prepare, increasing your chances of them tagging along. Ideally, give your nanny two or more months notice.
Work Together and Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is crucial for making sure your vacation goes smoothly. If you tend to procrastinate, know that your nanny will likely also feel the stress that comes with pushing things off to the last minute. Working together and planning in advance for when and what to pack will save you the hassle of scrambling last minute. It’s also essential to discuss travel logistics, such as how the very start of the trip will play out, detailing airport and transportation schedules, and what help you expect from your nanny on travel days at the beginning and end of your trip.
Discuss Hours, Responsibilities, and Expectations Before The Trip Starts
The key word here is before. Having clear expectations before the trip even starts is important for avoiding misunderstandings and anxiety. When there is no clear schedule and boundaries in place, your nanny may feel like they’re always on the clock. Be clear when your nanny is on and off the clock, adding room for a few date nights or special outings. If your nanny has guaranteed hours, then you’ll already have an idea of the hours you’ll like them to work. **Read our blog on Guaranteed Hours and why they’re so important** If you expect your nanny to work overtime to accommodate for parent-only outings, discuss this beforehand as well.
Consider giving your nanny some downtime during the trip. For example, if there is a day when your nanny is working a full day shift plus date night, consider giving them the next morning off. This will leave your nanny feeling appreciated and well-rested for the day ahead.
Cover All Travel Expenses
When you take your nanny on a trip, you must cover all of the nanny’s expenses.
This includes:
Transportation (airfare or mileage reimbursement)
Hotel rooms/accommodation
Meals
Any outings or excursions during nanny hours
Many families also offer a stipend for the nanny to use in their free time. Although this is technically work, nannies deserve to have some fun too! This can be an excellent way to make sure everyone is fulfilled and enjoying the vacation.
I want to make it abundantly clear that paying for these travel expense is in addition to your nannies earnings for their work while on vacation. Your nanny should be compensated the regular hourly rate typically earned for all hours worked during the vacation. Hours off the clock do not need to be compensated.
Ensure Your Nanny Is Comfortable With The Accommodations
This may be the biggest chunk of time your family and nanny have spent together, so ensuring your nanny feels comfortable with the accommodations is a must. It’s standard for nannies to have their own space to go to when they’re off the clock. Whether it’s a hotel or a vacation home, your nanny will need their own room to ensure privacy and boundaries.
Communicate
We can plan and hope to no end that everything will go smoothly, but life tends to throw us curve balls when we least expect it. Whatever situations may present themselves, follow the golden rule and communicate. Clear communication will help you and your nanny work through any misunderstandings and allow for a stress-free trip. Remember that communication goes both ways, so always be open to hearing any of your nanny’s concerns. This will build your and your nanny’s relationship on and off the beach.
Consider Giving Your Nanny A Day Or Two Of Reset After A Trip
Although you aren’t working during the vacation, your nanny is. We all know the struggle of coming home from a trip and finding your groove again. With this being said, it’s thoughtful to give your nanny a day or two to get adjusted before expecting them to come back to work.
Whether you simply give your nanny the time off or plan to return at the start of a weekend, both options give your nanny time to relax and get back in the swing of things.