Coronavirus and Child Care: How We Plan To Bring Our Nanny Back

Posted on May 19, 2020May 20, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Like many parents across the country, the husband and I have begun discussing how bringing our nanny back into our home is going to work.

In Washington, Governor Inslee has announced that Phase 2 of the reopening is tentatively scheduled for June 1. This is the the phase where all in-home/domestic services can resume. Essentially, nannies and sitters are allowed to begin working with non-essential employee parents beginning June 1…..subject to change like all things COVID-19 related.

coronavirus nanny

Our children and I miss our nanny so much! We are all excited to see her smiling face and our children are excited to restart some of the special activities/traditions that they have created with her (if you haven’t seen Wonky Donkey, check it out here).

It goes without saying, the hubby and I are excited because we sorely need a break!

The question that we have been wrestling with is how do we safely bring our nanny back into our home and protect her, her family and our family from being infected with COVID-19?

Continue reading “Coronavirus and Child Care: How We Plan To Bring Our Nanny Back” →

Coronavirus Outbreak: Free Educational Resources

Posted on March 14, 2020March 14, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Our world is facing scary and unprecedented times with concerns of the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Social distancing, school closures, toilet paper hoarding, canceling both major and minor events, and a new genre of internet memes are the new norm across the world.

Many of us are trying to stay as positive as possible during these difficult times.

I have seen so many examples of kindness, caring, and compassion all around.

More door-holding so the next person doesn’t have to touch the door.

Offers to donate food and supplies to those who can’t afford to buy extras.

Offers by parents to other parents to swap child care in small groups.

Schools continuing to offer meals during closures.

The list goes on and on, and I’m sure this is only the beginning. Thanks to everyone who is in a position to donate, help, and “extend a hand” to those who are in need.

With schools across the United States ordered closed, many parents and care providers are working hard to figure out how they can keep kids busy with academic activities to maintain some form of a regular, structured learning schedule each day.

Pro Tip: Don’t let planning this be too much of a stress on you! (There are plenty of other things we have no control over presently that we are already stressed about, right?!). It doesn’t have to be all math, science, and history – though there are plenty of ways to make those subject matters enjoyable.

Bring back the study of home economics with cooking, sewing, nutrition, or money management lessons.

Let your kids choose some fun “electives” like music, YouTube Art, or online coding projects.

Go out on a family bike ride, hike, or a trip to the beach for physical education and a biology lesson in one!

A lot of learning happens during unstructured play time, too!

There have been so many great, creative and in some cases free educational resources popping up in light of this extended school closure.

While I know this list is not comprehensive, I thought it would be a good idea to try to put some of these in one place to help parents and nannies with ideas to keep school-aged kids busy while they are at home.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Outbreak: Free Educational Resources” →

Pay Survey Results – Table of Contents

Posted on February 20, 2020February 20, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Looking for child care pay rate information in the Puget Sound region?

Choose a child care arrangement below to view our member generated pay survey results!

To see all of our current child care pay rate survey results compiled into one infographic, click here.

child care pay rates

Nanny Shares

January 2020 Survey Results

January 2019 Survey Results

October 2017 Survey Results

child care pay rates

Nanny Caring for One Child – Part Time

November 2019 Survey Results

July 2018 Survey Results

February 2018 Survey Results

how much to pay babysitter

Sitter Caring for One Child

February 2020 – Survey in Progress! Click here to participate!

January 2019 Survey Results

December 2017 Survey Results

Sitter Pay Rate Survey for One Child – February 2020

Posted on February 20, 2020April 8, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

In our ongoing quest to provide current and accurate information about child care pay rates in our region, it’s time to update our Sitter Pay Rate Survey for One Child!

We last surveyed our members about “babysitting” pay rates in January 2019. You can find the results of that survey here.

Today we present our February 2020 Sitter Pay Rate Survey for One Child!

Continue reading “Sitter Pay Rate Survey for One Child – February 2020” →

Nanny Pay Survey Results – Nanny Shares | January 2020 Update

Posted on February 4, 2020February 5, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Over the past several years, we have asked our members to complete pay rate surveys to provide the parents, care providers, and agencies of our region a snapshot of the average pay for different child care scenarios (i.e. one child, two children, nanny shares, sitter, part-time, etc).

You can find the results of those surveys by clicking here.

We wanted to take this opportunity to update the pay rate information for nanny share child care arrangements as it has been over a year since we last surveyed our community.

Today, we present the results of our January 2020 Nanny Share Pay Rate Survey. Has the average hourly rate increased or decreased? What care/household duties do most providers handle when participating in a nanny share? Continue reading to find out!

What are you paying or being paid to care for children in a nanny share? Comment below and thanks to all who participated!

Continue reading “Nanny Pay Survey Results – Nanny Shares | January 2020 Update” →

What Training Is Required To Become A Nanny?

Posted on January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Earlier this month, a peek at my email inbox got me thinking. I had four emails from different individuals all asking the same thing:

“Hi Laura, can you explain to me what I need to do to become a nanny?”

“What are the requirements to care for children in Seattle?”

“Do I need training to become a nanny?”

“Laura, I just moved to Washington from Mexico and would like to work as a nanny. How?”

Several times each week, I hear from people that want to become a nanny but are unsure if formal training or education is required. With this in mind, I approached Dr. Angela Blums who is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Pierce College. Angela very graciously agreed to write the below post on the value of childhood education and the different education opportunities that exist in Washington. Thank you so much Angela for this incredibly valuable information and insight!

P.S. There is no formal training or education required to become a nanny in Washington but it sure helps! I hear from parents looking for care providers with formal child care education on a regular basis.

What is the difference between a field and a profession? There are several factors to consider, such as professional organizations, national or state recognition, and of course, education. Caring for young children is the most important work in the world, yet few people consider nanny work to be “professional”. This is wrong, because the care that a qualified nanny provides is nothing less than professional. One way to be recognized as a professional is to pursue training or to learn to highlight the training you already have!

Continue reading “What Training Is Required To Become A Nanny?” →

New Feature Alert: Find Playdates on the CareCalendar!

Posted on January 21, 2020January 21, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

During the past week, I have been speaking with members about how the CareCalendar has been working for them. Several members all had the same fantastic idea:

“Could we use the CareCalendar to set up playdates/meetups?”

Yes! That’s a great suggestion and today we launched two new event categories for the CareCalendar: City of Seattle – Playdates and East King County – Playdates.

If you would like to find other parents and/or care providers that are looking to set up playdates, simply visit the CareCalendar by clicking here.

Then, click on All Event Categories and select either “City of Seattle – Playdates” or “East King County – Playdates”. Browse the different playdate postings and if you see one of interest, direct message the other member and set it up!

Or you can post your own playdate by clicking on the pink Add Child Care Event button and then selecting either the City of Seattle – Playdates or East King County – Playdates category.

If members find this new feature useful, we will expand it to the North King County, South King County, Pierce County and Snohomish County areas.

How is the CareCalendar working for you? Do you have a feature idea you’d like to see us implement? Send me an email and let me know!

P.S. Check out this great article about the importance of playdates from CloudMom by clicking here!

Snow Day Child Care Information | January 2020

Posted on January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the forecast the last couple of days. In case you missed it, the National Weather Service just issued a Winter Storm Watch for tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday for the Puget Sound region.

It is also looking like we may get more snow later this week…

If you find yourself needing “snow day” child care or if you are a provider and would like to offer “snow day” child care, please review the following information:

Continue reading “Snow Day Child Care Information | January 2020” →

Nanny Share Pay Rate Survey – January 2020

Posted on January 9, 2020February 5, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

In our ongoing quest to provide current and accurate information about child care pay rates in our region, it’s time to update our Nanny Share Pay Rate Survey!

We last surveyed our members about nanny share pay rates in January 2019. You can find the results of that survey here.

Today we present our January 2020 Nanny Share Pay Rate Survey!

Continue reading “Nanny Share Pay Rate Survey – January 2020” →

Hiring A Nanny Payroll Company vs. Handling Payroll Yourself

Posted on January 1, 2020January 1, 2020 by Laura Scoccolo

Big thank you to Becki Brack from Growing Numbers Accounting for helping put this article together! Becki and the other local moms that run Growing Numbers are experts on all things related to nanny payroll in Washington!

So you found the right nanny, verified her background check is clear and she has accepted your offer. Congratulations! You’re almost done!

While it may seem that the hard work is behind you, there is one more important decision for you and your family to make: do you hire a nanny payroll company to take care of paying your nanny or do you handle payroll yourself?

This critical decision can be the difference between hours of frustration and scrambling or a turn key solution which only requires a few minutes of your time each month.

First, let’s get this out of the way…

Continue reading “Hiring A Nanny Payroll Company vs. Handling Payroll Yourself” →

Looking for child care pay rate information in the Puget Sound region?

Choose a child care arrangement below to view our member generated pay survey results!

Nanny Caring for One Child

Nanny Caring for Two Children

Nanny Caring for Three Children

Nanny Shares

Nanny Caring for One Child – Part Time

Sitter Caring for One Child

“Could we use the CareCalendar to set up playdates/meetups?”

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