Friday, January 9, 2009

Having a Nanny (FM)

Hiring the right person to come into your house full time to be the caretaker of your child can be an anxiety ridden experience. And then leaving your child in their care with a feeling of insecuity can cause thoughts to flash through a mothers mind...is my child being taken care of properly, what is the nanny doing all day in my house, and how do I handlteany possible conflicts with this person?

On this show I am talking with two women who have developed ways to provide an extra peace of mind to parents when bringing a nanny on board.

Dr. Lindsay Heller, a specialist known as The Nanny Doctor (www.TheNannyDoctor.com), is a licensed clinical psychologist and former nanny of 10 years. She consults with families on all issues related to the nanny -- family relationship. She also helps expectant parents identify their childcare needs, aids new moms in the process of returning back to work, helps families through the interview process, facilitates the transition of a new nanny into the home, helps families with conflicts with their nanny, and also helps with endings. She pretty much handles all things nanny!

Then Jill Starishevsky, a New York City prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes, and mother of two children, created a website www.HowsMyNanny.com to give parents who employ nannies an extra peace of mind. Parents can become a member of this site and receive a license plate to display on their strollers to provide a way to be contacted if someone sees any negative or positive behaviors being demonstated by their nanny while taking care of their child or children.

This site and the license plate concept has gained tremendous attention within the nanny community because it allows parents to receive anonymous reports about their nanny and helps to weed out the bad nannies. It also allows for positive feedback which have led to good nannies being awarded bonuses by their employers for the excellent care they provide for their children.

Jill is currently working on creating a bumper magnet for suburban nannies who operate out of mini vans and SUV's, rather than strollers.

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