Your brother and wife are taking a quick trip and they have asked if it would be ok for you to keep your five-year-old niece for the week. But, you’re working, and your nanny has a responsibility during the day taking care of your children. How should you handle this? Here are some ideas.
#1: Discuss with your nanny in advance.
Before you agree to take your niece for the week, talk to your nanny about the idea. Is she willing to take on the extra work and add another child into the mix of her regular nannying routine? Discuss your nanny's compensation with your brother - is he prepared to pay your nanny for the extra work? He should! Your nanny should be paid for taking an additional child, so make sure your brother knows that compensation is expected. If he is not okay with this, you will probably need to come up with another option.
#2: Consider how the kids get along.
Are the cousins good playmates? How does your niece deal with separation? These are factors to consider before you agree to take your niece for the week. If there is consistent bickering or difficulty in how your niece will handle being away from her parents, you will need to communicate with your brother about this so there is no additional stress or confusion during the time they are gone.
#3: Give your nanny a break.
If you want to have some special one-on-one time with your kids and your niece, this would be a great time to see if you can use some of your paid time off or vacation day at work. This would allow you to give your nanny a paid day off and it would give you some special bonding time to do something fun with the kids.
Communication is key in situations like these. Talking with your family members about expectations and details will help alleviate confusion and communicating with your nanny about how her job duties may change for the short term during a family member’s visit is also important to help ease any stress.