Little Bird Nanny Agency

Christmas Food and Mischievous Elves
December 11, 2015 no comments in Uncategorised by

Inspired by Dinovember, we’re sure, a lot of “Elves on the Shelves” are doing a little more than just watching children for Santa Clause. It seems a few of them are becoming a little mischievous. Children in a few households are waking in the morning to find their little elf in the kitchen making lovely  Christmas snacks! We thought we’d share a few of the creative and healthy ideas. It’s also a great alternative to chocolate advent calendars to inspire Christmas spirit in your home.

See our Pinterest board for those great snack recipes

If you haven’t heard of Dinovember have a look here

And of course Elf on the Shelf

 

Preparing kids for bushfire season
December 3, 2015 no comments in Uncategorised by
Since most of us live closer to the Pacific than the “sticks” of the western suburbs, Blue Mountains and further west in NSW, we probably overlook making sure our kids are well versed in the sort of fire-plans that involve knowing what to do if more than just a part of the house or something in it was on fire. We all remember that 45 degree day last week. Luckily in Sydney we usually have rain often enough to keep the grass green and the fire-bugs away. So even though today we’ve dropped below 20 again, Summer has definitely arrived and we need to start preparing kids for a situation that might include a bushfire in your vicinity. The other side of course is how we should be preparing our children mentally for the possibility of seeing a lot more tragedy on television in towns and areas your child might recognise. Children can all react differently to news about bushfires. Since we’ve already seen Victoria experience their first bushfires of the year, you might already be aware of how your children reacts. The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has released tips for carers as the upcoming bushfire season approaches, as well as key messages for carers of children experiencing anxiety about bushfires. The APS has also released this video about mentally preparing children for bushfires, featuring Dr Susie Burke. Have a look and see if anything is particularly helpful to you and your family. As we all know, knowledge is power!
Phone and Wifi Health and Safety
November 26, 2015 no comments in Uncategorised by
With smartphones and ipads and their multitude of uses, wireless technologies have infiltrated our modern lifestyles, but the thing we think of least, is the effects these things might be having on the health and development of our children. How many of us let our kids play with our phones? We have kid-friendly aps, or even ipads designated for our children to play with. Now on some levels, of course, these things are a huge advantage for our kids. Self-taught logic and an intrinsic understanding of technology will mean that when the children of this generation grow to adult-hood, they will be smarter and more prepared for the more mature-stages of the technological age which we are only just beginning to comprehend. On the flip side, however, the newness and exponential growth of technology has meant that very few scientists have been able to keep up, with many of their studies still in testing stages, and some, possibly published too early, falling prey to the huge amount of data being presented, all with different results.   One of our trusty Little Birds recently attended a lecture hosted by UNSW, where Dr. Devra Lee Davis, the founder and president of Environmental Health Trust presented the most up to date research and it’s finding on how modern wireless technologies affect children. She spoke extensively on different reputable researchers discovering links with the radiation emitted by mobile phones and Wifi (admittedly, very small amounts. However as Dr. Davis explained, the important thing is the changes of the emitted radiation during use) impacting children’s development in utero, their cognitive function, attention, memory, perception, learning capacity, energy, emotions and social skills. They have also reported diminished reaction time, decreased motor function, increased distraction, hyperactivity, and the inability to focus on complex and long-term tasks. Because of children’s’ size and stage of physical development, their bodies are less able to protect them against these effects. There have also been discussions about the empathetic consequences of letting children learn through interaction with phones and technology instead of with humans.   Some tips and tricks we recommend to keep little ones safer:
  1. Turn Aeroplane mode on and Wifi off. This will stop the connection radiation.
  2. If possible, use wired connections for Internet and phones.
  3. Turn of Wifi in the home when not in use – especially at night!
  4. When speaking on a mobile, plug-in earpieces and speaker are much safer for your children to keep the radiation as far away from their heads as possible.
  5. Limit time spent on devices! This one is probably easier said than done, especially if you have kids at school where ipads are often used as homework devices.
  For more information about Dr. Davis and the information we’ve touched on today, check out these websites. Dr Davis’s website UNSWTV filmed the lecture, and will be available on their website very soon. ABC Catalyst also filmed the lecture, and will be presenting a program on the topic in March 2016.
Finding the right nanny for you
February 6, 2015 no comments in Uncategorised by
What makes a good nanny? Which nanny is right for your family? How do you know that this person is going to work out? How can you be certain that a nanny will look after your precious one in the way you want?
If you are thinking about employing a nanny, these are probably some of the questions that are circling your brain at the moment. Choosing a nanny is deeply personal – this individual will be working, unobserved, in your home, looking after your child. The level of trust required is the highest of any job and only you can tell the right person for you, but here is a bit of guidance to help your search. Employing a nanny is a head and heart decision When you are thinking about the kind of nanny you want, there are some practical things to think about and some deeply personal, emotional ones. Practical ones include:
  • how much do I want to pay a nanny?
  • how many hours a week do I want? Which days?
  • do I need someone with special skills (premature babies, particular language, special needs)
  • what do I want the nanny to do – just childcare or some basic housekeeping too?
Getting a clear brief immediately starts to focus your search. What type of person do we want? Your ‘emotional’ brief might be more difficult to articulate. You will want to think about your own family and the kind of person who will fit in. If you are pretty disorganised, do you want someone who will help create order from chaos, or will that actually get on your nerves? How important to you are structure, routine and discipline? Do you want someone who is going to develop and teach your child, or is the main thing a pair of warm, loving arms? Don’t try to be objective You may run a multi-national business and have interviewed and employed thousands of people in your time, but you will never have employed someone to look after your child. It is difficult to be truly objective in the same way you would when employing someone in the office. One nanny may tick all the boxes, but you just don’t click with her (or your child doesn’t). Equally, someone that might not quite have everything you are looking for can slot right in to your family like she has always been there. Get a professional opinion It is a good idea to be open minded and talk things through with a nanny agency. We always think about the type of person that will suit a family and will sometimes challenge a client if we think their brief is not quite right. Recently, for example, a family wanted a very experienced nanny in her 30s or 40s. We helped the family to identify that a younger nanny, happy to work longer and more flexible hours, would suit their needs better, as they often work late. Again, however, employing a nanny is a very personal decision and you should never feel pressured into accepting a candidate if you do not feel she is right for your family. We’ll do another post soon on what we think are the secrets to having a successful relationship with your nanny. Let us know if there is anything you’d like us to cover.
Our New Website goes live!
November 28, 2014 no comments in Uncategorised by
Little_Bird_logo We are very excited to introduce you all to our new website. Since we have opened in 2010, we at Little Bird Nanny Agency (originally Little Bird Nanny Share) have seen significant growth in our small business. We have now built this wonderful website to help you as parents – find the right childcare need for you. We have made some exciting changes to Little Bird in the last few months and are looking forward to helping more mums and dads find the perfect Little Bird nanny for their family. Welcome to our new website!