The role of the Nanny Diary... why good communication is key and why we all dread the end of term..

For those of you have a nanny as you work full time and your children lead hectic daily lives there is nothing more important than good communication especially as we now begin to approach the end of the school year and the days become busier than ever.

Some family homes have so much going on during the normal school week with after school activities, matches and social events the list of what is needed by whom on what day and in what bag – the list of things to remember can seem endless. But as we start the beginning of the last part of the school year there are other things to fit in  like parents evenings, sports day , prize giving and the school fair as well as the end of term parties and playdates. It comes as no surprise that families start to feel the pressure of the looming Summer holidays as the school summer term schedule seems to grow year by year and we approach the last part of term with a feeling of dread as we wonder how we will ever fit it all in.

The best and most effective way to deal with this is to ask your nanny to help you get ahead of the game. This is where good communication is essential and leaving lists and post it notes lying on the kitchen table is just not enough. The best thing you can do is to invest in  a big household or nanny diary which lives in the kitchen and is the key player in making the end of term come about minus stress and headaches of forgetting things like the cakes for the school fair and a clean kit for Sports day as well as the camera and picnic which is always needed on the day.

For families who have older children there will be the ever present stress of exams and the pressures of revising and laying out a timetable to keep stress to a low level and manage the revision workload. Adding these to the nanny diary will keep the nanny in the loop and help her manage time after school for revision, study, finishing coursework or just taking time out to decompress.

Whatever the family dynamic and whatever the time of year, the nanny diary is always helpful and is an essential communication tool. The nanny can add things she needs the family to know like when she has holiday booked or stick in her receipts for anything she has bought for the children from the kitty. We often recommend our families invest in this vital piece of equipment which is so simple but so effective when used on a daily basis and its far better than relying on text messages or post it notes..