Top 5 takeaways of traveling with our nanny
By Suzie Zeldin, Smartsitting Director of Operations
After a year of being in super cautious pandemic mode, my whole family contracted COVID about two weeks before the vaccine became available to our age group. To say that I was frustrated would be a pretty massive understatement. In order to keep myself feeling optimistic (and knowing that we’d be armed with temporary immunity for both kiddos and adults), we booked our very first vacation traveling with a nanny. In June of 2021, we set off to Mexico to have our first real vacation in just over 4 years - our first since having kids.
We really had a great vacation, and we were so glad to have had our amazing nanny along to make it that. I don’t think we could have fairly called it a vacation without her support... Without our nanny, it would have been more accurately classified as a “trip.”
There are so many things to balance in making the vacation a success, both for your family and for your nanny. After coming home and reflecting on the experience, I came up with 5 main takeaways from successfully traveling with our nanny. As both the Co-Owner/Director of Operations at SmartSitting and a mom of two boys, I hope to provide other parents with helpful insight into what worked super well for us.
Takeaway #1: Make your trip a day longer to account for one day of settling in
With two younger kids (4 and 2), the day we arrived and the day following it were not very relaxing. There were odd sleep schedules, new beds, and the adjustment of settling into an environment. We hoped to have our nanny’s schedule locked in before we left. But with so many moving parts, we were very thankful to have a nanny who is adaptable and can go with the flow. We found our groove by day 3 and were thankful that we planned to be away just slightly longer than normal. This gave us time to transition from “trip mode” into “vacation mode”.
Takeaway #2: Be clear about when your nanny is on the clock
We found it easiest to be really clear about “on” and “off” time for our nanny. Often, that meant being out of the room and out of sight when our nanny was fully in charge. This let us take some time to relax on our own. We'd decide in advance if we would be helping with bedtime, handling it ourselves, or if our nanny would be on her own with the kids.
Our contract guaranteed our nanny a minimum of 8 hours a day of work for every travel day. It did often go a little longer, especially when we added in date nights. We also wanted to make sure she had time to rest and recharge. That meant not accidentally turning and 8 or 9 hour day into a 12 or 13 hour day by not defining boundaries.
Takeaway #3: Split the day!
Giving our nanny a few hours off around lunch time helped our children feel balanced and like they got to spend some quality time with mom and dad. Splitting the day helped us balance spending time as a married couple and spending time with our kids. It also gave our nanny a break mid-day, and we avoided racking up an unhealthy amount of overtime, saving both our wallets and her energy.
At that point, our nanny was 100% off the clock. She was welcome to get herself lunch, go swimming, or spend time in her own room. We paid for all of her meals during her time off (it's not my nanny's fault that resort prices are insane) and as a general rule, a nanny contract should include all travel expenses for a nanny that travels with a family on their vacation. Once she was back, we went down to the pool or beach together, had a drink at the swim-up bar, or just relaxed.
Takeaway #4: Sleep in
I personally loved taking advantage of sleeping in. I would highly recommend this to parents who don't typically get to! For you maybe there is something else that would really make this vacation a success. Think through if there is something in your busy daily lives you really long for and how bringing a nanny on vacation can help you get that. That will make the investment of bringing your nanny with you feel like a real gift to yourself.
What ultimately ended up working best for us was having her on duty at 6 a.m. every morning, so that we could sleep in. She would take over watching the monitor and get the kids out of bed and get them an early breakfast. She then took them out for a walk around the resort while we slept and went for a lazy slow breakfast, something we rarely get to do. At around 10 a.m., after a peaceful breakfast together, we'd take over with the kids.
Takeaway #5: Cover travel compensation in your nanny contract
Having a nanny contract in place that covers compensation and expenses for vacation days and travel was so hugely helpful. There was no need for any on-the-spot emotional decision-making (FYI, spending money can be emotional!). This helped me make clear and confident decisions about how much I asked my nanny to work. At one point, we did refer to our agreement to see if an overnight rate applied to our trip. We had forgotten exactly what we agreed on when we first started working together! An agreement in place helps both parties feel good about both what they are putting into and getting out of the experience.
A few helpful reminders if you’re considering traveling with your nanny:
If your nanny starts working right away in the morning, have their shift begin at a specific time, not when the kids wake up. This way, they can plan accordingly. They'll know that they are being compensated from the time their brain shifts on and they are ready to step in. It also avoids any confusion about who’s in charge of checking the monitor or going in to the kiddos if they wake up in the night or very early morning.
The same thing goes for evening work. If we were out to dinner and the kids were asleep, we treated that the same as a date night at home. She was on the clock, getting paid. If we were staying in and the kids were in bed, she was off the clock. She was welcome to stay and hang out with us, go down and listen to the live band, or just hang out in her own space. (She had her own room and bathroom - this was a splurge for us, but it was worth it). We were also cognizant of how many hours she was working, both for overtime purposes on our end and so she didn't feel burned out when she got home.
Don't pay your nanny for just a few hours a day, because that was the only time you weren't around. Traveling with a family is a work trip for a nanny. Set a daily minimum of at least 8 hours per day. Pay overtime when you hit 40+ hours in a week. Do not do a day rate, which usually ends up overworking the nanny and can often lead to them feeling taken advantage of.
Book your vacation so that your nanny has a weekend or a few days off when you get home. This way they aren't expected to jump back into a full work schedule the day after you get home. This applies especially if you fly in late. Remember, you were on vacation, but your nanny was working!
How has traveling with a nanny been for you?
Do you have any tips or tricks that have worked for your family when traveling with a nanny? Do you have questions about how to set up a travel agreement that takes out any ambiguity out of the expectations of traveling together? Let us know on our Facebook or Instagram and connect with others in the know! As always, for more insight from SmartSitting, subscribe to our newsletter. Good luck and happy travels!