Lean Back
Posted: September 23, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Boss lady, infant care, lean back, Mr. Nice Guy, nanny, Sassafras 2 CommentsI spend most of most days on my feet. Whether I’m chasing kiddos around, fixing them meals, tidying up after them, taking them from one activity to the next, nannying is a highly physical job. One of the many ways it is beneficial to me is that it prevents anything resembling a sedentary work routine. Some studies have hypothesized negative health effects resulting from sitting at a desk all day. No risk of that here! In fact, one of the most rigorous workouts I experience in a day isn’t during my post-nannying runs, but during childcare. Read the rest of this entry »
The “Break-Up”
Posted: August 20, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Bad Kitty, breaking up words, breaking up words to say them, Doc, helping children with reading, helping children with speech, miss cheryl, nanny, Rebel 1 Comment
No, y’all this is not a post about past failed romances, (Not that I couldn’t pen quite the page-turner!) nor is it about the bust up between a nanny and her client (Though I’m sure there is a nanny out there with a heckuva story to tell!). No, pals, this is about my method for helping kiddos learn how to read! Read the rest of this entry »
Catch-A-Phrase Redux
Posted: July 30, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: children, chill out, funny nanny, funny nanny with kiddos, kiddos, kids, nanny, phrases Leave a commentY’all have your favorites, (Catch-A-Phrase, Catch-A-Phrase Reloaded) but you haven’t heard ‘em all!
“If I go up there(/in there) and find it, I am not going to be thrilled…” This phrase is used when the kiddos are losin’ their belongings, and I, in turn, feel like I’m losin’ my mind! I deliver it very matter-of-factly, but the kiddos can tell by my tone they had better retrace their steps just one more time. Read the rest of this entry »
Do the Nanny Shuffle!
Posted: July 23, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: connecting with children, dancing, El Fuego, nanny dancing with kids, Sassafras, shuffle 2 CommentsFinding ways to entertain kiddos, preschool age and up, is a collaborative process, involving both nanny and kiddo. When it comes to activities, I give them ideas, but they ultimately choose what they want to do, and may be in charge of where the day takes them. As far as bonding on a personal level, humors fly back and forth through conversation, empathies emerge, and we develop our rapport together. Read the rest of this entry »
The Pretenders
Posted: July 9, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Boss lady, Doc, helping children develop imagination, helping kids be creative, imagination, kiddos, Rebel 2 CommentsOne of the best things about being a nanny is the opportunity it affords me to act like a kiddo again. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a bit of the whimsical about me, and am prone to flights of fancy. I love playing make-believe with my charges, always encouraging them, when it comes to imagination, to Go Big or Go Home. Read the rest of this entry »
What?!
Posted: July 2, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: annoying, being understanding of your children, children asking questions, children asking what, jules, pulp fiction, say what, say what again, school age children, too many questions Leave a comment
Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction
I’d like to think of myself as an articulate person. I believe when I speak, my words ring clear as a bell. I use language that is easily comprehended by my charges (except when I slip in fancy words to help them increase their vocabulary). Why then do I spend so much of my day repeating myself, time after time, responding to, “What?” after “What?”? After seven years as a full-time nanny, compounding some seven million or more, “What?”s, I’ve come to the conclusion as to where they come from, and how to tame them. Read the rest of this entry »
Help Me Help Y’all
Posted: June 25, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: car wash, children and accountability, chores, Doc, gas station, helping children learn responsibility, raising responsible children, teaching responsibility Leave a commentRespons-ability!
Many times when I’m with the kiddos, my primary concern is caring for them, doing things for them, keeping them distracted and happy. In my frantic frenzy to meet all of their needs, I can sometimes overstep and do too much for them. Most times it’s unintentional, but at times it is deliberate, as I know that I can clear the table/ pick up the living room/ or pick out the day’s outfit much more quickly and efficiently than the kiddos can. However, this doesn’t do the kiddos, their folks, or myself any favors in the long run. The old adage, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” holds true for kiddos as well. It is monumentally important for caregivers to pass on knowledge in the form of responsibility to young ones. Read the rest of this entry »
I Think We’re Alone Now
Posted: June 18, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: alone time, Boss lady, captain awesome, date night, date nights, Doc, individual, middle child, middle children, nanny and children, one-on-one time, parents and children, princess, quality time with children, quality time with each child, Rebel 3 CommentsAs much of a blessing as siblings are, there are times when children crave individual attention. I remember as a little girl I loved Tuesday and Thursday afternoons the years I was in PreK and Kindergarten. These days were much beloved because my mama would pick me up from school at 11:30 and we would have the afternoon alone, together. (My sister, Laurel was still in school, and my brother, Buddy was at Mother’s Day Out.) We’d go to lunch, then maybe a store or two, whatever I felt like. I loved having my mama all to myself just to talk to her (she is such a good listener), and to have special time that was just for us. Similarly I couldn’t wait for the annual Take Your Daughter To Work Day when I would get the whole day with my dad to myself, asking him questions, helping him with work, and of course lunching out in style, both dressed in our office clothes. I loved hearing about his job as a petroleum geologist. He is so smart and was very good at explaining things to me. Plus, before seismic computers, he filled in the geological maps by hand, shading the various layers in with map pencils, and would let me color some. (When Laurel was asked in a school questionnaire what our father did for a living, she answered, “He colors all day.” When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up on one such quiz I answered “geologist,” mostly because I really liked to color.) I loved the alone time with both of my folks. As the middle child it was a rare and wonderful opportunity to have each of them to myself. Read the rest of this entry »
Y'all Behave! 