---------------------Nanny Net
News------------------------
A newsletter for Parents, Nannies and Agency
Owners
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Vol. 4, No. 2 June 2003
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Deborah Smith, Editor
Parents With Nannies, Inc.
Deborah@4EverythingNanny.com
This newsletter is distributed by
subscription only.
If you wish to unsubscribe, you can find
instructions
at the end of this newsletter.
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IN THIS ISSUE
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> A Note from the Editor
> June Sweepstakes
> Nannies in the News
> Is Honesty the Best Policy?
> Meet our new moderator
> Safety Sites
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Hi Everyone,
We have a great issue this month, packed
with helpful information and
the latest news. We are also welcoming back
our monthly sweepstakes
so don’t forget to enter online to win a
free one year nanny membership
to the National Association of Nannies.
I hope you enjoy the article submitted by
NannyInstitute.com. It really got
me thinking about the role of a nanny and
whether most nannies really
understand the importance of that role. We
all remember when Charles
Barkley exclaimed to the media "I am
not a Role Model." Well, like it or
not, we have to admit that children have
many role models, good and bad.
(Guess who gave me my first cigarette when I
was 11? our summer "nanny")
As a nanny, it is your job to be ever
mindful of the impact you have on the
children in your lives. No one should expect
perfection, of course. Parents
are not perfect and are reminded of this
every time their child repeats a choice
word or habit we would rather not admit as
part of our repertoire.
Nannies must realize that everything from
how they speak to their
eating habits will be reflected in the
actions and habits of their charges.
When hiring a nanny, parents look at their
potential hire and consider this
fact. Will this person set a good example
for my child?
And finally, I may have confused some of you
last month when I mentioned
the redesign of our NannyClassifieds.com
site. I mentioned we were
working on the redesign, but I neglected to
say that it is not completed yet.
We hope to have the new site ready for July
1st. I’ll be sure to make the
announcement at that time.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. As
always, I welcome your comments
and suggestions for future issues. For those
of you headed to the INA
conference, please be sure to stop by our
booth and introduce yourself.
See you next month,
Deborah Smith, Editor
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June Sweeps
Win a Free One Year Nanny Membership to the
National Association of Nannies
Enter Here http//4nanny.com/sweepstakes.htm
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Nannies in the News
May 15, 2003
The NY City Council approved a bill that
aims to increase protections for
nannies and housekeepers requiring families
who hire them know about
workers' rights on overtime and other
matters.
Under the bill, employers who hire nannies,
housekeepers, companions or
caregivers for the elderly through
employment agencies would be required
from now on to sign statements saying they
know about minimum wage,
overtime and Social Security requirements.
Under current law, these workers
are to receive overtime after 40 hours a
week, unless they are live-ins, who
are entitled to time-and-a-half overtime pay
after 44 hours. The federal
minimum wage of $5.15 an hour covers all
domestic workers.
There are an estimated 200,000 domestic
workers in New York City and
600,000 in the greater metropolitan area,
many of them immigrants and
some illegal immigrants.
Under the bill, employment agencies that
violate the law, by, for example,
not getting employers to sign a statement of
responsibilities, would be
subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or
imprisonment of up to one year.
Clifford Greenhouse, of the Pavilion Agency,
said it would do little for domestic
workers because only a small percentage of
them are placed by employment
agencies.
The Council also approved a resolution that
urges employers to abide by a set
of guidelines pushed by Domestic Workers
United. It recommends that families
agree to give nannies and other domestic
workers five sick days a year, five
personal days and two weeks' paid vacation.
The group also recommends
that domestic workers and employers give
one-month notice of dismissal or leaving.
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Parent Poll Is
your nanny paid on the books? Click here to respond.
http//debors1.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/polls/002/poll_center.htm
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IS Honesty the Best Policy?The
Emperor's SeedsOnce there was an emperor in the Far East who was
growing old and knew
it was coming time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his
assistants or one of his own children, he
decided to do something different.
He called all the young people in the
kingdom together one day. He said, "It
has come time for me to step down and to
choose the next emperor. I have
decided to choose one of you." The
young people were shocked! But the
emperor continued. "I am going to give
each one of you a seed today. I want
you to go home, plant the seed, water it and
come back here one year from
today with what you have grown from this one
seed. I will then judge the plants
that you bring to me, and the one I choose
will be the next emperor of the kingdom!"
There was one boy named Ling who was there
that day and he, like the
others, received a seed. He went home and
excitedly told his mother the
whole story. She helped him get a pot and
some planting soil, and he planted
the seed and watered it carefully. Every day
he would water it and watch to
see if it had grown. After about three
weeks, some of the other youths began
to talk about their seeds and the plants
that were beginning to grow. Ling kept
going home and checking his seed, but
nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four
weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing. By
now others were talking about their
plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he
felt like a failure. Six months went by,
still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he
had killed his seed. Everyone else
had trees and tall plants, but he had
nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his
friends, however. He just kept waiting for
his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of
the kingdom brought their plants
to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his
mother that he wasn't going to
take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to
go, and to take his pot,
and to be honest about what happened. Ling
felt sick to his stomach, but
he knew his mother was right. He took his
empty pot to the palace. When
Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety
of plants grown by all the other
youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes
and sizes. Ling put his empty
pot on the floor and many of the other kinds
laughed at him. A few felt sorry
for him and said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the
room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back.
"My, what great plants, trees
and flowers you have grown," said the
emperor. "Today, one of you will be
appointed the next emperor!" All of a
sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at
the back of the room with his empty pot. He
ordered his guards to bring
him to the front. Ling was terrified.
"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe
he will have me killed!" When Ling got
to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied. All
the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He
looked at Ling, and then
announced to the crowd, "Behold your
new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even
grow his seed. How could he
be the new emperor? Then the emperor said,
"One year ago today, I gave
everyone here a seed. I told you to take the
seed, plant it, water it, and bring
it back to me today. But I gave you all
boiled seeds that would not grow.
All of you, except Ling, have brought me
trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow,
you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the
only one with the courage and
honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in
it. Therefore, he is the one who
will be the new emperor!"
(Author Unknown, Source Unknown, found at
goodcharacter.com)
As Nannies, we are basically adopted into
our employers’ homes and
lives. And as the new ‘family’ members,
our employers ask that we
respect their privacy, house rules and ideas
on child rearing. This is
reasonable, and usually acceptable. But what
if we come across something
that is way out of the ordinary? What do you
do in that situation?
Article continued here http//4nanny.com/nanny_institute.htm
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Article submitted by NannyInstitute.comWe
are now accepting registrations for online classes at the Nanny
Institute.
Our classes help Nannies turn a love for
children into a professional career,
while enriching and sharpening their skills.
Parents or employers are duly
impressed when they see their Nanny
interested in continuing education to
further their career. Taking these classes
adds a distinction to any résumé.
Parents also benefit from their Nanny’s
education! Nanny Institute will offer
courses that are filled with ideas to
educate and entertain their children.
Classes such as, "It’s Not Just
Refrigerator Art," that will offer quick and
easy arts and crafts; or "Words! Words!
Everywhere!" that will assist Nannies
as they guide children towards a love of
reading.
All classes are crafted with Nannies and
their charges in mind. They are
not difficult to understand or follow, yet
they emphasize or enhance the many
different skills needed by Nannies to meet
the social, emotional, and physical
needs of children. We want you to be the
BEST Nanny! Take advantage of our
Grand Opening Specialall classes are FREE,
for a limited time! Why not visit the
website at www.nannyinstitute.com and sign
up now?
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