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A newsletter for Parents, Nannies and Agency Owners -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vol. 3, No. 10 November 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE > Keys
to Making the Relationship Work ------------------------------------------------------------ Hello Everyone, I'd like to start this month with a short announcement about the email provider we use to deliver this newsletter to you. Due to the advertising that yahoo insists we carry in our newsletter, we will be switching our subscriber list to our own hosting company. This should happen with the next issue of Nanny Net News therefore you will not see the familiar @yahoogroups.com when you receive our next email. The email address will most likely be NannyNetNews@4Nanny.com. If you have questions about this change, please feel free to email me. Now, on to our newsletter. We have a great article for you this month on making the Employee/employer relationship work. I know I really enjoyed it and came away with some new ideas. The article comes to us from Anne Merchant of ProfessionalNanny.com, an interesting website which offers online nanny training programs in addition to placement services. We’re looking for feedback again this month on several topics. First, we are in the throws of revising our Classifieds service and we would like your input on what you do and do not like about the present system. I want our next version to be the best it can be and I hope you will help us by giving us some really useful guidance. Send us your "wish list" in what you would like to see in a program and we’ll do our best to make it happen. Secondly, we want your suggestions for great gifts for nannies and parents. The holidays will be here before we know it and next month’s issue will be dedicated to gift ideas and holiday projects for the kids. And lastly, I would love to get your input on your favorite websites. They can be anything from nanny related sites, parenting related sites to child activities or school related sites. Please just tell us why you like the site in addition to sending the link. Have a great Thanksgiving. Best Regards,
--------------------------------------------------------------- The winner of last month’s sweepstakes is Lynne Piekarski of Massachusetts. Lynn won a free Nanny sweatshirt from our gift shop. Congratulations Lynne. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEYS TO MAKING THE RELATIONSHIP WORK INTRODUCTION This segment is an excerpt from The Nanny Textbook. It was written with the intent of helping parents and Nanny's make the most of their work and personal relationships. The relationship between the Nanny and the parent is unlike almost any other employer/employee relationship. In any other line of work most people would react to the suggestion of actually living with their boss, with either belly-laughter, or horror. Yet it is common in this field, and it can work very successfully. For those who live elsewhere, but work all day in their employer's private home, the job is less dynamic than it would be had they decided to "live-in", but it is still more dynamic than for those who actually work in a school, or center. The relationships, which work, have some common denominators. First and foremost there is mutual respect for one another. Neither the parent, nor the Nanny should think of herself to be the more valuable human being. In other words, there is consideration for the others wants, needs, and time. The relationships, which work, are the ones where the parties are more involved in what they can give, rather than what they can take (or get away with, or take advantage of, etc.) If you know of a family who has had a lot of success with their childcare arrangement, 99% of those people are "givers". The same is true for the Nanny who seems to end up in the best situations almost all of the time - this Nanny, too, is a "giver". The parent or the Nanny who is super critical or even just very picky will undoubtedly always find something to be dissatisfied about. Those who are defensive, perhaps justifiably so because they had a prior poor experience, may inadvertently create enough discomfort among those they interview, because of the nature of their questions, to get rejected. If people with negative attitudes enter into a relationship, many times they are fraught with problems. Even those with parent/Nanny relationships which have been successful have not been without problems. Within the Professional Nanny Network (College and Career Program), we have many times heard a parent, or Nanny say, "So-and-so has had such good luck". Be advised, it has nothing whatsoever to do with "luck". That's like saying that someone's marriage worked because they were lucky. It works because the people involved are solution seekers. Perhaps because they are more respectful of one another, instead of faultfinding & blaming. Most likely, they look immediately to solutions when problems come up. Most of the time, they find the solutions they're looking for and the relationship has longevity. To read more of this excerpt, click here book_of_the_month.htm The second edition of Anne Merchant’s The Professional Nanny "Complete In-Home Childcare Manual" will be ready to ship within 8 weeks. ProfessionalNanny.com wrote this book specifically for the Professional Nanny Training & Certification Program. The first edition, written in 1985 was the first of its kind written for nannies. The "Manual" has been used in colleges and nanny training program in as many as eighteen colleges in the United States and abroad. It has been reviewed and endorsed by experts in the field of child development including Jay Belsky at Penn State, and Deborah Davis, Founder of and former president of the International Nanny Association. Q My question is about the child care expense tax. I know that if you send your child to a daycare center a portion of your child care expenses can be claimed on your taxes. Is this the same if I hire someone to take care of my child in my own home? A You are correct, anyone who incurs childcare expenses is entitled to a tax break via the Childcare Tax Credit or the Flexible Spending Account. The form of childcare you choose makes no difference - daycare, licensed in-home daycare, nanny, etc. The good news is that you can use the tax break against wages paid to your nanny; however, you are entitled to the tax break as long as you are complying with state and federal employment law by paying your nanny legally as your employee. This means you must withhold payroll taxes each pay period and pay employer taxes (10%) over her salary. Both sets of taxes are remitted to the state and the IRS throughout the year. If a nanny is paid illegally "off the books", the family she works for is breaking the law and is not entitled to a tax break on her wages. I hope this helps. If you have additional questions, we are happy to provide more detailed information. Stephanie Breedlove Breedlove & Associates, L.P. 888-BREEDLOVE www.breedlove-online.com ________________________________________________ T-SHIRTS FOR THE NANNY AND KIDS IN YOUR LIFE! Great gifts for Nanny's birthday or her anniversary with your family. Take a look at our one-of-a-kind line of nanny shirts and sweats. http//www.4nanny.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv? _______________________________________________________ Get $20 in FREE Gifts for Your Child from Brighter Vision Learning Adventures (TM) that Child Magazine highlights as a "gotta-have 'em, can't live without 'em" parent product! Brighter Vision invites you to try out the LEARNING ADVENTURES program with a free shipment of educational books and activities that are worth over $20. Get fun, educational, and age appropriate activities designed to prepare your child aged 1 through 6 for success in school. Click here for this free offer! http//www.4EverythingNanny.com/brighter_vision.htm _______________________________________________________ NANNYPAY HOME PAYROLL SOFTWARE Use NannyPay to calculate all federal and state withholding taxes for your nanny and other domestic employees. Print paystubs and liability reports right from home. Download a FREE 30 Day Demo here http//www.4everythingnanny.com/np01.exe ------------------------------------------------------------ WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SWEEPSTAKES SPONSORS. IF YOU HAVE A PRODUCT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE FOR A MONTHLY SWEEPSTAKES, WE WILL DEDICATE A PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL AS IN OUR NEWSLETTER TO PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY. Parents With Nannies, INc. reserves the right to reject any proposed "gift" if we do not feel it is in keeping with the nature of our business. 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