Health and Safety for Nannies

Nannies spend so much time looking after other people’s health and safety that it can be common for them to forget about their own! Unfortunately, being in such close contact to children and babies means that nannies must take proper health and safety precautions for the success of their relationships and, ultimately, careers. The following health and safety tips for nannies should help keep everyone in tip-top shape.

Health Tips for Nannies

The career of a nanny necessarily bleeds over into the personal lives of others. This often means that the divide between work and play becomes cloudy for a nanny. However, taking enough time away for work and to truly rest and relax is vital for a nanny’s health. No matter how much a nanny enjoys her work and the children and/or babies she works with, taking time away from them to engage in hobbies and leisure pursuits will help all of them come back together refreshed and ready to have fun.

For nannies, shutting the door at the end of working hours, getting away on days off and taking their full holiday entitlements are all great ways to get some rest. Eating a balanced diet, even if it means bringing in food that the children or family does not usually eat, is another way for nanny’s to look after their health. Finally, good personal hygiene, washing hands when appropriate and taking anyone (child or nanny) to the GP when the first hint of an illness arises will all help protect the health of nannies and the families for whom they work.

Safety Tips for Nannies

It often seems like nannies have twelve arms and six eyes, that they can be everywhere and do everything at the same time. While many nannies may almost have superpowers, at the end of the day each nanny is only human. Slowing down to concentrate on one task at a time is the best way for nannies to ensure their own safety and the safety of the children and babies in their care.

Undertaking a first aid course and practicing proper first aid when the occasion calls for it are also ways for nannies to ensure proper safety for all. Only undertaking tasks for which they are trained, never consuming alcohol or drugs on the job, never allowing themselves to become exhausted and asking for help when needed are also steps that nannies can take to keep everyone safe.

Nannies have a unique career that allows them to have a great deal of fun and forge a great number of relationships, but health and safety precautions must be taken at all times. Making these health and safety precautions a part of their daily routines and the “house rules” should help them become second nature rather than yet more guidelines to remember. And, though most health and safety tips for nannies are common sense, nannies should take the time to explain them to employers prior to taking up a new post. Nannies should start as they mean to go on, and making sure that their employers want them to be as healthy and safe as possible is of the utmost importance.