Creating a Well-Rounded Day

In addition to naps, meals and snacks, snuggles and laughter, personal attention and gentle guidance, nannies should engage children in several core areas to give the children in their care a well-rounded experience each day.

One way nannies can do this is by engaging children in age-appropriate physically, intellectually and socially stimulating activities.

These include:

Reading. Children of all ages can benefit from being read to. Nannies should set aside time each day to share a book with the children in their care. While babies and young children will enjoy looking at picture books, readers may enjoy reading to themselves or their caregiver.

Music. Nannies can do more than sing and dance with their charges; they can also encourage children to make their own music by playing kid-friendly musical instruments or even crafting their own. If there aren’t any instruments or supplies to make them around, don’t worry. With just their voices, pots and pans and a couple of wooden spoons children can create their own symphony.

Art. In addition to providing children the opportunity to create, engaging in arts and crafts can help children develop fine motor skills. Older babies can even eat their creations if they finger paint with pudding on their highchair trays. Older children can paint with cotton swabs or brushes, cut and glue on their own embellishments to their artwork or use soft dough to create their own three dimensional masterpiece.

Imaginary play. From dressing up as a teacher or police man to playing restaurant or architect, children should be encouraged to let their imaginations run wild. Get out the cash register, pretend food or building blocks and welcome the kids into the magical world of make pretend.

Outside time. Unless the weather won’t allow for it, make an effort to spend time outside each day. Whether it’s talking a walk or playing in the backyard, fresh air and an opportunity to experience the great outdoors is an essential part of a child’s day.

Free play. Simply giving children a time to explore and play in a safe environment can provide for new and natural learning opportunities. A child’s work is truly their play.

Social opportunities. By talking the children to age-appropriate venues like the local library or indoor playspace or by hosting or attending playgroups or mommy and me type classes, children get to interact with their peers and others in their community. Playing with other children provides an opportunity to build friendships and learn to get along well with others.

When nannies make time to engage children in these core areas they are helping to provide a stimulating early childhood experience and fostering the development of a well-rounded child.

At Morningside Nannies we encourage our nannies to spend their time with children wisely. As early childhood educators and advocates we expect our nannies to provide children with rich, hands-on experiences. To learn more about the nannies we place, contact a Morningside Nannies placement specialist today at (713) 526-3989.

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