What to Consider When Taking Your Nanny on Vacation

For many parents, traveling with their nanny makes having the perfect family vacation possible.  When families travel with their nanny there is another trusted adult and children’s companion to share the duties and responsibilities with, giving parents time to relax and enjoy a little vacation time to themselves.

During vacations a nanny does not just help the family travel to and from their destination. While on-site, a nanny can provide childcare while the parents head out on their own or split childcare responsibilities, staying behind to care for a sleeping baby while the older kids and mom and dad hit a museum or the hotel pool. Nannies may also travel with the family to attractions and activities, lending an extra set of hands to the parents as they experience new adventures together.

While bringing along your nanny can certainly help reduce stress associated with traveling as a family, if the arrangement isn’t clarified in advance, bringing your nanny along may cause more stress than it’s worth.

It will be hard for your nanny to agree to travel with your family on vacation if she’s unsure as to what she is agreeing to. Before asking your nanny to travel on vacation with you, consider these tips:

Present the vacation schedule. Think about how much coverage you’ll need during your vacation. While you may not have your itinerary finalized, you can certainly commit to limiting her to so many hours per day and committing to give her a specific number of days off. Allowing adequate time off is even more crucial of your nanny will be sharing a room with your children. It’s also important to communicate that you will require some scheduling flexibility.

Propose the compensation. In addition to paying your nanny’s typical hourly wage, you’ll also want to include a daily per-diem since she is away from home and her typical workplace. Even when traveling you’ll want to be sure she’s paid for each hour worked and overtime, when required. If you’ll be traveling during your nanny’s pay period, you’ll want to make arrangements in advance to be sure your nanny has timely access to her paycheck.

Communicate about expenses. While you’ll be expected to cover the cost of transportation, meals, lodging and required activities, you’ll want to communicate to your nanny exactly what you’ll be covering the cost of. If your nanny will have access to a kitchen to prepare meals, you’ll want to be sure to stock the kitchen. If you expect to do a lot of eating out, you may wish to provide your nanny with a daily food stipend. If your nanny will be required to have certain items for the trip that she doesn’t already own, like a pair of skis, you’ll be responsible for covering the costs of those items as well.

Discuss work expectations. When traveling away from home, the daily expectations you may have for your nanny may be different. If there will be limitations on activities and outings, you’ll want to share this with your nanny in advance. If you’ll expect her to find a laundry center and do the family’s laundry, you’ll want to share that too. If you’ll require your nanny to join you for dinner each night or share a room with your children, it’s important to talk about these things prior to your departure.

At Morningside Nannies, we remind our clients and our nannies that the family’s vacation is not the nanny’s vacation. A nanny travels with the family to meet the childcare needs of the family while away from home. While traveling, the nanny’s number one priority should be the safety and care of the children and as such, she should be compensated for her services while away from her typical workplace. We encourage parents and nannies to draft a vacation work agreement to ensure that both parties have a clear understanding of the responsibilities and expectations of each other while away from home.

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