Bringing Baby Home Workshop – An Introduction To Basic Parenting

Parenting comes naturally but it can take time!   An exciting new workshop offering parent’s basic “best practice” advice for their first baby from birth to 6 months. These will be held at three different locations Stillorgan Park Hotel, Stillorgan, Green Isle Hotel, Newlands Cross or the Hilton Hotel, Malahide Road from 10am – 1pm commencing on 6^th March 2010 in the Hilton Hotel.  The course on how to get it right from the beginning will be run by professionally qualified childcare experts from Nanny Solutions and will cost €40 per person or €60 per couple to attend.

“Bringing Baby Home” will be a three hour intensive course; both mothers and fathers are encouraged to attend.   This course will offer advice on the basics including feeding, bathing, sleep best practices and introduction to childcare options.

To find out more about “Bringing Baby Home” – Introduction To The Basics – Best practices in baby care/handling and Introduction to Childcare Options log on to www.nannysolutions.com or call 018734364.

Companies inform your employees – Free Lunchtime ‘Childcare Options’ Talk

We are currently running a series of free lunchtime talks in companies across Dublin that will give new Parents and Parents-to-be the information they need about childcare and parenting issues.

We discuss the pro and cons of Au Pairs, Childminders, Nannies and Crèches and the costs of all. We also have a Parenting element to our company where we provide advice on behavioural issues like sleep training, establishing a routine etc.  This is something we can cover at this session too if it’s of interest to your team.

Weaning To Walking Workshops – Prepare For The Next Major Milestone

These will be held at three different locations Stillorgan Park Hotel, Stillorgan, Green Isle Hotel, Newlands Cross or the Hilton Hotel, Malahide Road from 10am – 1pm commencing on May 2010.

“Weaning To Walking” will give parents invaluable advice on subjects including health & development; behaviour; nutrition and weaning as well as an in-depth presentation and discussion on childcare options.

The class will run for 3 hours, fee to attend is €40 per person or €60 per couple.

To find out more about  “Weaning To Walking” – Prepare For The Next Major Milestone log on to www.nannysolutions.com or call 018734364.

Childcare Options Available in Ireland

There are four main Childcare options available in Ireland – Childminders, Au Pairs, Nannies or Crèches. It is advisable to start researching your options at least 12 weeks before your preferred start date. Being 100% happy with your childcare arrangements is essential for peace of mind while you are out of the home.

Child minders:

Who are they? They provide a childcare service in their own home. A child minder may care for up to 5 children under the age of six years. They may have previous experience caring for other people’s children or caring for their own children. Some childminders are registered with Childminding Ireland or other childminding committees. Child minders offer either full time, Monday to Friday or part time – mornings, afternoons, 2 or 3 days per week. The house should be a “home from home” for the child with a warm and caring family environment where safety and hygiene is paramount. The child minder provides suitable educational activities for the child i.e: age appropriate books, educational toys, jigsaws, etc. Some arts and crafts, story time and music time may also be included as part of the weekly routine. Within a diary she may detail the events of the child’s day. In the home the childminder provides a quiet area/room for nap time during the day and the parents should discuss with her what sleeping arrangements are in place, if any. Parents should ensure that the child minder has a suitable car seat for each child and a buggy. Generally, the parents bring all bottles/solid food for the day but some child minders may provide snacks. Most childminders request that the parents provide a supply of nappies and wipes, etc.

Qualifications: It is not essential for a childminder to have Childcare qualifications. They may have gained practical “hands on” experience caring for their own children or children from other families. A childminder may decide to complete a Childcare course – FETAC Level 5 or Level 6 or a Montessori Teaching Certificate or Diploma – FETAC Level 5 or Level 6 or equivalent. However, it more common that they would complete one day workshops on children’s Nutrition, Arts and Crafts, Behaviour management, Play and development, Introduction to Paediatric First Aid and many more. These courses are run through the IPPA (the Early Childhood Organisation) and Barnardos. There is also the option of obtaining Garda Vetting through Barnardos

Costs: Child minders are self employed. The costs are generally €40 – €65 per day, per child. This depends on the child minders previous experience, relevant qualifications and the working hours required.

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Sunday Business Post, June 07 2009

By Martha Kearns

Carol Flynn doesn’t have to look far to find her entrepreneurial roots. The managing director of Nanny Solutions is the third generation of female entrepreneurs – and her offices are in the same Georgian building where her great grandmother and grandmother ran their auction business.

The 34-year-old, from Terenure in Dublin, qualified as a Montessori teacher in the early 1990sandworked as a Montessori teacher for seven years before gaining experience as a recruitment consultant. In 2002, she struck out on her own and set up Nanny Solutions.

‘‘Setting up businesses has always been in my family and there was always a part of me that wanted to do that,” said Flynn.

The company provides a number of services, including placing professional career nannies in homes, providing night nurses and sleep training. Sleep training, which involves a maternity nurse coming to the home for up to three nights to help parents deal with problems such as sleep disruption or behavioural issues, is becoming extremely popular.

All of the nannies on the company’s books have childcare qualifications and at least two years’ full-time experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Under the Radar – Interview: Peter Cluskey, The Irish Times

It’s a sign of the tough economic times that families who 12 months ago might have been hiring their own nannies are now opting for nanny-sharing – dividing the cost of their children’s dedicated “Mary Poppins” with neighbours or friends.

“Nanny-sharing is certainly an area we’re finding more demand for and expanding this year because of the way the economy has gone”, says Carol Flynn (34), founder and managing director of Nanny Solutions, which she set up almost seven years ago. Read the rest of this entry »