GTM Household Help BLOG

Household Safety for Your Family and Nanny

Recently, there was a fire in the Bronx.  Ten people died in the blaze; 9 children and a mother. Such a tragedy is a reminder to us all that accidents can happen at anytime, and can devastate our lives.  Safety needs to be a major priority in all of our households.  Being pro-active can help prevent an accident from becoming a tragedy.  When you have a nanny or other household employee in your home, you need to be sure that they know, and abide by, all of the safety rules that you have implemented.  As you just changed your clocks for spring, you should also have changed the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.  An emergency escape route that your family, and nanny, practice monthly with the children, including a meeting spot outside of the building, helps ensure that everyone knows how to get out safely. When you hire a household employee, you need to be aware of OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Act) rules that ensure the safety of employees in the work-place, which your home has become.  Check with your state’s insurance fund to see if your state requires you to have worker’s compensation insurance.  Even if it is not required, it is a good idea as it helps to protect you from liability.  Also, be sure to check all your insurances to see exactly who and what are covered. According to the International Nanny Association, auto accidents are the most common type of claim involving a nanny.  Be sure to have your nanny covered on your insurance if you intend on allowing her use of your vehicle.  Go through your home carefully.  Loose rugs, poisonous cleaning solutions, frayed electrical cords, overburdened outlets, and loose railings are all potentially dangerous to everyone in your home.  Make sure that you keep your home as accident proof as possible to avoid liability, and to protect the ones you love. For more information on these and other household issues, including avoiding liability and paying on the books, visit the household employment experts at www.gtm.com.

Emergency Checklist for Parents and Nannies

As a parent you are always concerned about the safety and well being of your children.  When you hire a nanny or child care giver, you do your best to make sure that this is the appropriate person for the job.  You check references, check personality types, and make sure that they understand your discipline and parenting style so that your children will be raised the way that you approve.  You make sure that they have safety training and that they know what to do in case of emergency.  But you also have to be sure to leave them the information that they need in order to do just that.  Always keep your emergency checklist with you, in the diaper bag, swim bag or stroller, and on the wall by the phone. And make sure that family, friends, neighbors or anyone that your child visits and spends time with has a copy. This list is the most important that you could have, and includes:

            

Emergency Phone Numbers:

·        Poison Control

·        Local Police Number

·        Local Fire Department Number

·        Doctors Name and Phone Number

·        Hospital Name and Phone Number

·        Dentist Name and Phone Number

Parents

·        Names and Phone Numbers

Family, Friends, Neighbors

·        Names and Phone Numbers

Also Include:

Information about the Child:

·        First and Last Name

·        Date of Birth

·        Medical Conditions

·        Allergies

Add any other pertinent information about your child and family, friends and important contacts.  Be sure to update this list as necessary.  For more information about health and safety tips, hiring household help, taxes and payroll, visit us at www.gtm.com.

First Aid, CPR and your Household

There is so much for the kids to do during the summer.  Sports and biking, swimming and team sports, plus your general rough and tumble with the friends on the block.  While it is understandably the best time of year when you are a kid, the potential for injury is greater at this time of year than any other. As are things like overheating, which can occur in both young and old with serious consequences.  Pools are, of course, always a concern, and even bee stings and allergies can cause problems. This is the time to really look at the safety and first aid issues in your home.  Having a nanny/eldercare giver that knows basic first aid, preferably CPR as well, is a great way to ensure that your loved ones are in good hands.  If your household help does not have such certifications, you can offer the classes to them through The American Red Cross.  Their website lists courses in your area, as well as offers safety tips for preparing for an emergency.  For a relatively minor investment, you can offer your household help the opportunity to improve their knowledge while insuring that your household is better prepared if an emergency strikes.  Even if they have been certified in the past, refresher courses are always a great idea.  And be sure to have all your safety procedures outlined in your Employee Handbook and Work Agreement.  You can truly never be too prepared for an emergency.  For more information on household HR, Handbooks and Work Agreements, visit the household employment specialists at www.GTMassociates.com.

As Flooding Subsides, Safety Still a Concern

Here in the Northeast we are still slowly drying out from record flooding.  The National Guard was sent in to several areas hit hardest in NY, NJ, and MD, and the death count reached 20.  Counties were evacuated, houses collapsed and several unlucky souls were swept away.  As an area not known for flooding, all the recent problems came as something of a shock.  But nature, once again, has taught us that we must always be prepared for the unexpected.  Every household should have emergency procedures in effect in case of fire, flood or other disaster.  Everyone in the house should know the best and quickest points of exit, where to meet in a safe location, and that they should never, for any reason, go back into the home once they have left it.  Nothing is worth the risk that going back inside could bring.  Your nanny or eldercare giver should be well informed of the house safety plan and the escape routes.  They should practice these routes with the household and should have all necessary information for an emergency easily at hand. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s web site is also filled with tips to keep you and your family safe.  When making out your Work Agreement and other Employee Handbook, and be sure to write out your expectations for following the safety rules of your home along with the steps that should be taken in an emergency.  It could just save a life.  For more information on hiring household help, household HR and safety tips, visit the household employment experts at www.GTMassociates.com.

It's Summer and Who is Watching the Children?

Summertime is here, and with it comes the inevitable question that parents always ask, “What will we do with the children?”  Even older children who are safe to leave home alone in the afternoon often need some type of supervision for the long days of summer.  Boredom can easily set in, and during the heat and long hours, children are not always as responsible in the way adults would like them to be.  And after all, even teens are still children.  So what are you going to do with your children?  Luckily, there are many options available. One popular option is summer camp.  However, many programs do not start until 9:00am and end between 3:00pm and 4:00pm.  This is not very helpful to parents who are working and un-able to pick up their children and bring them home.  Luckily, for those who do not have Grandma and Grandpa available to help them out, many nanny agencies provide flexible temporary nannies as well as full-time nannies.  Such agencies can help to provide you with morning help in getting the children ready for their day, afternoon help in picking them up and bringing them home from camp or play-dates, or full-time help when needed.  And as most agencies have a pool of pre-screened and qualified nannies, you can feel confident that you are getting the kind of care that you need for your child and your own individual needs.  For more information on household employment, visit the experts at www.gtmassociates.com.

Background Checks for Nursing Home Residents/Incidental Employees

The other day I wrote about background checks for the employees in your home.  Today I want to address a different issue; the background checks that are performed in the centers where you take your children, in the nursing homes that you take your elderly loved ones to, and the summer camps where the kids go for recreation.  Most of these places, of course, have fairly extensive background checks that they perform on their employees.  But which checks do they perform?  There are various types of background checks, including out of state checks and checks on aliases, that you would want to be sure that they perform to ensure that they are getting the full story.  And while they perform these checks on the employees, what about the cleaning crews that come in, or the maintenance staff?  Are the checks being done on them the most thorough?  They may not deal directly with the patients/clients, but they are around them.  What kind of checking does that company perform?  Patients in a nursing home are, most likely, exempt from background checks.  Yet, unfortunately, the criminal element among us will also become old and infirm.  They also need to be cared for, and they could very well be patients in the nursing home that you choose.  Ask the necessary questions when looking into any such placement, and make sure that you are satisfied with the answers that you receive.  After all, this is your loved one.  We engage these facilities to ensure their safety.  It is up to us to make sure that they follow through to the best of their ability.  For more information on household HR and hiring household help, check out our website at www.gtmassociates.com. 

Background Checks for Your Caregivers

The importance of accurate and thorough background checks cannot be overstated when hiring a nanny or other household help.  These are people that you are entrusting your most valuable possession, your loved ones.  Almost everyone has had an experience where they thought they knew someone well, trusted them fully, only to find that they were not what they seemed.  Going by your “gut”, or your instinct, is extremely important.  Yet it is not enough.  DMV checks, criminal background checks, personality tests, reference checks and a thorough look into their job history is a must.  Knowing if they lied on their resume, if they have a record for drunk driving, if the last person that they worked for found that they took instruction well and followed the rules of the house.  How do they react in a frustrating situation, when the employer corrects them, and when the child or elder person that they care for gets upset?  Having all the necessary information can mean the difference between a smooth and efficient home, and an unfortunate incident. Getting all the necessary information can be a daunting challenge to the employer.  Agencies can help.  Most nanny agencies/household employment agencies will complete the necessary tests and checks that are required before they will place anyone in a home.  Many agencies will perform these checks for the employer on a candidate that they have found themselves, for a fee.  The cost is minimal compared to the piece of mind that such checking can bring.  For more advice on hiring and keeping great household help, check out our website at www.gtmassociates.com. 

Keep Your Loved Ones Safe by Dropping in on Your Caregiver Unexpectedly

Whether you are hiring someone for your home, or using a facility for the care of your loved one, a valuable and effective way to ensure that the proper care is being given is to drop in at unexpected hours.  Stop by during the middle of the day when you are not expected.  Have Grandma stop in on the way to the store, or have your neighbor drop by during naptime.  Family and friends can be extremely helpful in this effort.  Dropping in without warning can let you see how the nanny/staff is treating the person when no one is watching.  If they seem nervous, suspicious or will not let the family member in, warning bells should be going off.  Of course, the employee needs to know who is allowed in and who is not.  But if this is someone that you have addressed as being acceptable, and the employee shows signs of unusual behavior, have them contact you immediately to report the issue.  This can be particularly helpful in a nursing home situation or even a day center/summer camp, as well as for your household help.  Observing people at unexpected times will reveal quite a lot about the care being given, and knowing that they can be suddenly surprised with a visit will also keep the employee on their toes.  For more information about hiring and retaining the best in household help, and for all your household HR needs, visit our website at www.gtmassociates.com. 

Nannies for summer vacation--who will watch the children?

The summer is coming upon us fairly quickly.  Those of us who have school aged children need to think about what our children will do during those months off from school when we cannot be there due to work obligations.  Many people choose to hire a temporary nanny full or part time for the summer.  Agencies can be particularly helpful for such a situation, as they will pre-screen, drug-test and interview the candidate before you meet them.  They try to match your and your children’s needs with a caregiver who will be able to meet them.  For example, if you have very active children and you are looking for someone who can stimulate them and keep up with them, as well as keep them safe, your agency will look for that type of individual for you.  Just remember that even hiring someone on a temporary basis makes you an employer if you pay him or her $1,500 or more over the year.  As such, you are subject to federal and state laws.  Paying your employee legally and on the books will ensure that your safe and healthy summer stays that way from a legal standpoint as well.  For more information on hiring legally, payroll and taxes, and human resources, visit the household employment experts at www.gtmassociates.com.

Safety Issues and Your Nanny

Safety issues have been on my mind quite a bit recently.  It is so important that we all have emergency plans in case the unexpected happens.  Some households have more elaborate security measures, while others rely on more conventional means.  Either way, a plan should be in place for all the potential dangers that exist, and this plan should be made clear for your nanny.  The family should work a fire escape route from all parts of the house, with each member of the family knowing where they should go and where they should meet afterward.  When a nanny is hired and is going through their orientation, they should also be shown the fire plan from every part of the house, and it should be posted in prominent areas for easy reference.  Having your plan posted, particularly as a simple map, can also be a valuable asset for your family as well, as not everyone reacts calmly in an emergency.  And be sure to have all your emergency numbers posted by every phone.  If your nanny has a cell phone, be sure to have her post the emergency numbers in her phone as well, so that she will always have access to both you and your emergency contacts.  Keeping your family and your nanny safe is always the most important priority, and thinking ahead can save your loved ones and help to put your mind at ease.  For more information on human resources and household help, visit the household employment experts at www.gtmassociates.com.