4 Tips for Planning to Travel with Your Nanny

Now that Halloween is over and November is here, the holidays are creeping up on all of us! If you have vacation plans for the winter holidays and you’re hoping to bring your nanny along, make sure you prepare in advance, especially if you’ve never traveled together before.

It may be a vacation for you and your family, but remember that your nanny is still caring for your kids during the trip. Set aside some time well before the trip to talk about your expectations, compensation, hours, and other important details with your nanny.

Discuss lodging and travel details early

Since your nanny will be working, you should cover their accommodations, travel expenses, and meals while on the clock. If your nanny is watching the children during a long car ride, those are hours worked for them, and they should be paid. The same goes for a short plane trip, including the price of a round-trip ticket. You should not expect your nanny to pay for travel and lodging.

You should also give your nanny a private room to stay in during the trip. Unless your children have special needs that require someone to be in the same room at all times, it’s polite to give your nanny their own room. 

Making your nanny room with the kids blurs the lines between work hours and off-hours. It’s also important that your nanny have a private room where they can rest and recharge between shifts.

Talk about pay and hours

You should take care of travel expenses and accommodations, yes, but will your nanny’s regular pay schedule remain the same? What about their pay rate? Will you pay your nanny the total amount when the vacation ends? Remember that, if you go over 40 hours of work, you will have to pay your nanny overtime!

This is the time to hammer out all the details regarding pay, as well as the hours you expect your nanny to work. Talk with your nanny about overtime pay, expected work hours, a stipend to pay for meals, snacks or activities during the day, and so on. Vacations may not always go as planned, so you and your nanny will BOTH need to be flexible, but it helps to be as prepared as possible.

Review rules and routines

Vacation routines with children can be very different from the regular routine at home. That’s even more true if you’re traveling to visit family for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. With more family members around, figuring out who’s in charge can be confusing for your kids and nanny.

Discuss who the kids should listen to when everyone is together on vacation. If you have grandparents or other relatives who try to take over (with good intentions!), stand firm and back your nanny up as the authority figure. That’s what they’re there for, after all.

Finally, let your nanny know what to expect during the vacation. A weekend trip to Grandma’s home a few hours away will probably not be the same as escaping the winter snow to a beach house in Florida for two weeks. You and your nanny can discuss what to pack, what activities they can prepare for, and what weather to expect during the trip.

Plan ahead with your nanny

The bottom line? While it may be a family or holiday vacation for you, your nanny will be working. It should be considered a business trip for them. Plan ahead and compensate your nanny accordingly to make sure your trip goes smoothly for everyone.

For more advice on building a great relationship with your nanny, follow the All About Nannies blog!