September 6, 2025 • 36 mins
The Evolution of Childcare in Private Homes with Dr. Virginia Schwager
Welcome to Adventure Nannies on Air, our ongoing educational webinar series aimed at supporting nannies and professional childcare providers in enhancing their careers. In this episode, hosted by Reagan Fulton, Marketing Director for Adventure Nannies, we dive into the evolving landscape of childcare in private homes. Our special guest, Dr. Virginia Schwager, shares her profound insights from her extensive experience and academic background in counseling psychology. Dr. Schwager discusses the challenges and systems necessary to support both children and caregivers, the impact of the pandemic on childcare roles, and the need for advocacy and professional management in high net worth family environments. If you're interested in advancing your childcare career and understanding the complexities of modern childcare dynamics, this episode is a must-watch. For more, visit adventurenannies.com/summit-sessions and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
🗣️ Professional Development Opportunity Alert! We're excited to offer a 25% discount to take this course, brought to us by @formatorinstitute, one of our sponsors for Nanny Camp 2025! 🏕️ Are you a nanny or childcare professional seeking to elevate your career? The Certified Formator™ Course will equip you with the skills needed to specialize in HNW/UHNW private family homes! ⭐️ The first 150 Adventure Nannies who register using the code LAUNCH25 by September 10th will get 25% off!
00:00 Introduction to Adventure Nannies on Air
00:50 Virginia's Background and Journey into Professional Nannying
04:40 Evolution of Modern Family Travel and Its Impact on Childcare
10:17 Why Great Nannies Leave: Understanding Burnout and System Breakdowns
15:36 Scope Creep and Job Description Challenges
21:21 Managing Consistent Care Across Multiple Properties
25:52 Balancing Professional Systems with Personal Connections
33:24 Upcoming Training Program for High Net Worth Family Childcare
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Adventure Nannies On Air.
Today's episode was recordedlive during one of our Summit
Sessions as a part of our freeongoing educational webinar
series to support nannies andprofessional child care
providers to elevate theircareers and enhance their skills
.
If you like what you hear, youcan catch the full episode on
our YouTube channel or registerfor our next Summit Session at
AdventureNanniescom slash Summitdash Sessions.
(00:22):
Welcome to this Summit Session.
My name is Regan Fulton and Iam the marketing director for
Adventure Nannies and I'm goingto be tonight's host.
I'm so excited to dive into atopic that's super important for
creating truly thrivingenvironments the evolution of
child care in private homes.
We are talking about how tobuild systems that not just
(00:49):
support the children but alsoprofessionals who care for them,
preventing burnout andfostering true household harmony
.
We're delighted to have theincredible Virginia Schroeger
here to share her profoundinsights, so we are so glad to
have her here.
She is a powerful perspective inthe world of child care and I'm
excited to give her backgroundand the gotcha at the end,
because not only does she have adoctorate in counseling
psychology, extensive hands-onexperience family environments
(01:11):
that has helped her understandintricate dynamics at play in
caregiving relationships, butshe's used her background in
psychology to help her grasp thedeeper emotional and relational
aspects, and her work as ananny and child team leader has
given her the firsthandknowledge and practical
challenges households face.
She has developed a operationalsystem for high-profile family
(01:32):
child care systems with multipleproperties, witnessing how
excellent caregivers canstruggle without the proper
support.
So with her work with hercompany, cultivated Care,
virginia is dedicated tobridging the gap simply between
having a great staff andcreating truly functional child
care systems where everyonethrives.
Also, she is an Adventure Nannyalumni and we just absolutely
(01:57):
love her and are so sad to lether go into the world but are
excited to bring her back totalk.
So welcome Ginny in Virginia.
Ginny is fine.
Yeah, a little bit about, justbefore we dive into the topic at
hand, your childcare journey,your experience as an adventure
nanny, and then we'll dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah.
So I think you know people hear, oh, she's got a doctorate and
she's a nanny and the firstthing is like it piques
curiosity, like did I hear thatcorrectly?
So my journey really started inmy early teens and 20s.
I loved in-home child care, butI was also good at school, so I
kept getting degrees and Ireally viewed it as in-home
(02:42):
child care was my full-time joband school was my part-time job
and so I just I think thelongest I went without being a
nanny as an adult was six monthsand I just kept returning to it
and whenever I had longerstretches without it I felt like
a big piece of me was missing.
So I was about six months outof graduating with my doctorate
(03:04):
and I informed my family thatupon graduation I was going to
return to nannying and make it afull-time career, and I haven't
regretted it since.
I love being in a private home,that intimate setting, working
with children and parents andfiguring out the family systems
and family dynamics and how Ican best support the family, and
(03:28):
each family is different.
So that's I mean, and mypsychology background definitely
helps.
I get to work with very uniquefamily situations, very unique
children.
I can approach child care in adifferent way than somebody else
who might not have thatpsychology background.
So it all meshes well together.
And then right now I'm veryexcited about pivoting a little
(03:49):
bit within my career to moremanagement, consulting and
training for child careproviders, and that is what that
is looking like, is reallyhelping the profession move
along a little bit.
Helping especially when we'retalking about high net worth and
ultra high net worth teams.
Helping to create theinfrastructure behind the
(04:11):
childcare teams so that they'resustainable jobs and there's not
burnout and turnover.
That's a big passion of mineright now.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
So I love it so, so much and that is such a great,
you know, such a great andneeded aspect in our especially
this kind of niche the high networth high, more high, demanding
jobs.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, no, and honestly, like I love one-on-one
conversations.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Amazing.
So let's dive in a little bitand get some background and then
we'll dive into Q&As.
But what are the biggest shiftsyou've observed on how high
performing households reallymanage their child care teams?
You've been in the industry fora while.
You've kind of seen compared tofive, 10 years ago, and as this
industry is evolving andgrowing, what are those shifts
(04:56):
that you've seen?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, so the pandemic definitely shifted the
atmosphere more towards travel.
That has not really slowed downand that's where I'm seeing a
lot of burnout with mycolleagues is you know it might
be the same hours, but you aregeographically in different
places.
(05:18):
You are not only now the childcare provider, but you are also
the children's PA and hackingfor them and itemizing and
stocking and trying to keep upwith those household systems
that nobody has trained you onin order to keep up with all the
properties and all the travel.
So that is the biggest thingthat has shifted in the past
five to 10 years is how oftenand how frequent families are
(05:40):
traveling.
And I think and I've talkedabout this in other podcasts and
talks as well is we have notseen the development within the
child care industry that otheraspects of the private service
industry has, for example,wealth management or even estate
management.
There have been betterhierarchies and support systems
(06:04):
that have emerged to meet theneeds of this more affluent
lifestyle, but child care andit's nannying we'll say nannying
hasn't evolved.
It has really remained the samein public perception and also
in job description until you'rein it largely remain the same
(06:26):
for the past 200 years.
So that's a big concern, andthere aren't any standards
either for our industry.
So there's no.
I mean there are certifyingbodies, but there's no
collective organization andregulations that really help
protect us as nannies anddomestic workers.
(06:48):
So those are the biggest shiftsI've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
That's really interesting and I don't mean to
derail.
So hopefully this is a goodobservation.
But when you were talking aboutthe way that the families are
traveling more, I'm curious ifit has to do with the
generational change and the wayfamilies are moving away and
parents are moving away from thechildren should be, you know,
(07:13):
kind of left at home, not, youknow, like not be seen.
You know children should beseen and not heard and kind of
that mindset moving away fromthat.
I think of like even Sound ofMusic and the Von Trapps and
he's going off and traveling andgoing to meet but she's at home
with the kids.
I'm curious of a shift in kindof family dynamics and the new
(07:36):
generation of parents andwanting to be with their
children more and having moreinformed you know of child
development more and having moreinformed you know of child
development psychology and howit affects children to not you
know.
I'm curious if that, if you'veseen that kind of shift, and if
that influences how much nanniesare expected to travel with the
families now.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It 100 percent does, and there will always be
generational changes and part ofour job as nannies is to keep
up with that, but part of ourjob is also to advocate for our
needs.
So, yes, I would say, ingeneral parents want to be more
involved, which means they wanttheir children closer, but they
also want to embrace the factthat they can travel globally
(08:19):
very easily and that it doessound easy Hop on a jet, pack
everything in the jet and you goand you go to the next place.
But I think where thecommunication and the reality
kind of falls short is the tollthat it takes on everybody.
It's not just the toll on thenannies who are prepping and
(08:41):
executing all of these movements, but it is also on the children
.
With time zone changes, withelevation changes, all of these
little things affect a child'sphysiology and emotions and
cognition and, like their wholebeing, can be affected by travel
.
And so, while I never and I'llnever tell a parent not to
(09:02):
travel with their child but Iwill spell out especially, like
my specialty was birth to threeif we're working, if I'm working
with a six-month-old and it's aweekend getaway in Montana, I'm
going to strongly advocate thatI stay home with the baby until
the baby, developmentally, canhandle a quick trip like that
better.
If it's a couple weeks in Europe, that gives you time to get the
(09:24):
baby to get acclimated andaccustomed to their new
environment.
It still takes a toll but italso.
You know they're with theirfamily and so you have to.
You always have to balance.
What are the benefits from thechild's perspective of joining
the family on specific trips andin specific locations?
(09:45):
So and I try to have thoseconversations frequently with
parents and for the most partI've been receptive and
sometimes they just say no, wereally want the baby to come
because the weekend in New Yorkis a family weekend and I know
it's going to be a quick tripbut it's important that the
whole family's there.
Okay, let's make it happen andlet's try to figure out the best
way to go about this so thatthe child is impacted the least.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
You know, with all of this, why do families with
seemingly great nannies, who youknow they come in?
You know you touched a littlebit on like the things that can
happen to the kids, but like whydo they still experience
breakdowns in their childcaresystems?
And how does you know why dothey still experience breakdowns
in their child care systems andhow does you know?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
professional management or systems like how
can you change that?
Yeah, so I think there's a bigmisconception still and it's
related to the terminologywithin our industry that a nanny
in an affluent family'shousehold with multiple
properties and lots of traveland big departments that we have
to integrate into that, thatnanny role is the same as a
nanny role, say, with twoworking parents who need you.
(10:51):
They're nine to five and andthat's your, you have autonomy
throughout the day and you'renot always doing a balancing act
with other staff members andtravel.
So the first myth that reallyneeds to be debunked is like
that that nanny role, the nineto five role with full autonomy,
is the same energy output asbeing a nanny for a more
(11:12):
affluent, worldly, cosmopolitanfamily.
And so and I'm kind of goingthat, I think, is a huge piece
of this puzzle, and when we'relooking at turnover and burnout
it comes down to they might have40, 50 hours a week, but those
(11:34):
40, 50 hours are extremelydraining and how are we
supporting them so that they canshow up to work energized but
also like excited?
You know you want them to becontent and energized and that
means you need to recognize thatthis lifestyle, which has so
many benefits can be extremelydraining on staff.
(11:57):
So that's a big piece.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, so like what are, what are some of the
systems that are like you know,how does professional management
kind of change that and allowfor a change in that?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yeah.
So the best the team that Ihave worked with that I've seen
last the longest and also justfunction the best have a, have a
child care, at least a childcare lead who takes on that
advocacy role and almost thatadministrative role to make sure
that all the nanny's needs aremet for whatever location
(12:31):
they're at.
So whether it's a child caremanager, a late nanny, somebody
who is spearheadingcommunication with the estate
staff and home office if there'sa home office of okay, we're
going to the Hamptons for twoweeks in August, it's, you know,
it's now, maybe May we need tostart thinking about that now.
(12:52):
Where are the nannies going tostay?
What are their hours going tolook like?
You know, even simple check-ins.
I think it is highlyunderutilized checking in with
nannies and I can understand itfrom an estate staff point of
view, especially like a housemanager.
They are pulled in so manydirections.
The last thing they want to bedealing with is the chaos and
(13:14):
messiness of the child caredepartments.
And, zoya, I'm just encouraginga lot of families.
Think about having a child caremanager who really likes
working with that atmosphere.
Children are always developingand always changing, which means
you need to be proactive in howyou're not only caring for the
children but how you're helpingthe child care providers sustain
(13:38):
their energy.
You know what happens if ananny gets sick.
Do you have backup like on-callprotocols?
It is by having simpleprotocols and procedures and
systems in place, you are takinga huge weight off of your child
care staff because everybodyknows the expectations,
everybody knows how they'resupported and also they know
(14:02):
where the boundaries are withina home office and in a state
staff.
You know is they know they'rejust giving them more knowledge
and more power to have a say intheir atmosphere and what's
going on is crucial and thathappens with management.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I love the idea of the lead nanny role and kind of
that child care manager role andespecially, you know, I see
that being such a great path fornannies who really love and
don't want to stop working withchildren, who still want to be
in the trenches, like you,obviously, be in the trenches
every day, but also have more.
I'm just saying more.
I don't want to be in thetrenches like you, obviously,
yeah, in the trenches every day,but also have more.
(14:39):
I'm just saying more.
I don't want to say more tooffer in a way that you know
that those nine to five nanniesaren't offering something.
You know it's that somethingdifferent to offer and something
dynamic and want some somediversity in their day and and
want to utilize a different partof their brain, um, in their
work.
I, I really love the you ofgoing that, you know, because a
lot of nannies just want to feellike they need to leave,
(15:00):
because they need to grow.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But when you have somebody, who gives more
oversight for a child care team,that person becomes much more
intimately connected with thechild care providers, which
means they get to see everyone'sstrengths and everyone's areas
of growth and that is just.
It's validating.
But it also provides the spacefor that professional
development and that createscontentment within a job.
(15:25):
You know a lot of nannies andchild care providers want to
feel like they're growing andever evolving, and recognizing
you can provide that within arole within a private home is
really critical to their successlong term and short term.
I love that.
Scope is a huge one.
(15:45):
So we talked about burnout.
Another piece is scope.
I mentioned earlier thatnannies especially with larger
estates and larger familyoffices there's a big scope
creep.
So you're no longer just doingchildcare, you are also, you
know more of a PA house managerperson as well.
(16:07):
Where you are, you knowordering things.
So that means you're in yourcharge of budgeting.
You're doing vendorcoordination, coordinating with
tutors, and you knowrecreational activities.
And you're doing vendorcoordination, coordinating with
tutors and recreationalactivities, and you're doing
calendar management.
All of those things are wellbeyond the scope of a
traditional nanny.
And so what I find, when childcare providers get in a role and
(16:29):
those things were not listed intheir job description, or they
were, but they didn't realizehow much time and energy would
be going to those things thatbecomes an issue because again
we're talking aboutsustainability and really like,
what does one person have theability to do long term?
(16:51):
And unfortunately, yes, it'snot great right now.
You know, I'll have them bringin job descriptions.
I'm like, okay, what do you seein this job description?
And I'm going to tell you whatI see.
And when you're in anegotiation you really need to
advocate for a clearly definedscope, Because that gives you
(17:12):
more buying power.
Later on, If there is scopecreep, you can ask for raise.
You can tell them honestly.
You can say no, I do not haveit in.
Like, I cannot add this to mylist of things that I have to do
because I I will burn out,let's hire someone else.
Yeah, exactly so.
So it really like I alwaysencourage, when you are
(17:34):
considering changing jobs oreven having a conversation with
your employer about your currentrole, have data.
You know what I like to take ajob description and try to map
out.
Okay, direct child care ismaybe 80%.
Okay, so we're talking like ata 40-hour work week, at least 30
(17:54):
hours is going directly tochild care.
Ok, what are all these otherthings that are listed and how
much time are you thinking it'sgoing to take?
And this from my personalexperience.
I know how long it's going totake, which means my 40 hour a
week job just went to 60 plus.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
That's.
That's a great tip.
I love that, just likeestimating all of those other
things that aren't.
Yeah, because people you knowyou think you've got 40 hours,
but no, if you're reallyengaging with the children, the
way that you're being paid to,you don't have time to also sit
and do the packing list and dothe grocery list and things, and
then you have to have that timededicated.
(18:34):
So Right.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
And then it does become this mental game and for
me, honestly, every job I'vebeen in, two things have
exhausted me the most and it wasnever the children, it was
engaging.
You're going to have anenergetic drain by balancing
everything, by balancingprofessional communication with
culinary security, housekeeping.
(19:12):
It takes a lot of mentalshifting throughout the day.
Your attention is almost nevergoing to be 100% on the children
unless you protect that timeand that space within your
contract.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
That's amazing, and that was the only other thing I
wanted.
Yes, the job description, butalso make sure that scope is
really hammered down in yourcontract.
Make sure you read the finalversion before you sign it all
the way through.
Yeah, um, that is one thingI've seen.
You know, people try to sneakthings in.
I'd be like I didn't know thiswas in my contract.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I didn't know that I signed something that said I
would do this like yes, thatfinal version before you sign it
every time right, and I meanyou can always get a free legal
consultation, but, honestly, thefirst thing you should be doing
in the 21st century today istaking your contract and like in
a secure AI format, but runningthrough AI, ask AI.
(20:11):
Ok, I'm expecting this out ofthis role.
This is what the contract says.
Can you see any discrepancies?
And AI is going to point it outright away.
And so it's almost it's.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Just use your resources and really take the
time to do this research aheadof time so that in six months,
you're not in a pickle a secureAI one step farther and say make
(20:41):
sure that when you are puttingthe contract in, you are putting
a redacted version of thecontract that does not have any
family information Yours as well, I mean, that's if you want to
protect your own information.
But more importantly, I think,is making sure you're not
putting the family's informationin there.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah, I love that tip , but I just want to like, just
add that to the really, reallyhone in on that, like copy and
paste the pieces that you mightbe concerned about, but, yeah,
make sure you're protectingeverybody's confidentiality
(21:19):
different staff, differentproperties or, like we talked
about travel, but not justtravel to vacation and going on
trips, but actually havingmultiple homes and going between
different staff and things likethat.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
How do you balance that?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, I think and this I mean this goes directly.
You know, right from the lastconversation we had about you
are no longer just a child careprovider, you know, as somebody
(21:50):
who is taking care of a child.
You, your main job is theirsecurity, safety and trying to
help them thrive.
Which means when you'retransitioning properties, your
job is trying to make a spacethat is consistent with the last
place and developmentallyappropriate.
So in my last job my favoritething I kind of became the
operational lead for our team.
I would advance the family.
I loved going ahead a week inadvance or even months in
(22:14):
advance.
We'd start the process and I'dfly out to the next location and
I would scope it out.
Ok, we've got a budding toddler, we've got some elementary kids
.
What do their spaces need?
And you know how are westocking?
Are we, are we duplicating?
You know their material or arewe packing?
So really thinking throughthose processes, but again, like
(22:35):
that is something I signed upto do and I advocated for myself
, like this is a strength ofmine, I'd love to do it.
Can I take on this project?
Yes, and understanding like itmeans I'm going lot of times.
You don't have the staff tofigure that out.
So what's happening is you'rerelying on EAs and PAs and house
(23:02):
managers, who don't have achild care background, to try to
figure these things out.
I remember walking in to alocation and we were using a
Montessori day bed or like alittle floor bed for the infant
and for the toddler and theestate manager we had them order
the bed.
(23:23):
This picture went viral.
But they put a mattress on topof the floor bed so the mattress
was like two feet off theground when they didn't.
So essentially they didn'torder the right bed.
But that's I'm like, how didanybody think that that was
going to work?
Like, why would you have apiece of plywood on the floor
(23:45):
and then a mattress on top andexpect a baby to sleep in it?
But so it's just.
When you don't have people whoknow children, know their
developmental needs and you'reexpecting them to set up these
places, you're going to comeacross issues.
It's a guarantee.
So my biggest thing, when Italk to parents and you know
estate, you know staff who havethe resources to beef up their
(24:10):
child care team a little bit oreven do trainings for their
house manager on, okay, let'shave a meeting to discuss what
the developmental concerns areand how we're going to address
it at this property, but I thinkit's never underestimate
collaboration, communication andthen seeking out an expert
consultant or somebody who hasthe knowledge in order to pull
(24:34):
these transitions offappropriately for children.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Absolutely.
I think that's outsourcing andfinding an expert and, honestly,
when you're working withfamilies who can afford it and I
think that's something thatI've heard from very wealthy
people who are telling about howdo they maintain their
lifestyle and all the busynessand everything and I hear over
and over again well, I outsource, I hire people who are good at
that thing rather than trying todo it all, and I think that a
(25:01):
child care professional can saythat if, even if setting up the
rooms aren't your expertise,that's not your thing, say, ok,
we need to.
Before we go to the new house,we need to hire an organizer or
somebody to do it.
Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
It's clearly communicating what the
children's needs are.
That's the first step and thatis your job as a child care
provider.
If you get into a family,you've gone on a couple trips
and you're realizing there aresignificant issues with the
transitions.
That is affecting the children.
You, you're more stressed,which means you're not going to
(25:37):
be providing the best child careyou can.
So you need to be advocating,essentially in a roundabout way,
for the children for thesetransitions to be smoother.
Meaning outsourcing, meaninghaving a team member go out
ahead and freeing other teammembers up to take on a child
care portion while they're gone.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, it's, it gets messy it does, and you know, I
think that the trickiest part ofthis career for any nanny, but
especially in these types ofsystems, is balancing these
professional systems,relationships advocating on a
professional level, but alsothere is no way to escape the
(26:18):
intimate family relationshipsthat happen when you are a nanny
.
Often it happens with theprincipals too.
But even if it doesn't, you'regoing to create a bond with
those children that is deeperthan a professional type of no
one outside of.
I feel like nannies all get it.
We know what we're talkingabout, but it's hard to explain
that it is.
(26:39):
You have to do it with love todo it well.
So how do you balance thatadvocacy and the professional
systems with that deep love andconnection that make these child
care relationships so special?
How do you balance?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
that I'm taking a deep breath because I think it
gets harder the more.
That's expected of youno-transcript.
(27:51):
I try as much as I can toseparate the operational
components of my job from mymind when I'm with the children.
If the parents are around, ifthe children are distracted, I
might take it as an opportunityto look at my packing list.
You know I specialize ininfants and toddlers, so I would
heavily utilize nap time andpeople would think, oh, she's,
you know, in the den justrelaxing.
No, I'm on the computerplanning out how we're going to
make this.
So it's using your time verywisely, being very intentional
(28:14):
with the children, becauseyou're again, again, your number
one goal is helping themdevelop, which means you need to
be modeling appropriatebehavior, which means you can't
appear stressed out, you can'tbe distracted.
You know their safety and theirdevelopment is your number one
concern.
And it's good because, on theflip side, by forcing yourself
(28:36):
to be more present with them,you also are enjoying your time
more, you are giggling with them, you are seeing their
personalities emerge and you arehelping them work through
difficult emotions.
But again, it's a balancing actand that's why I find at the
end of a 10, 12 hour shift, I amdone.
I have been doing thatbalancing act of being a great
(29:01):
child care provider, enjoyingtheir presence, helping them
through whatever they're goingthrough with figuring out how to
support them in their lifestyleand in the family dynamics.
So, yeah, it gets exponentiallyharder and.
I think we need to be verytransparent about that when we
are talking to nannies who areinterested in working in more
(29:22):
complex home settings.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Do you have any tips or what do you do for refilling
(29:45):
and outside of the career?
I'm curious, especially withyour experience in these more
complex homes.
Is there anything that you cangive as advice for how to refill
that cup and on your off timekind of reset?
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think for me, I mean, one of the reasons I
loved psychology was because,honestly, it wasn't so much
helping others but it was alsohelping me figure out who I was
and how I operated, and operate.
And so I know I am an introvert.
I think sometimes people aresurprised because I can be very
sociable and I can make itthrough a 12 hour day and
(30:15):
socialize the whole time.
Hour a day and socialize thewhole time.
But what that means is my daysoff.
I am pretty much spending themalone and it is, it's a
necessity for me, especiallywhen I'm in a high demand, high
profile job and it can.
It can be very hard and for methat's also a burnout factor.
If I am giving 100 percent ofmy social energy to work and I
(30:37):
don't feel like I have anysocial energy left to give to my
family, to give to my friends,to give to my other passions
tennis I love, I'm creating atraining curriculum right now
and I'm working with a team ofbranding partner and I love
projects If I don't have theenergy at least some energy to
(30:57):
also engage in those things,then I know the job isn't going
to be sustainable, and I havetaken jobs where I know that's
going to be a risk and mostlikely I will hit a point where
I need to isolate myself more onmy time off.
But I go into that knowingmyself and knowing that I will
have to have remediations sothat I can sustain the job.
(31:21):
So I think it is knowingyourself, knowing how your
energy is affected, knowing whatother priorities are in your
life.
You know it's one thing to havecareer aspirations and to love
traveling, and especially withAdventure Vannies, a lot of
people come to it because theywant to travel and see the world
.
Okay, that's great, but alsounderstand like traveling with
(31:43):
the family is not the same astraveling on vacation.
If, in fact yeah, in fact, it'smy least favorite part of
working with like ultra highnetwork families is actually
being a private jet and workingin a private jet and and I would
tell that to my brothers andthey're like do you hear
yourself?
Do you hear what you're saying?
I'm like, no, I do.
Yeah, they don't like theprivate jets.
(32:06):
No, and it's an amplifiedcouple of hours where you are in
close, just very close quarterswith everybody and it feels
very high stake.
You feel like eyes are on youall the time and it's because
nobody can look anywhere else.
(32:26):
But yeah, so I think, knowyourself as much as possible, be
honest with yourself about yourcapabilities and also just
advocate for your needs and ifyou're having a hard time
figuring out any of that, findresources.
There are great coaches.
Even within our industry thereare great coaches and just
colleagues you can lean on andbe like I am really exhausted
(32:47):
right now.
I don't know how I'm going tomake it through this next
property transition.
Lean on your colleagues, findresources and utilize your
benefits.
If your job offers benefits,like I.
My last role offered so manybenefits and I was like a
stickler.
I'm like I'm going to use themall because you don't get that
(33:09):
very often and I had teammateswho wouldn't even utilize the
health care benefits.
I'd be like go get your annualphysical done.
I'm like shh, so utilize yourbenefits and advocate for her.
If you really love the family,if you feel like you're doing a
good job, they'll want to keepyou and they'll want to hear how
to make, how to help make yourjob and life better.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Tell us a little bit about, like, what you are doing.
You've transitioned into thiscultivated care space.
What are you doing with that?
Tell us a little bit about thatand how we can connect with you
there.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah, I don't have social media, but I do have
LinkedIn.
I started about four months ago.
I'm pretty proud of it, but Ihaven't had social media for
over a decade and that won'tchange, hopefully.
My website iscultivated-carecom and that also
.
It spells out what I offerfamilies.
So if you're feeling like yourfamily needs a bit more of child
(34:05):
care, team direction oroversight or management, you can
check out those resources.
Also.
I am partnered this is a thingthat we haven't heard talked
about very much but payrollcompanies.
If you're ever questioning,like what's in your contract or
what the proper payrollstructure is, especially with
rotational positions, reach outto a payroll company.
They have like the legalbacking to really figure out how
(34:29):
to do that and how to protectyourself.
But you can find thoseresources on my website as well.
And lastly, in September I'llbe launching a training program.
And it's a training programspecifically for nannies and
child care providers in high networth and ultra high net worth
spaces.
So there's a lot of what I'vetalked about today.
I'm going to be going intodetail with of like, how do you
(34:50):
understand household operationsbetter so that you can help the
children thrive in theirenvironment.
That I'll be announcing inabout a month.
A bit more information, andthen September will launch and
it'll be self-paced.
At the end of it, you also getanother coaching session with me
, so yeah, thank you.
Welcome to Adventure Nannies On Air.
Today's episode was recordedlive during one of our Summit
Sessions as a part of our freeongoing educational webinar
series to support nannies andprofessional child care
providers to elevate theircareers and enhance their skills
.
If you like what you hear, youcan catch the full episode on
our YouTube channel or registerfor our next Summit Session at
AdventureNanniescom slash Summitdash Sessions.
(00:22):
Welcome to this Summit Session.
My name is Regan Fulton and Iam the marketing director for
Adventure Nannies and I'm goingto be tonight's host.
I'm so excited to dive into atopic that's super important for
creating truly thrivingenvironments the evolution of
child care in private homes.
We are talking about how tobuild systems that not just
(00:49):
support the children but alsoprofessionals who care for them,
preventing burnout andfostering true household harmony
.
We're delighted to have theincredible Virginia Schroeger
here to share her profoundinsights, so we are so glad to
have her here.
She is a powerful perspective inthe world of child care and I'm
excited to give her backgroundand the gotcha at the end,
because not only does she have adoctorate in counseling
psychology, extensive hands-onexperience family environments
(01:11):
that has helped her understandintricate dynamics at play in
caregiving relationships, butshe's used her background in
psychology to help her grasp thedeeper emotional and relational
aspects, and her work as ananny and child team leader has
given her the firsthandknowledge and practical
challenges households face.
She has developed a operationalsystem for high-profile family
(01:32):
child care systems with multipleproperties, witnessing how
excellent caregivers canstruggle without the proper
support.
So with her work with hercompany, cultivated Care,
virginia is dedicated tobridging the gap simply between
having a great staff andcreating truly functional child
care systems where everyonethrives.
Also, she is an Adventure Nannyalumni and we just absolutely
(01:57):
love her and are so sad to lether go into the world but are
excited to bring her back totalk.
So welcome Ginny in Virginia.
Ginny is fine.
Yeah, a little bit about, justbefore we dive into the topic at
hand, your childcare journey,your experience as an adventure
nanny, and then we'll dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah.
So I think you know people hear, oh, she's got a doctorate and
she's a nanny and the firstthing is like it piques
curiosity, like did I hear thatcorrectly?
So my journey really started inmy early teens and 20s.
I loved in-home child care, butI was also good at school, so I
kept getting degrees and Ireally viewed it as in-home
(02:42):
child care was my full-time joband school was my part-time job
and so I just I think thelongest I went without being a
nanny as an adult was six monthsand I just kept returning to it
and whenever I had longerstretches without it I felt like
a big piece of me was missing.
So I was about six months outof graduating with my doctorate
(03:04):
and I informed my family thatupon graduation I was going to
return to nannying and make it afull-time career, and I haven't
regretted it since.
I love being in a private home,that intimate setting, working
with children and parents andfiguring out the family systems
and family dynamics and how Ican best support the family, and
(03:28):
each family is different.
So that's I mean, and mypsychology background definitely
helps.
I get to work with very uniquefamily situations, very unique
children.
I can approach child care in adifferent way than somebody else
who might not have thatpsychology background.
So it all meshes well together.
And then right now I'm veryexcited about pivoting a little
(03:49):
bit within my career to moremanagement, consulting and
training for child careproviders, and that is what that
is looking like, is reallyhelping the profession move
along a little bit.
Helping especially when we'retalking about high net worth and
ultra high net worth teams.
Helping to create theinfrastructure behind the
(04:11):
childcare teams so that they'resustainable jobs and there's not
burnout and turnover.
That's a big passion of mineright now.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
So I love it so, so much and that is such a great,
you know, such a great andneeded aspect in our especially
this kind of niche the high networth high, more high, demanding
jobs.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, no, and honestly, like I love one-on-one
conversations.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Amazing.
So let's dive in a little bitand get some background and then
we'll dive into Q&As.
But what are the biggest shiftsyou've observed on how high
performing households reallymanage their child care teams?
You've been in the industry fora while.
You've kind of seen compared tofive, 10 years ago, and as this
industry is evolving andgrowing, what are those shifts
(04:56):
that you've seen?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, so the pandemic definitely shifted the
atmosphere more towards travel.
That has not really slowed downand that's where I'm seeing a
lot of burnout with mycolleagues is you know it might
be the same hours, but you aregeographically in different
places.
(05:18):
You are not only now the childcare provider, but you are also
the children's PA and hackingfor them and itemizing and
stocking and trying to keep upwith those household systems
that nobody has trained you onin order to keep up with all the
properties and all the travel.
So that is the biggest thingthat has shifted in the past
five to 10 years is how oftenand how frequent families are
(05:40):
traveling.
And I think and I've talkedabout this in other podcasts and
talks as well is we have notseen the development within the
child care industry that otheraspects of the private service
industry has, for example,wealth management or even estate
management.
There have been betterhierarchies and support systems
(06:04):
that have emerged to meet theneeds of this more affluent
lifestyle, but child care andit's nannying we'll say nannying
hasn't evolved.
It has really remained the samein public perception and also
in job description until you'rein it largely remain the same
(06:26):
for the past 200 years.
So that's a big concern, andthere aren't any standards
either for our industry.
So there's no.
I mean there are certifyingbodies, but there's no
collective organization andregulations that really help
protect us as nannies anddomestic workers.
(06:48):
So those are the biggest shiftsI've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
That's really interesting and I don't mean to
derail.
So hopefully this is a goodobservation.
But when you were talking aboutthe way that the families are
traveling more, I'm curious ifit has to do with the
generational change and the wayfamilies are moving away and
parents are moving away from thechildren should be, you know,
(07:13):
kind of left at home, not, youknow, like not be seen.
You know children should beseen and not heard and kind of
that mindset moving away fromthat.
I think of like even Sound ofMusic and the Von Trapps and
he's going off and traveling andgoing to meet but she's at home
with the kids.
I'm curious of a shift in kindof family dynamics and the new
(07:36):
generation of parents andwanting to be with their
children more and having moreinformed you know of child
development more and having moreinformed you know of child
development psychology and howit affects children to not you
know.
I'm curious if that, if you'veseen that kind of shift, and if
that influences how much nanniesare expected to travel with the
families now.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It 100 percent does, and there will always be
generational changes and part ofour job as nannies is to keep
up with that, but part of ourjob is also to advocate for our
needs.
So, yes, I would say, ingeneral parents want to be more
involved, which means they wanttheir children closer, but they
also want to embrace the factthat they can travel globally
(08:19):
very easily and that it doessound easy Hop on a jet, pack
everything in the jet and you goand you go to the next place.
But I think where thecommunication and the reality
kind of falls short is the tollthat it takes on everybody.
It's not just the toll on thenannies who are prepping and
(08:41):
executing all of these movements, but it is also on the children
.
With time zone changes, withelevation changes, all of these
little things affect a child'sphysiology and emotions and
cognition and, like their wholebeing, can be affected by travel
.
And so, while I never and I'llnever tell a parent not to
(09:02):
travel with their child but Iwill spell out especially, like
my specialty was birth to threeif we're working, if I'm working
with a six-month-old and it's aweekend getaway in Montana, I'm
going to strongly advocate thatI stay home with the baby until
the baby, developmentally, canhandle a quick trip like that
better.
If it's a couple weeks in Europe, that gives you time to get the
(09:24):
baby to get acclimated andaccustomed to their new
environment.
It still takes a toll but italso.
You know they're with theirfamily and so you have to.
You always have to balance.
What are the benefits from thechild's perspective of joining
the family on specific trips andin specific locations?
(09:45):
So and I try to have thoseconversations frequently with
parents and for the most partI've been receptive and
sometimes they just say no, wereally want the baby to come
because the weekend in New Yorkis a family weekend and I know
it's going to be a quick tripbut it's important that the
whole family's there.
Okay, let's make it happen andlet's try to figure out the best
way to go about this so thatthe child is impacted the least.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
You know, with all of this, why do families with
seemingly great nannies, who youknow they come in?
You know you touched a littlebit on like the things that can
happen to the kids, but like whydo they still experience
breakdowns in their childcaresystems?
And how does you know why dothey still experience breakdowns
in their child care systems andhow does you know?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
professional management or systems like how
can you change that?
Yeah, so I think there's a bigmisconception still and it's
related to the terminologywithin our industry that a nanny
in an affluent family'shousehold with multiple
properties and lots of traveland big departments that we have
to integrate into that, thatnanny role is the same as a
nanny role, say, with twoworking parents who need you.
(10:51):
They're nine to five and andthat's your, you have autonomy
throughout the day and you'renot always doing a balancing act
with other staff members andtravel.
So the first myth that reallyneeds to be debunked is like
that that nanny role, the nineto five role with full autonomy,
is the same energy output asbeing a nanny for a more
(11:12):
affluent, worldly, cosmopolitanfamily.
And so and I'm kind of goingthat, I think, is a huge piece
of this puzzle, and when we'relooking at turnover and burnout
it comes down to they might have40, 50 hours a week, but those
(11:34):
40, 50 hours are extremelydraining and how are we
supporting them so that they canshow up to work energized but
also like excited?
You know you want them to becontent and energized and that
means you need to recognize thatthis lifestyle, which has so
many benefits can be extremelydraining on staff.
(11:57):
So that's a big piece.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, so like what are, what are some of the
systems that are like you know,how does professional management
kind of change that and allowfor a change in that?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yeah.
So the best the team that Ihave worked with that I've seen
last the longest and also justfunction the best have a, have a
child care, at least a childcare lead who takes on that
advocacy role and almost thatadministrative role to make sure
that all the nanny's needs aremet for whatever location
(12:31):
they're at.
So whether it's a child caremanager, a late nanny, somebody
who is spearheadingcommunication with the estate
staff and home office if there'sa home office of okay, we're
going to the Hamptons for twoweeks in August, it's, you know,
it's now, maybe May we need tostart thinking about that now.
(12:52):
Where are the nannies going tostay?
What are their hours going tolook like?
You know, even simple check-ins.
I think it is highlyunderutilized checking in with
nannies and I can understand itfrom an estate staff point of
view, especially like a housemanager.
They are pulled in so manydirections.
The last thing they want to bedealing with is the chaos and
(13:14):
messiness of the child caredepartments.
And, zoya, I'm just encouraginga lot of families.
Think about having a child caremanager who really likes
working with that atmosphere.
Children are always developingand always changing, which means
you need to be proactive in howyou're not only caring for the
children but how you're helpingthe child care providers sustain
(13:38):
their energy.
You know what happens if ananny gets sick.
Do you have backup like on-callprotocols?
It is by having simpleprotocols and procedures and
systems in place, you are takinga huge weight off of your child
care staff because everybodyknows the expectations,
everybody knows how they'resupported and also they know
(14:02):
where the boundaries are withina home office and in a state
staff.
You know is they know they'rejust giving them more knowledge
and more power to have a say intheir atmosphere and what's
going on is crucial and thathappens with management.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I love the idea of the lead nanny role and kind of
that child care manager role andespecially, you know, I see
that being such a great path fornannies who really love and
don't want to stop working withchildren, who still want to be
in the trenches, like you,obviously, be in the trenches
every day, but also have more.
I'm just saying more.
I don't want to be in thetrenches like you, obviously,
yeah, in the trenches every day,but also have more.
(14:39):
I'm just saying more.
I don't want to say more tooffer in a way that you know
that those nine to five nanniesaren't offering something.
You know it's that somethingdifferent to offer and something
dynamic and want some somediversity in their day and and
want to utilize a different partof their brain, um, in their
work.
I, I really love the you ofgoing that, you know, because a
lot of nannies just want to feellike they need to leave,
(15:00):
because they need to grow.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But when you have somebody, who gives more
oversight for a child care team,that person becomes much more
intimately connected with thechild care providers, which
means they get to see everyone'sstrengths and everyone's areas
of growth and that is just.
It's validating.
But it also provides the spacefor that professional
development and that createscontentment within a job.
(15:25):
You know a lot of nannies andchild care providers want to
feel like they're growing andever evolving, and recognizing
you can provide that within arole within a private home is
really critical to their successlong term and short term.
I love that.
Scope is a huge one.
(15:45):
So we talked about burnout.
Another piece is scope.
I mentioned earlier thatnannies especially with larger
estates and larger familyoffices there's a big scope
creep.
So you're no longer just doingchildcare, you are also, you
know more of a PA house managerperson as well.
(16:07):
Where you are, you knowordering things.
So that means you're in yourcharge of budgeting.
You're doing vendorcoordination, coordinating with
tutors, and you knowrecreational activities.
And you're doing vendorcoordination, coordinating with
tutors and recreationalactivities, and you're doing
calendar management.
All of those things are wellbeyond the scope of a
traditional nanny.
And so what I find, when childcare providers get in a role and
(16:29):
those things were not listed intheir job description, or they
were, but they didn't realizehow much time and energy would
be going to those things thatbecomes an issue because again
we're talking aboutsustainability and really like,
what does one person have theability to do long term?
(16:51):
And unfortunately, yes, it'snot great right now.
You know, I'll have them bringin job descriptions.
I'm like, okay, what do you seein this job description?
And I'm going to tell you whatI see.
And when you're in anegotiation you really need to
advocate for a clearly definedscope, Because that gives you
(17:12):
more buying power.
Later on, If there is scopecreep, you can ask for raise.
You can tell them honestly.
You can say no, I do not haveit in.
Like, I cannot add this to mylist of things that I have to do
because I I will burn out,let's hire someone else.
Yeah, exactly so.
So it really like I alwaysencourage, when you are
(17:34):
considering changing jobs oreven having a conversation with
your employer about your currentrole, have data.
You know what I like to take ajob description and try to map
out.
Okay, direct child care ismaybe 80%.
Okay, so we're talking like ata 40-hour work week, at least 30
(17:54):
hours is going directly tochild care.
Ok, what are all these otherthings that are listed and how
much time are you thinking it'sgoing to take?
And this from my personalexperience.
I know how long it's going totake, which means my 40 hour a
week job just went to 60 plus.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
That's.
That's a great tip.
I love that, just likeestimating all of those other
things that aren't.
Yeah, because people you knowyou think you've got 40 hours,
but no, if you're reallyengaging with the children, the
way that you're being paid to,you don't have time to also sit
and do the packing list and dothe grocery list and things, and
then you have to have that timededicated.
(18:34):
So Right.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
And then it does become this mental game and for
me, honestly, every job I'vebeen in, two things have
exhausted me the most and it wasnever the children, it was
engaging.
You're going to have anenergetic drain by balancing
everything, by balancingprofessional communication with
culinary security, housekeeping.
(19:12):
It takes a lot of mentalshifting throughout the day.
Your attention is almost nevergoing to be 100% on the children
unless you protect that timeand that space within your
contract.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
That's amazing, and that was the only other thing I
wanted.
Yes, the job description, butalso make sure that scope is
really hammered down in yourcontract.
Make sure you read the finalversion before you sign it all
the way through.
Yeah, um, that is one thingI've seen.
You know, people try to sneakthings in.
I'd be like I didn't know thiswas in my contract.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I didn't know that I signed something that said I
would do this like yes, thatfinal version before you sign it
every time right, and I meanyou can always get a free legal
consultation, but, honestly, thefirst thing you should be doing
in the 21st century today istaking your contract and like in
a secure AI format, but runningthrough AI, ask AI.
(20:11):
Ok, I'm expecting this out ofthis role.
This is what the contract says.
Can you see any discrepancies?
And AI is going to point it outright away.
And so it's almost it's.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Just use your resources and really take the
time to do this research aheadof time so that in six months,
you're not in a pickle a secureAI one step farther and say make
(20:41):
sure that when you are puttingthe contract in, you are putting
a redacted version of thecontract that does not have any
family information Yours as well, I mean, that's if you want to
protect your own information.
But more importantly, I think,is making sure you're not
putting the family's informationin there.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah, I love that tip , but I just want to like, just
add that to the really, reallyhone in on that, like copy and
paste the pieces that you mightbe concerned about, but, yeah,
make sure you're protectingeverybody's confidentiality
(21:19):
different staff, differentproperties or, like we talked
about travel, but not justtravel to vacation and going on
trips, but actually havingmultiple homes and going between
different staff and things likethat.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
How do you balance that?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yeah, I think and this I mean this goes directly.
You know, right from the lastconversation we had about you
are no longer just a child careprovider, you know, as somebody
(21:50):
who is taking care of a child.
You, your main job is theirsecurity, safety and trying to
help them thrive.
Which means when you'retransitioning properties, your
job is trying to make a spacethat is consistent with the last
place and developmentallyappropriate.
So in my last job my favoritething I kind of became the
operational lead for our team.
I would advance the family.
I loved going ahead a week inadvance or even months in
(22:14):
advance.
We'd start the process and I'dfly out to the next location and
I would scope it out.
Ok, we've got a budding toddler, we've got some elementary kids
.
What do their spaces need?
And you know how are westocking?
Are we, are we duplicating?
You know their material or arewe packing?
So really thinking throughthose processes, but again, like
(22:35):
that is something I signed upto do and I advocated for myself
, like this is a strength ofmine, I'd love to do it.
Can I take on this project?
Yes, and understanding like itmeans I'm going lot of times.
You don't have the staff tofigure that out.
So what's happening is you'rerelying on EAs and PAs and house
(23:02):
managers, who don't have achild care background, to try to
figure these things out.
I remember walking in to alocation and we were using a
Montessori day bed or like alittle floor bed for the infant
and for the toddler and theestate manager we had them order
the bed.
(23:23):
This picture went viral.
But they put a mattress on topof the floor bed so the mattress
was like two feet off theground when they didn't.
So essentially they didn'torder the right bed.
But that's I'm like, how didanybody think that that was
going to work?
Like, why would you have apiece of plywood on the floor
(23:45):
and then a mattress on top andexpect a baby to sleep in it?
But so it's just.
When you don't have people whoknow children, know their
developmental needs and you'reexpecting them to set up these
places, you're going to comeacross issues.
It's a guarantee.
So my biggest thing, when Italk to parents and you know
estate, you know staff who havethe resources to beef up their
(24:10):
child care team a little bit oreven do trainings for their
house manager on, okay, let'shave a meeting to discuss what
the developmental concerns areand how we're going to address
it at this property, but I thinkit's never underestimate
collaboration, communication andthen seeking out an expert
consultant or somebody who hasthe knowledge in order to pull
(24:34):
these transitions offappropriately for children.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Absolutely.
I think that's outsourcing andfinding an expert and, honestly,
when you're working withfamilies who can afford it and I
think that's something thatI've heard from very wealthy
people who are telling about howdo they maintain their
lifestyle and all the busynessand everything and I hear over
and over again well, I outsource, I hire people who are good at
that thing rather than trying todo it all, and I think that a
(25:01):
child care professional can saythat if, even if setting up the
rooms aren't your expertise,that's not your thing, say, ok,
we need to.
Before we go to the new house,we need to hire an organizer or
somebody to do it.
Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
It's clearly communicating what the
children's needs are.
That's the first step and thatis your job as a child care
provider.
If you get into a family,you've gone on a couple trips
and you're realizing there aresignificant issues with the
transitions.
That is affecting the children.
You, you're more stressed,which means you're not going to
(25:37):
be providing the best child careyou can.
So you need to be advocating,essentially in a roundabout way,
for the children for thesetransitions to be smoother.
Meaning outsourcing, meaninghaving a team member go out
ahead and freeing other teammembers up to take on a child
care portion while they're gone.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, it's, it gets messy it does, and you know, I
think that the trickiest part ofthis career for any nanny, but
especially in these types ofsystems, is balancing these
professional systems,relationships advocating on a
professional level, but alsothere is no way to escape the
(26:18):
intimate family relationshipsthat happen when you are a nanny
.
Often it happens with theprincipals too.
But even if it doesn't, you'regoing to create a bond with
those children that is deeperthan a professional type of no
one outside of.
I feel like nannies all get it.
We know what we're talkingabout, but it's hard to explain
that it is.
(26:39):
You have to do it with love todo it well.
So how do you balance thatadvocacy and the professional
systems with that deep love andconnection that make these child
care relationships so special?
How do you balance?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
that I'm taking a deep breath because I think it
gets harder the more.
That's expected of youno-transcript.
(27:51):
I try as much as I can toseparate the operational
components of my job from mymind when I'm with the children.
If the parents are around, ifthe children are distracted, I
might take it as an opportunityto look at my packing list.
You know I specialize ininfants and toddlers, so I would
heavily utilize nap time andpeople would think, oh, she's,
you know, in the den justrelaxing.
No, I'm on the computerplanning out how we're going to
make this.
So it's using your time verywisely, being very intentional
(28:14):
with the children, becauseyou're again, again, your number
one goal is helping themdevelop, which means you need to
be modeling appropriatebehavior, which means you can't
appear stressed out, you can'tbe distracted.
You know their safety and theirdevelopment is your number one
concern.
And it's good because, on theflip side, by forcing yourself
(28:36):
to be more present with them,you also are enjoying your time
more, you are giggling with them, you are seeing their
personalities emerge and you arehelping them work through
difficult emotions.
But again, it's a balancing actand that's why I find at the
end of a 10, 12 hour shift, I amdone.
I have been doing thatbalancing act of being a great
(29:01):
child care provider, enjoyingtheir presence, helping them
through whatever they're goingthrough with figuring out how to
support them in their lifestyleand in the family dynamics.
So, yeah, it gets exponentiallyharder and.
I think we need to be verytransparent about that when we
are talking to nannies who areinterested in working in more
(29:22):
complex home settings.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Do you have any tips or what do you do for refilling
(29:45):
and outside of the career?
I'm curious, especially withyour experience in these more
complex homes.
Is there anything that you cangive as advice for how to refill
that cup and on your off timekind of reset?
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think for me, I mean, one of the reasons I
loved psychology was because,honestly, it wasn't so much
helping others but it was alsohelping me figure out who I was
and how I operated, and operate.
And so I know I am an introvert.
I think sometimes people aresurprised because I can be very
sociable and I can make itthrough a 12 hour day and
(30:15):
socialize the whole time.
Hour a day and socialize thewhole time.
But what that means is my daysoff.
I am pretty much spending themalone and it is, it's a
necessity for me, especiallywhen I'm in a high demand, high
profile job and it can.
It can be very hard and for methat's also a burnout factor.
If I am giving 100 percent ofmy social energy to work and I
(30:37):
don't feel like I have anysocial energy left to give to my
family, to give to my friends,to give to my other passions
tennis I love, I'm creating atraining curriculum right now
and I'm working with a team ofbranding partner and I love
projects If I don't have theenergy at least some energy to
(30:57):
also engage in those things,then I know the job isn't going
to be sustainable, and I havetaken jobs where I know that's
going to be a risk and mostlikely I will hit a point where
I need to isolate myself more onmy time off.
But I go into that knowingmyself and knowing that I will
have to have remediations sothat I can sustain the job.
(31:21):
So I think it is knowingyourself, knowing how your
energy is affected, knowing whatother priorities are in your
life.
You know it's one thing to havecareer aspirations and to love
traveling, and especially withAdventure Vannies, a lot of
people come to it because theywant to travel and see the world
.
Okay, that's great, but alsounderstand like traveling with
(31:43):
the family is not the same astraveling on vacation.
If, in fact yeah, in fact, it'smy least favorite part of
working with like ultra highnetwork families is actually
being a private jet and workingin a private jet and and I would
tell that to my brothers andthey're like do you hear
yourself?
Do you hear what you're saying?
I'm like, no, I do.
Yeah, they don't like theprivate jets.
(32:06):
No, and it's an amplifiedcouple of hours where you are in
close, just very close quarterswith everybody and it feels
very high stake.
You feel like eyes are on youall the time and it's because
nobody can look anywhere else.
(32:26):
But yeah, so I think, knowyourself as much as possible, be
honest with yourself about yourcapabilities and also just
advocate for your needs and ifyou're having a hard time
figuring out any of that, findresources.
There are great coaches.
Even within our industry thereare great coaches and just
colleagues you can lean on andbe like I am really exhausted
(32:47):
right now.
I don't know how I'm going tomake it through this next
property transition.
Lean on your colleagues, findresources and utilize your
benefits.
If your job offers benefits,like I.
My last role offered so manybenefits and I was like a
stickler.
I'm like I'm going to use themall because you don't get that
(33:09):
very often and I had teammateswho wouldn't even utilize the
health care benefits.
I'd be like go get your annualphysical done.
I'm like shh, so utilize yourbenefits and advocate for her.
If you really love the family,if you feel like you're doing a
good job, they'll want to keepyou and they'll want to hear how
to make, how to help make yourjob and life better.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Tell us a little bit about, like, what you are doing.
You've transitioned into thiscultivated care space.
What are you doing with that?
Tell us a little bit about thatand how we can connect with you
there.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah, I don't have social media, but I do have
LinkedIn.
I started about four months ago.
I'm pretty proud of it, but Ihaven't had social media for
over a decade and that won'tchange, hopefully.
My website iscultivated-carecom and that also
.
It spells out what I offerfamilies.
So if you're feeling like yourfamily needs a bit more of child
(34:05):
care, team direction oroversight or management, you can
check out those resources.
Also.
I am partnered this is a thingthat we haven't heard talked
about very much but payrollcompanies.
If you're ever questioning,like what's in your contract or
what the proper payrollstructure is, especially with
rotational positions, reach outto a payroll company.
They have like the legalbacking to really figure out how
(34:29):
to do that and how to protectyourself.
But you can find thoseresources on my website as well.
And lastly, in September I'llbe launching a training program.
And it's a training programspecifically for nannies and
child care providers in high networth and ultra high net worth
spaces.
So there's a lot of what I'vetalked about today.
I'm going to be going intodetail with of like, how do you
(34:50):
understand household operationsbetter so that you can help the
children thrive in theirenvironment.
That I'll be announcing inabout a month.
A bit more information, andthen September will launch and
it'll be self-paced.
At the end of it, you also getanother coaching session with me
, so yeah, thank you.
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