Parenting / 13 February, 2020 / My Baba
If you’re anything like me, I bet you think nannies are for the royals or the super-rich. And part-time after school nannies, who’s ever heard of those? But that’s exactly what we got when my partner and I decided to hire a Koru Kids after school nanny.
Like many people, before I found out about Koru Kids, we were in the midst of a childcare nightmare. Childminders that had availability were as rare as unicorns. Babysitters could fill the odd gap but weren’t around to help with the after-school rush. While the after school clubs available to my kids were OK, they meant imposing them on marathon days that left them ratty and exhausted by the time we finally made it back to base camp. When the kids got sick, there was no one to look after them but me with the slightly more flexible job, which meant dashing out of work and then staying up into the wee hours to make up the time.
Frankly, we were all fed up. So when I came across an advert for after school care from Koru Kids I was intrigued. As well as always presuming nannies were extortionate, I’d also always imagined them to be with you from dusk till dawn, whether you need them or not (part of the reason why they ended up being so expensive). When we discovered that Koru Kids nannies could help working mums for as little as nine hours a week AND primarily at that crucial home time to dinner time after school slot, my partner and I thought this might just work. Imagining what it might be like to finally take a lunch break, and to stop worrying about what my colleagues thought about my 3 pm dash made it seem too good to be true.
Signing up was so easy, and after setting some parameters – including where the kids went to school and how many hours help we needed a week – within minutes we could instantly search all the local nannies available for work in my area. Settling on a few possible options, we could invite them to ‘chat’ online to check we were both on the same page. And then there was the Koru Kids Customer Service team, available at any point during the day to answer our every question.
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We soon settled on Lydia, a fab former teacher who now wanted to give something back and help a mum (having raised two children, she remembered all too well how draining the juggling act can be). That was the practicals taken care of.
What we couldn’t have anticipated next was just how Lydia’s presence transformed the mood of the whole family, instilling both calm and warmth in our home. Our kids took to her immediately, revelling in the creative play and artistic endeavours she encouraged (her elephant-drawing skills are second to none – and soon so were my kids’!). That precious one-one attention they now get means they’ve had time to really focus on their music practice. They read more. They are full of energy and ideas of things they want to share because they’re getting to do the things they really enjoy in the comfort of their own home. When I walk in the door after work they can’t wait to tell me about what they’ve been up to.
Meanwhile, Lydia’s thoughtfulness – anything from bringing in the mail from the outside letterbox, to reminding us of the Easter holiday dates – are the touches of a considerate person who really ‘gets’ what it’s like to be a working parent.
In fact, after just a week or so of Lydia being with us, I realised that I’d also started to enjoy my job more. The relief of not having to hurtle through the afternoon meant I was getting more done in a more relaxed way and no longer dreading my commute – I could even catch up with the news on the journey home without panicking that I was late for pick-up! And there’s nothing like being able to walk through the door to smiling, giggling kids who are pleased to see me and settled into the evening. We’re even having fewer family arguments overall because everybody is just so much more relaxed.
I’m so glad that Lydia has challenged my preconception of what an after-school nanny is. Finally, home time is a happy time in our house, and it’s all thanks to Koru Kids.
School pickups, play at home and dinner all taken care of by when you return home. Koru Kids connects you with trained and vetted local nannies for the hours you need. Reference checked, smart & fun students, trained by Koru Kids.
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