Are You Ready For Kids?

This is a question almost every person asks them self at least once in their life.  It's not a decision to be taken lightly as there is another life involved, and you can't get bored and change your mind halfway through raising it. 

Now I believe in having a traditional family, with the parents married because I've seen one too many couples that weren't married, change their minds mid-pregnancy and split.  Unless you two plan on never marrying, what's the rush to have a baby now?  You can't wait 6 months or a year to get married first and tell your child you planned for their arrival?  However, I can't tell you how to live your life and you know what is best for you.  Just make sure that you and your partner are both in agreement that you want to have a child, before you have a child.  Don't go forward with your plan in hopes that your partner will come around to wanting a child eventually. 

Money, Honey
This is the first point you should look over when thinking about a child.  Yes, love finds a way, but we all know parents want the best for their children and children aren't cheap.  There are plenty of websites to help you calculate how much your little bundle of joy is going to cost.  Keep in mind things like baby furniture, food/diapers, time off work for maternity leave, time off work for illnesses, childcare and raise in insurance prices.  Not only that but you must also consider co-pays at the doctor.  If you have a child with some weird allergy or gets sick a lot, you have to keep in mind that every time you go to the doctor there will be co-pays for specialist, prescriptions, regular visits, ect.  It can add up very quickly and it's one thing a lot of young parents don't think about before they have a child. 

Work
This goes along with money but it's important enough to consider by itself.  Are you at a point in your career when you can take time off of work for maternity leave?  You also need to consider that you will have to take a sick day every time your child gets ill because day cares and schools won't take sick children and they will need to go to the doctor.  Something a lot of moms don't consider is are you available to go on a bed rest?  You may think it doesn't happen anymore, but in actuality a lot of pregnant women end up on bed rest for a part of pregnancy.  Are you able to either work from home or step back from work to have a baby?

Bucket List
Have you gotten far enough on your bucket list?  Having a young baby at home means that it will be awhile before you can risk your life jumping out of a plane or go backpacking through Europe.  Have fun, take some vacations and cross off some things on your bucket list before you have a child.  Make sure you don't regret missing out on life because you had a baby.  Most importantly sleep in!  Enjoy it while you can because once you have a baby it will be a good 5 years or so before you are able to sleep through the entire night and possibly sleep in on the weekends. 

Test Drive
If you think you are ready to give up all of these great things for a little bundle of joy it's time to take a baby for a test drive.  Find a friend, or a sibling that is willing to give up their child for a day or weekend.  Really commit and pretend that it is your baby.  Constant crying, diaper changing and spit up might make you frustrated.  If you get really frustrated or exhausted in the one weekend, remember that it's going to be like that every day all day if you have a child. 

I hope this article doesn't make you panic over having a baby.  Trust me, it's very rewarding and enjoyable and you can overlook all of the bad for those few moments of good.  The baby just isn't a fix if you are looking for something in your life.  Don't think a baby is going to love you and give you something you're missing, a baby is selfish.  You give everything to that child and only get a teeny bit of that love back.  So worth it, but a baby is not a fix for any other problem you are having in another area of your life.  Do not have a baby to get your husband to stick around, to have someone to love you, to be your friend or because all of your friends are having them and you can't stand going to one more baby shower and hearing them ask when you are going to have a baby.  A baby is a complete lifestyle change but it is very rewarding. 

Free Family Activities to do this Summer

This weekend was just beautiful.  I hope everyone got to spend time outside with their families.  If you are me, you were stuck trying to think of fun things to do.  I came up with this list to help others stuck like me and those that are new to the area.  This is also a great list to do with people from out of town.  It is a cheap way to give them a great tour of some of the highlights of Seattle.  Hopefully you find something new on this list that you haven't done before that you can go explore with your family.  If you haven't heard of something or want to learn more you can most likely google it or ask in the comment section and I'll help you out.

Money is tight for everyone.  Even when it isn't tight, who wants to pay upwards of $10 a person to do an activity?  Here is a list of things I've found in the Seattle area that are free and/or really cheap to do.  If they aren't free they normally just ask for a donation or a small fee like parking.  Most ideas are suitable for all ages.  Some may sound similar, but give me a break, all of these are fun and awesome ideas that I've done myself.

For this list I had summer on my mind because children are home all day and need entertaining but to be honest most of these activities can be done all year round.  You just might have to do them in the rain.

1. Free Museum day first Thursday of every month list of museums and free days
2. Play in the tidal pools
3. Hike up to the ice caves
4. Hike off the Mt. Loop Highway
5. Go to any number of local parks to play on a playground
6. Pack a picnic and use a grill at a local park
7. Play in the large fountain at the Seattle Center
8. Fly a kite (can go do it on the beach, some have competitions)
9. Visit a local farmer's market
10. Visit a free concert on the lake
11. Walk around or have lunch at Pike Place Market- be sure to visit the original Starbucks and gum wall
12. Spend weekends going to local festivals, most have free admission
13. Visit one of the old forts (we have several just a short drive away and you can spend the day with a flashlight exploring)
14. Walk the Centennial trail
15. Go to the beach
16. Visit Jetty Island, which is basically a short ferry ride to a big shallow sandy beach
17. Visit a Seattle or local public library, many have story times and activities going on for all ages year round
18. Visit the Ballard locks (I do believe they have a new name now)
19. Say hi to the Fremont Troll
20. Pay your regards to Bruce Lee- I do ask that you only go out of respect as the family does still visit the gravesite often
21. Walk around or have lunch in the international district or chinatown
22. Visit U-Village and let your children play with all of the fun fountains
23. Take your dogs to one of the many dog parks
24. Ride the ferries (some you can drive over for free and then the ferry ride back home is free)
25. Take a tour of local wineries or breweries (not free but lots of fun for out of towners and couples to do on a nice day!)

Get out there and explore Seattle!  Most importantly have a good time doing it!  Report back and let us know how your summer adventures went.  If you find something cool that I didn't list or own a business that has something I can add let me know!

Tips to Find the Right Nanny or Babysitter

Well since my previous post on finding the right childcare facility a couple of people have sent questions about finding babysitters or nannies.  I thought it was only fair to offer my advice on finding those as well.

What qualifies me to give these tips?  I have been a career nanny for the last 7 years.  Before that I had been doing babysitting for 5 years.  I have worked for many amazing families and I love dedicating my life to providing quality childcare for families. 

Anyway, let's jump into finding the right babysitter for your family.  Not all of us are lucky enough to have parents nearby to babysit when we want a date night.  For some families it's important to have a really amazing, trustworthy person to watch their kids, and for others they just need the kids to be alive when they get home because they will only use the babysitter for maybe a couple hours a month. 

Before you even start looking for a babysitter you need to think over and decide a few things with your significant other:

• How many hours a week will you use the babysitter/nanny?
• Does age or rather experience matter to you? 
• How much were you thinking about paying?
• Are you ready to pay for extras like gas and entertaining the kids, or do you want the babysitter to take that out of his/her salary?
• Do you need someone to do educational things with the kids or just someone to watch them for a few hours?
• Are you open to someone bringing their own kids or sharing a nanny with another family or do you want only your kids to be in the house?

When you have those questions sorted out, it's time to start your search.  Depending on what you are looking for you can try an online nanny website, a service, putting an ad in the newspaper or even just asking around if anyone has a good babysitter that could use some extra hours.  After you find a couple good candidates it's time to schedule interviews.

From the nanny's perspective it's much more pleasant to meet in a public place like a coffee shop or a park if you haven't met the babysitter before.  As a nanny you never know what to expect when an employer you met online just gives you an address to a house.  I always feel much more comfortable when I know it's a public place and I'm not going to wind up on the 5 o'clock news.  You can decide if you want to bring your kids or not.  Ask the person you are interviewing to bring several references and a resume if they have one.  You may ask for the references and check them before the interview, but I find it's more polite if you weed out some of the candidates in person before you bother all of the references. 

You should come with a list of questions ready to ask the candidates.  Print out a different sheet for each person so you can write their answers down if you want to review later.  Here is a few questions if you are stuck on what to ask.

• What are you looking for in compensation?
• How many hours a week are you interested in working?
• Are you available for last minute emergencies?
• How do you discipline children?
• What would you do if you were playing in the park with my child and he/she fell off the swing and his or her head started to bleed?
• If I were to look in your car right now, how clean is it?
• What are some of your favorite hobbies or activites?
• What activities do you do with children?
• How much tv do you allow children to watch?
• Do you have any first aid or cpr training?
• Are you open to a background check and submitting your driving history?

If all of these answers are to your liking and their inteview went well it is time to pick your nanny/babysitter!  If you are still unsure after references are checked, have an audition.  Either leave the house and let the babysitter audition, or just stay in the house and see how the sitter interacts with the children.  Feel free to post any other questions you may have!