Top Ten Domestic Helper Skills Required to Take Care of Children

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong are in huge demand especially in households, which have children. A full-time maid or nanny is usually assigned to take care of children. Nannies who are hired in Hong Kong are sometimes child-care specialists, who have good experience in customized child-care and in giving personalized attention too. The job of such domestic helpers requires skills and qualities along with some nursing education. Domestic helpers in such homes need to perform various tasks, including taking care of basic needs of children, meal planning and preparation, laundering clothes, organizing play activities and the like. They have to set up behavioral guidelines in the absence of the child’s parents and maintain general discipline in the household. Domestic helpers have to adjust to diverse work environments even in various homes. Here are 10 skills that matter for every domestic helper required for taking care of children:

1. Reliability and Trustworthiness

Domestic helpers firstly need to be reliable and trustworthy. Parents must rely on them for completing household chores and also have to repose trust on their nannies to do their job as required and provide the best for their children.

2. Academic Skills

It is important to have some academic certification and diploma in childcare or nursing so that they can handle children efficiently. They need to be qualified enough to take up the job and complete the tasks assigned to them perfectly. Experience as a newborn care specialist is definitely a boon for employers, while some additional teaching skills will be beneficial too.

3. First Aid

Every domestic helper needs to be skillful in administering CPR, even do the needful to relieve a choking child, and deal with burns and bleedings. Parents feel relaxed if the nanny is good with first aid and will have confidence in their ability to take proper care of their children.

4. Communication Skills

Parents and domestic helpers should communicate effectively. Nannies should ask questions to know about expectations of parents and get all information about the child. Parents should also answer all questions and keep the communication open to handle the children efficiently.

5. Background Check

Helpers should provide background information and previous employer references to employers. The employer might like to investigate driving records as well as criminal records. Some insist on employing maids with high school diploma while some might prefer maids with experience.

6. Problem Solving Skills

Domestic helpers should be able to weed out complicated issues and evaluate possible solutions for diverse child-related problems. They need to be solution-oriented and forthcoming in communication with their employers. They need to be independent in handling some issues too without any intervention.

7. Active Listening

Nannies need to pay full attention to the advice given by members of the family and understand the points well before asking questions. They should be patient with the children too, listening intently at appropriate times, to their needs and words.

8. Cooking Skills

It is a big advantage when the nannies have some cooking skills, especially if they can feed the children when parents are out for long. Their cooking skills come in handy in this regard as children are moody and need smart cooks to handle them with healthy yet tasty food. The nanny’s cooking services might be needed during evenings although their prime job description would be to take care of the children and avoid distractions.

9. Collaboration and Influential Skills

For nannies to be successful, they need to learn to collaborate and work with parents and other members of the family. They should help out as necessary although it would all depend on the immediacy of a situation. They should be able to consider other people’s viewpoints and bring forth an honest opinion. They have to handle the children the entire day, and hence influence the children positively and must commit to giving proactive advice to them. They must acknowledge the importance of their own work and then work around chores to benefit children with their support.

10. Respectful and Well-Mannered

Maids and nannies have to work with children throughout the day, so it is evident that children will learn different behaviors from them. They also learn from other members of the family. This is precisely why nannies and domestic helpers need to have high morals, and should have a respectful and well-mannered attitude towards work. Their good manners rub off on the children in a good way, and even children will be inspired to imitate their good habits over some time.

Conclusion

If you are a domestic helper who can be a good nanny for children then they need to possess all the aforementioned skills and qualities. Employers will always look out for a nanny with experience and good qualities so that their children are influenced by their strong and positive qualities.