Predominately, there is a great need for those working in the private service industry such as nannies, housekeepers, companions, household managers and others to receive continued education in an effort to improve their skills. Agency owners know this better than anyone because they deal directly with the everyday problems associated with placement. In tough times, competition increases, weeding out those who have less to offer a prospective employer. The more skilled you are in every area that relates to your field, the more viable a candidate you become to anyone involved with the hiring process. Yet, there always is the question of time and money.  The unemployed are desperately concerned and preoccupied with finding that job.  Spending money on continued education is not their first priority.  Once employed, they are working harder than ever and find little time to take classes let alone spend time with their loved ones. In the end, professional growth remains limited to job experience which is not always sufficient, and therein lies the problem.

Lawyers, Doctors and many other professionals are mandated by their licenses to obtain a certain amount of hours toward continued education primarily to keep up with updates concerning their fields.  While there is no mandate for private service individuals, they clearly should take it upon themselves to analyze their skills and consider carefully what subjects they need to learn so that they have more to offer and are always perceived as highly qualified professionals.

http://www.MartaPerrone.com

_Provided by Nanny.net

More than 100,000 fires are started by children each year. Around 40% of children under 5 years old who die in fires are victims of fires started by children. Teaching your children about fire safety is not only good parenting, but can also end up being the difference between life and death. Here are a few things to help you.

1.  Escape route – Every school has a route for classes to follow in the case of a fire and they practice fire drills. Every home should have an escape route as well and a designated meeting spot. Practice the escape route on a regular basis so your kids become familiar with it and the meeting spot.
2. Escape ladders – Having an escape ladder for the second floor is very important. Conduct fire drills using the ladder if your children have rooms on the second level, so they can get used to knowing what to do. For smaller children you can have them practice using the ladder on a first floor window.
3. Finding the way out – Teach your children how to find their way out of the home. Remember, that if there is a fire there will be lots of smoke, and they won’t be able to see clearly, so practice getting out by feeling the way; use a blindfold or have the kids keep their eyes closed to simulate the darkness.  Make sure they know to crawl out, keeping low to the floor because the air near the floor will be clearer there.
4. Smoke detectors – Let the children know what the smoke detector is, where they are located and what they sound like when they go off. Also make sure you check the batteries on a regular basis and replace them annually.
5. Get out, stay out – It’s very important to teach the kids that once they escape a burning building, it is imperative that they stay out no matter what. Let them know that if they are worried about a pet or someone that may still be in the building, they should tell an adult and never go back.
6. Stop, drop and roll – Practice “stop, drop and roll” should their clothes catch fire. Too many people ended up in a worse situation or even lost their life because they ran instead of stopping, dropping to the ground and rolling until the flames went out. This one simple act can make a huge difference between minor burns and loss of life.
7. Practice makes perfect – Practice fire safety rules regularly so the actions will become second nature to your children.
8. Discuss fire safety – It would surprise you to know how few parents discuss fire safety with their children. Don’t be one of them. Talk about all aspects of fire safety and especially let young children know what a fireman in full gear looks like. Children can be frightened by the sight of a fireman in boots and helmet and face mask.
9. Songs help reinforce actions – With smaller kids you can make up words to a tune they know telling them what they should do. Singing this song when you practice your fire drills will help them remember what to do in the case of a fire.
10. Don’t play with matches or fire – You can do your best to make sure matches are not within reach of children, but sometimes even your best efforts can get thwarted. Drill into your kids the rule that they are not to play with matches or fire under any circumstances.

Fire can be mesmerizing and deadly. It is better to know what to do and never have to do it, when it comes to being prepared to deal with a fire. There are all kinds of activities and games available online to help you teach your kids about fire safety. Take advantage of the resources that are offered and make fire safety a priority in your home.

Provided by Nanny.net

Saying thank you is second nature to most people and we tend to take this simple expression of gratitude for granted. However, because it’s so common, a thank you left unsaid becomes a glaring omission. Parents who don’t teach their children to say thank you are doing a great disservice to their children. People think kids who don’t say thanks are just plain rude. Here are 10 common reasons you should teach your kids to say thank you.

1. Manners – First of all, it’s just good manners to say thank you. Kids need to learn socially acceptable behavior early and have it reinforced throughout their childhood. Thank you should be two of the first words a child learns to say, after please of course.
2. Respect – Saying thank you shows respect, especially to adults. Parents should teach their children that not showing gratitude is disrespectful and frowned upon by others.
3. Show gratitude – Of course, a simple thanks shows gratitude and lets the giver know the gift is appreciated. Even the smallest gesture should be acknowledged when it’s given freely.
4. Polite – Kids should learn how to be polite to others and saying thank you is part of that process. First you say please, then thank you, follow up with a your welcome and repeat often.
5. Appreciated – People really appreciate it when kids say thank you and they notice when it’s omitted. When children are unable to express their appreciation for a gift in person, they should be encouraged to send thank you notes.
6. Etiquette – Saying thank you is just part of proper etiquette that all parents should teach their children. They need to know what’s expected of them to get along in polite society and improper etiquette won’t get them very far.
7. Good example – Kids who can give an unprompted thank you when it’s required are a good example to their peers and siblings. Politeness is contagious and should be generously shared as often as possible.
8. Reflects well – When people observe children saying a polite thank you, it reflects well on their parents. On the other hand, when that simple gesture is omitted, it really reflects poorly. Most adults will wonder who’s raising this rude child.
9. Shows maturity – Polite children appear much more mature than their rude peers and their more likely to gain respect from adults. Kids should be encouraged to say thank you by letting them know it’s the grown up thing to do.
10. Good habits – Saying please and thank you are just good habits for kids to get into and it should become second nature to them. Repeated often enough, eventually they won’t need to be reminded.

When teaching your children to say please and thank you, be sure to lead by example. Kids learn best by imitation, so make a point of saying thank you to them as well. Since the words thank you can be difficult for toddlers who are just learning to talk, learning it in sign language first can be easier for them. It may become tedious to continually remind kids to say thank you, but eventually it will become second nature to them and they won’t need to be reminded. Giving your children a strong foundation in good manners will serve them well throughout their lives.

Source:
http://www.enannysource.com/blog/index.php/2012/02/16/10-common-reasons-kids-should-say-thank-you/

LONDON: Attention, job seekers! Wanted: A housekeeper for the British Monarch. Place of work: Buckingham Palace. Salary: 14,200 pounds a year. Perk: To rub shoulders with the Queen and Prince Philip.

Yes, the Buckingham Palace is seeking to appoint a housekeeping assistant, one of whose jobs will be to put in the plug, turn on the tap and check the temperature of the water when the bath is full.

The successful candidate for the 14,200 pounds-a-year post will be "committed to achieving exceptional standards of service provision", the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Apart from looking after the royal bath, he or she will pack and unpack for guests of the Royal Household, iron their clothes, help them dress, look after their jewellery and also arrange for tea and breakfast to be brought to their room.

The 40-hour-a-week job advertisement, which appears on the Royal Household website, says the post holder "will have contact with Members of the Royal Family, guests and all levels of Royal Household staff". The new recruit will join a department of more than 250 people, including cooks, footmen, butlers and valets.

Although based at Buckingham Palace, whoever is hired will also work at other royal residences, such as Balmoral and Sandringham, for up to three months each year and play a role in hospitality for official banquets and private entertaining by the Royals.

The job requires someone with a "friendly, polite and approachable disposition and an ability to be discrete and maintain confidentiality".

Source:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-13/news/31055493_1_approachable-disposition-british-queen-british-monarch

The safety of children used to be primarily the concern of the parents. Today, toy makers have to be more concerned with the safety of their toys than they were in the past. Toys are made with warning labels to protect the manufacturers from liability if parents allow them to be used inappropriately. Some toys that kids love the best also happen to have a measure of danger involved with their use. Here are ten of them that are very popular.

1. Skateboards – The simple fact that skateboards are operated on concrete brings the possibility of injury to a high level with this very popular item. Scraped knees, elbows and hands are the minimal injuries that can be sustained by the novice or even expert skateboarder. Broken bones and concussions are at the further end of the spectrum of possibilities.
2. Slingshots – Little boys have been slinging rocks with slingshots since Biblical times. The story of David killing the giant Goliath with a sling and stones has been an inspiration to many would-be giant slayers and the cause of a few broken window panes, as well.
3. Trampolines – What’s more fun than bouncing into the air on a trampoline? Beds aren’t made for jumping on, Mom always told us, but trampolines are. Unfortunately, their height off the ground and the unpredictability of the direction a bounce might take can mean landings on hard ground, which is a lot harder on human body parts than the mat of the trampoline.
4. Lawn Darts – This outdoor game is great competition and easy for almost anyone to participate in. At the same time, large pointed metal objects being tossed through the air is a description that has been used of dangerous weapons for centuries. Although injury isn’t the intent, it most certainly can happen if these ‘game pieces’ make contact with a body of flesh while sailing across the lawn.
5. Pogo stick – A bouncing stick, just like the trampoline is a lot of fun. Like the skateboard, you do need a smooth hard surface to operate this toy on, which can make for hard landings if you fall. Most injuries from pogo sticks, however, have been as a result of kids trying to use them on surfaces that aren’t flat, such as going down steps or an incline.
6. Sleds – This simple form of winter fun is another item that has been used by kids as long as there has been snow and hills. Sleds come in many varieties: From the small round saucer to the long toboggans to inflatable tubes. The danger that comes with these fun toys is the amount of speed that can build up during a slide down the hill and the inability to steer away from objects or people that come into your path.
7. Scooters – The scooter could be described as a skateboard with a handle, though scooters are usually much narrower than a skateboard. Again, it is the speed combined with the concrete or asphalt surface that scooters are ridden on that create the danger of injury.
8. BB Guns – In reality, this item should not really be classified as a toy, though many people have listed it as such for many years. In spite of how small the metal pellets are that are shot through these small guns, they are capable of doing injury to people and property.
9. Bicycles – There are very few kids who haven’t owned and ridden a bicycle during their lifetime. Bicycles are also used for adult transportation, so it is hard to think of them as being dangerous in any way, but they can be. Bicycles can easily swerve into the path of a car when riding along a street or highway. BMX bike riding carries even more risks as riders fly over jumps and drive at high speeds around a dirt track.
10. Baseball bats – There is more than one picture in a family album of a little kid with a shiny black eye that was received either from the swing of a bat itself or a baseball that came flying off the end of a bat. Many windows have been replaced also, after a ball was batted in the wrong direction out in the yard.

Yes, there are still plenty of ways that kids can hurt themselves and others or damage property, while playing with seemingly harmless simple objects. We can’t protect them from everything, and we certainly don’t want to protect them from the fun to be had with most of the items on this list.

SOURCE:
http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/10-dangerous-toys-kids-can%E2%80%99t-help-but-love/

_Our homes are made up of many things that we utilize to function daily, but what if we looked at parts of our home and thought of ways to create romantic moments:

1)   The Bedroom – traditionally the place where we intertwine with our loved ones, but what about taking this passion outside of the bedroom and finding a new place to tangle. Create a bed of rose pedals elsewhere.

2)   The Bathtub – run a relaxing bath with bath oils, candles, music and a couple of glasses of champagne.

3)   The Fireplace – lit as you sit by it with a cocktail in hand and music playing.  Read your cards to each other and open that special gift.

4)   The Dining Room – set a romantic table for 2 using black placemats, red napkins, rose-pedals, heart-shaped votive candles and wine glasses. Place your cards on the chargers and begin your meal with a toast to each other.

5)   The Office – send a Valentine’s Day card through an email – design your card on paperless post. Write a special message and don’t forget the envelope.

6)   The Kitchen – make something special – a meal that you both love to share – cook it together, and add in a special chocolate dessert.

7)   The Patio – go outside and sit under the stars, bundled up if necessary, and dream of how you will spend the rest of your lives together in love.

And for those with small children….just put them to bed early.


Happy Valentine’s Day
p.s. It doesn't have to be Valentine's Day, to create romance.

Http://www.MartaPerrone.com

After so many years of working as a domestic agency, many of my clients would request a caregiver for their parents or themselves. When my mother-in-law recently had a stroke, it became a personal matter. Most elderly people that suffer a set-back are first sent to the hospital and must remain there for at least 3 consecutive days to qualify for transfer to a rehab center. It is never pleasant to be in a hospital, but a Rehab center (which in this case was more like a Nursing Home) is worse.  Just walking through the halls, all you see is very old people practically waiting to pass on. Many seem incoherent as they stare into the oblivion.  Between that visual and the smell, I could not imagine my mother-in-law or anyone that I cared about deeply remaining there another day.  I insisted on bringing a qualified caregiver from Los Angeles back East and bringing her home immediately.   

Choosing someone for the job meant finding a woman with the nurturing qualities along with necessary experience to handle this kind of job. It was also very important to find someone with the right personality and kindness to fill the job. Fortunately, among several candidate, I found one that had no problem re-locating.  We flew off together and prepared for mom's arrival with the following list:

1) Organize the home for someone to live/in.  In this case, a 1-bedroom apartment, we had to reconfigure the living space to accommodate a bed and get a television in for her use.  This made me realize how important it is to have 2 bedrooms as you get older, even if you don't need them now, you will later.

2) Put the caregiver on the auto insurance policy as additionally-named insured. Drive with her in the car to be sure she is comfortable and can handle the car easily. Teach her the various routes needed to go to the store, doctor, beauty salon, etc.

3) Place the caregiver on payroll. Not only is this the legal thing to do, but with most long term insurance policies, they will require proof that you have a caregiver in order to distribute funds. 

4) Prepare a list of duties for the job - since my mother-in-law is ambulatory, most of the work involves shopping, cooking, driving, activities and light cleaning. I created a list of what she needed to accomplish daily so that everything would run smoothly. I also made a list of weekly meals.  Elderly people left on their own have a tendency to not eat regularly. One of the many benefits of having a caregiver is that someone is there to ensure that your loved one is eating properly.

5)  Arrange for relief for the caregiver - this meant either finding someone that would work 1 day per week or asking the family members to all contribute their time by visiting one full Sunday per month.  Fortunately, there is enough family to fill this task and all were agreeable to doing so.

After one week of helping the caregiver and my mother-in-law get acclimated, I flew home relieved and so did everyone  knowing that mom was in good hands.

http://www.MartaPerrone.com

Latinos make up 15% of the total labor force in the United States.  Their share of selected occupations and industries are 22% in Hotel and Food Services and 17% in Private Service (Home and Health Services).  Many Latinos got slammed by the recession which wiped out about 2 million construction jobs. As the economic recovery improves, Latinos are scoring more gains than most other demographic groups. They are the only demographic group that whose employment numbers have returned to pre-recession levels. The reasons experts say that Latinos are faring better than other groups is thaty are willing to take low-wage, temporary jobs. They believe that part time work can lead to full time employment - which in many cases in the private service industry is true. They also tend to be more mobile and willing to do what it takes to get the job, even if it means moving from one county to another. However, due to the decrease of jobs, less Latinos have moved to the U.S. and more have moved back home. 

Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and especially visible in California Texas and Florida as well as Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio.  Not only the economy but also immigration issues have affected the Latino's decision to remain in the U.S.  The administration has increased deportations of undocumented immigrants.  Their biggest concern is "jobs".

My professional development classes are primarily filled with Latino women, and the emphasis is to provide them with the tools they need to prepare themselves as presentable, qualified, trained household professionals. Just ask yourself this one question: "If there are only 10 jobs and 50 applicants, who will be the ones chosen to work?" 

http://www.Martaperrone.com

_ This weekend we had a Table Setting class in my home. We served a cup of tea/coffee and some delicious cake as we sat down to discuss the various types of table settings (both formal and informal) and methods for serving.  The attendees being from various countries each shared what they knew about planning a meal and creating a table.  It was interesting to hear about the cultural differences. We then studied various set-ups at the dining room table.  Each student then had an assignment to design on paper a meal by choosing the occasion, courses, china, glassware, flowers, candles, cutlery, linens and other particulars that would dress up the table. Then they each had to create their setting and serve. We finished off the afternoon by setting the table for ourselves as we had our own lovely luncheon served outside on a (lucky for us) beautiful day in Southern California.

http://www.MartaPerrone.com

I will never forget when Charles McPherson in his charming manner belted out, "...and please do not tell me that the Swiffer gets floors clean!"  Right he was as I have never been a fan of that mop.  Their "wetjet" system is just far too wet for any wood floor and it is simply not cost effective to have to keep buying replaceable pads. For several years, I have been an advocate of the Bona System and have given it a full page in my Household Training guide because this is the mop that has it all! Rubbermaid is vying for first position with its effort to build a better mousetrap. What is somewhat unique besides the fact it is red and grey vs the Bona blue and white - is that the attached container is made to hold any product that you may choose to create yourself or buy whereas BONA is mostly pushing their own floor cleaning products with the mop itself. The key features for both mops is that the spray mechanism shoots the right amount of fluid to clean the floor without saturating and damaging it.
In addition, having the microfiber multiple selection of washable cloths is appealing and most cost effective.
One of my clients recommended "The Ladybug" for steam cleaning carpets and floors. Will check it out and keep you posted.

Happy mopping to all!

http://www.MartaPerrone.com