When Problems Arise Keep a Non-judgmental Attitude

By Anne Merchant Geissler, Author of The Child Care Textbook

We have been discussing respect. To be respectful of your employers you must try not to judge the parents. The ability to be non-judgmental is a necessary factor in maintaining an open line of communication.

An empathetic professional acknowledges and accepts the feelings and emotions of another person. An empathetic person is non-judgmental and is objective in the way that they respond to others.

Nannies should refrain from forming a personal opinion on the actions or feelings of their employers. This is especially important in instances when our opinion of how a situation should be handled is different than the parents.

For example, you may not agree about how to respond to the bullying treatment of a younger child. Being non-judgmental means that we don’t “glorify” ourselves in the communication process by telling the person about how we handled a similar situation and did this or did that.

Allowing others to exercise their free choice about how a particular situation should be handled—especially the parents, is one of the hallmarks of the good nanny.