Daily Nanny Logs

Click here to print out Infant Daily Log

Professional Nannies Log Their Day for the Parents

Anne M. Geissler of The Child Care Textbookexplains that each day upon the parent’s return, nannies inform the parents on how the children ate, slept, and what they did during the day. After an evening out, babysitters who are merely adequate don’t usually think of this and sometimes the parents are either too busy or too tired to ask.

By keeping a daily log nannies are able to inform the parents of the habits and behaviors of their children. The parents will have a clearer perception of how their children spend their time, providing an opportunity to evaluate the quality of time they have spent with their nanny.

The parents will feel more knowledgeable and involved with their children since detailed information is available.

Without the daily log important milestones, trends, and development might be missed or forgotten. The daily log reinforces what areas nannies must observe. This can be accomplished by using an inexpensive notebook kept in diary style with entries made daily. It should be left in a common area such as the kitchen or study, where both the nanny and parents can have easy access to it.

Click here to print school-age daily log

Basics of a Daily Log Include:

• activity/exercise
• appetite/diet
• elimination
• growth/development

When commenting on these areas, nannies should do so in a narrative style. Nannies should make it as interesting as possible. Rather than writing, “He ate tuna salad and apple for lunch,” make comments on appetite compared to how well the child eats at other meals. For example, “Although he wasn’t hungry yesterday, he had a great appetite for lunch today. He ate an entire tuna salad sandwich and apple today.”

Remark on the child’s mood and activity level. For example, you might write:

• “He refused to sit on the potty so we used diapers instead today.”
• “She has been taking a longer nap in the afternoon and not as long in the morning.”

If you prefer to purchase a daily log book we recommend The Nanny Notebook by Julie Kemsley.

 Reference: 

The Child Care Textbook