St. Louis Archives - ��AV Family Care

��AV Can Help With Your Back to School Needs

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:28:00 +0000

New backpack? Check.

New crayons? Check.

New clothes? Check.

Childcare? Don’t stress. It’s never too early to start thinking about your school year child care needs. No matter how much help you need, TLC Family Care has a few ideas on how to help you gear up for the school year.

1. Hire an after school nanny. Not every parent is able to be home after school with their kids. Luckily, ��AV Family Care has caregivers with flexible schedules to care for your children when you need it. After school caregivers can pick up your child from school, help with homework, start on dinner, etc. All of our caregivers have reliable, insured forms of transportation and have been thoroughly vetted.

2. Make a list of your top five favorite nannies. Once the school year starts, calendars start overflowing with practices, PTA meetings, and plays. When parents get this busy, it is easy to forget when you need a sitter. Plan ahead and make your requests now with for your favorite sitters. Requesting your favorite sitters in advance helps ensure one of them will be available. A familiar nanny is easier for you and your kiddos because they’ve been to your house before—you don’t have to spend time explaining all the dos and don’ts. Plus, being requested for a job lets your nanny know he/she is doing her job well.

3. Emergency Childcare. No matter how much planning we do last minute needs come up. Our kids will get sick, an extra practice is scheduled or a last minute meeting is added to the calendar. Don’t worry, the ��AV for Kids Emergency Service can help with these last minute needs.

��AV Family Care is here to help as you gear up for this school year. Visit us online at or call 314-725-5660.

The professionals at ��AV Family Care personally assist nannies, babysitters and families in St. Louis, Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Charlotte, Miami and Orlando to find the right childcare arrangement. Our mission is to provide a safe and personalized approach for families and caregivers to connect with each other that is not an internet search. ��AV has worked with families, nannies, sitters, newborn care providers, and tutors for over 35 years and looks forward to working with you! To find great nanny and babysitting jobs visit us at tlc@tlcforkids.com or Call 314-725-5660.

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Top 5 things for parents to do with children in and around St. Louis in the Spring

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 11:19:19 +0000

We’ve rounded up our Top 5 favorite places to visit this spring in and around St. Louis. What’s your favorite?

Visit the : The Botanical Garden is a beautiful place to explore in the Spring, with over 79 acres of stunning garden displays. There are plenty of activities and events for kids, including scavenger hunts, butterfly releases, and interactive exhibits.
Explore the : The St. Louis Zoo is a great place to take kids of all ages. They have a wide variety of animals to see, and many exhibits are interactive, such as the stingray pool and petting zoo.
Go to : Grant’s Farm is a historic landmark and a fun place for families to visit in the Spring. It’s free to enter and explore, and there are plenty of things to do, such as feeding the goats and seeing the exotic animals.
Take a ride on the : Enjoy a scenic boat ride on the Mississippi River and take in the sights of the Gateway Arch and St. Louis skyline. Kids will love the adventure of being on a riverboat, and parents can relax and take in the views.
Attend the : The Science Center is a great place to take kids who love to learn and explore. There are plenty of interactive exhibits and hands-on activities that make learning fun, plus a planetarium and an OMNIMAX theater.

These are just a few of the many activities available in and around St. Louis in the Spring. With so much to do, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

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Top 5 Nanny Sites You Should Be Following

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 11:44:16 +0000

The nanny world is full of resources and information for nannies, parents and agencies. We’ve pulled together 5 of our favorites that we think you should be checking out for the information they provide.

. This is the only publication for nannies featuring advice, industry news, insights and inspiration. They offer and a with subscriber only content.
. The longest running nanny organization serving the in-home child care industry, INA bring together all aspects of this industry – nannies, newborn care specialists, parents, agencies, training programs and service providers. With to the , the INA has it covered. Check out their and their , happening May 2024 in Portland, OR.
provides continuing education for nannies and parents including Positive Discipline, and guidance from newborn to teens.
Nanny Care Hub. NCH is the site of industry advocate and veteran nanny Lora Brawley. Check out the blog of , and .
. The musings of two veteran nannies, Lora Brawley and Sue Downey, they bring hot topics in the industry straight to listeners everywhere.

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What is a Nanny?

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 11:40:14 +0000

A nanny is a caregiver who comes to your home and cares for your children. When you hire a nanny, your children will receive one-on-one attention from an experienced caregiver in their own home environment.
We’ve listed below the different types of nannies and the placements that ��AV for Kids offers.

Live-Out
The live-out caregiver typically comes to your home for a 9-10-hour day, 8 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., five days a week. You and your live-out caregiver will arrange a set weekly schedule, with weekend care arranged separately. It is the responsibility of the nanny to provide her own transportation to and from your home. The beauty of this arrangement is that your nanny will have a life of her own when she leaves her job. This allows her to relax and rejuvenate before her morning return. The live-out nanny may cost a little more, but she is generally more independent and fulfilled with her personal life outside of the job. Live-out nannies consist of full-time, part-time, after-school and summer nannies!

Live-In
Live-in caregivers are generally on duty 10-12 hours, day five days a week, and an occasional evening. They eat meals with the family and share in the cooking and cleaning up duties. Be assured that nannies will expect most nights and weekends off unless previously arranged. Most live in nannies require a private living space, use of the family’s car, and specific hours on and off duty. You will also need to discuss visitors for the nanny and any quiet times or a curfew. Both you and your nanny may have to make concessions. It is your house and you have the right to set reasonable rules. Live in nannies can help out with emergency babysitting and depending on your personal preference can become a big part of the family. Keep in mind that your nanny does have a life beyond your job and she is not at your beck and call. While it may seem convenient and less expensive to hire a live in nanny it is harder to keep the relationship professional. It may be difficult to spending so much time together under one roof.

Shared Care
A less talked-about yet more economical alternative is shared care. This situation involves one nanny and two neighboring families. The nanny works in one home and might spend part of the day at the other home. The nanny cares for both families’ children in one home. Before you and your friend or neighbor decide to share a nanny, discuss and agree upon a philosophy for child care. You need to discuss exactly what each of you will want the caregiver to do on a day-to-day basis. And realize when hiring this nanny that she must be able to handle all types of personalities in order to please two families at once.

Family Assistant
A growing area of care is the nanny manager / family assistant. These are nannies caring typically for older children who still require care, but are in school full-time. Family assistants take on tasks helping around the house, errands, meeting with vendors, scheduling appointments, meal prep and more. They do not provide cleaning other than maintaining work areas, or in between regular visits of a cleaning person.

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How to Raise an Extrovert Child When You Are an Introvert

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 11:19:27 +0000

Even with all the rewards and happiness that parenthood provides, it may often leave an introverted parent feeling drained and in desperate need of some time to be alone. This is especially true if you’re an introverted parent trying to raise an extroverted child, who has a need for social interaction that far exceeds your own. Here are some tips for raising an extroverted child when you’re an introverted parent.

Devote Time to Recharge

To provide the best care and environment for your extrovert, you need to devote time to unwind and recharge yourself. For many introverts, prolonged periods of social interaction can be daunting and often leads to feeling anxious or stressed out.

If you’re in a bad mood, there’s a good chance that your child will pick up on that. This can lead to your child feeling depressed. They may blame themselves as a result for something that couldn’t possibly be their fault. Schedule an hour out of the day for a break, to process and manage your stress. Explain to your child why it is important for people to recharge their batteries and turn it into a positive experience for them. This will also give your child the opportunity to process their feelings and experiences.

Provide Opportunities for Interaction

It’s important to provide many opportunities for social interaction for your extroverted child. However, that doesn’t mean you have to turn your home into a hangout spot for all their friends. Schedule social interactions for your child with a wide variety of people. Spend time with family members, schedule play dates with friends from school or take a trip to a public play place where your child can meet new friends.

By establishing interactions outside of the household, you can provide an appropriate level of social interaction for your extrovert while also keeping your personal space. It is recommended, however, that you allow your child to enjoy interactions with their friends in your household on occasion. Even if it’s just once or twice a week, your child will greatly benefit by having a social outlet on a more personal scale.

School Environment for Your Extrovert

Make sure your child is getting an education that properly caters to their extroverted needs. Meet with the school’s staff of teachers and assess what type of classes would be best for your extrovert. Seek out teachers that have a significant amount of practical “field work” in their lesson plans.

The best thing you can do for your child is to get them involved in extracurricular activities, preferably involving groups of people or clubs. This is something that they’ll already be interested in getting involved with. It is a wonderful way for them to socialize and build relationships with like-minded people, as well as learn valuable skills. Discuss what activities your child is interested in – whether it be sports, the chess team or the drama club, and get them involved in as many as you and they can comfortably manage.

As an introverted parent, an extroverted child can sometimes seem like quite a handful. But, even if you aren’t excited about expressing your feelings or meeting new people, it’s important that your kid gets the chance to do so. Every chance that you give them to interact with people will help them to develop their social skills and maybe even earn them a new friend.

��AV for Kids is currently placing summer nannies in St. Louis, Atlanta, and South Florida. If you need reliable, energetic, and professional child care visit our website at tlcforkids.com Or, email us at tlc@tlcforkids.com.

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Tips for checking a childcare reference.

��AV Nannies & Sitters — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:26:50 +0000

This post originally appeared June 2011, but the information is still valuable. Reference checking can be a daunting task, but don’t delay in this important step in finding and hiring your �Բ��ԲԲ�.��

As the Placement Counselor for ��AV for Kids in St. Louis, I often take for granted the things I do everyday. For example, this morning I was talking to a client who was ready to call references on a nanny she was interested in hiring. She said that she had her questions ready – but just wasn’t sure how to go about it. She didn’t know how to start the conversation and needed some tips. It dawned on me that this is definitely a topic that St. Louis parents are interested in learning a little more about.

When taking a childcare reference on a potential nanny:

Introduce yourself and explain why you are calling. Let the person know you are a parent and the ages of your children. Explain that you promise to keep confidential all of the responses and that the feedback of their former nanny/babysitter is extremely important to you.
When you ask the various childcare related questions, pay attention to the person’s voice inflection and pace of their answer. If the person answering the questions is hesitant or seems unsure of any of the answers, this is a definite red flag. Many people are hesitant to talk negatively and this is when you must push a little and assure the reference that you are considering bringing their former nanny into your home. You are counting on their honesty!
If the reference seems unsure of information or answers to the questions, something isn’t adding up. This could indicate a false reference, which is something that is of course unacceptable.
When in doubt, trust your gut instincts and make sure that you are 100% comfortable with the applicant you choose. References are a great way to get a feel for the integrity and character, not to mention the experience level of a childcare provider.

At ��AV for Kids, we love it when a parent gushes and is super excited to talk to us about their former nanny…usually, that means her other references are also stellar and she is a great find!

Good luck and if you have any comments or suggestions please let us know!

Jessica Friedman
��AV for Kids, Inc.

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St. Louis Archives - ����AV Family Care