Sharing Your Child’s Care Requirements
Every family has its own way of doing things, and sometimes a child’s care comes with specific requirements that a nanny or babysitter needs to understand.
These requirements do not necessarily involve a medical condition or diagnosis. They may be as simple as not allowing your child to have added sugar, avoiding certain ingredients, following a particular bedtime routine, limiting screen time, or handling certain behaviors in a specific way.
Whatever the requirement, the caregiver cannot follow it consistently unless it has been clearly communicated.
The goal is not to give your nanny a long list of rules. It is to make sure the important expectations are clear, specific, and easy to reference.
Don’t Assume the Caregiver Knows Your Family’s Rules
What feels obvious to a parent may not be obvious to someone new to the household.
For example, telling a babysitter:
“We don’t really give her sugar.”
can mean many different things.
Does that mean no candy? No desserts? No juice? No foods containing added sugar? Can she have a birthday cupcake at a party?
Instead, be specific:
“We don’t give her foods with added sugar, including candy, cookies, sweetened yogurt, juice, or sugary snacks. Fruit and naturally occurring sugars are fine. Please check with us before giving her any packaged food we haven’t already approved.”
The same is true if your family avoids particular ingredients.
Rather than saying:
“We try to eat clean.”
explain what that means in your home:
“Please don’t give him foods containing artificial dyes or high-fructose corn syrup. We keep approved snacks in this cabinet, and if you’re unsure about an ingredient, please text us before offering it.”
Clear instructions remove the need for the caregiver to interpret your preferences.
Put Important Information in Writing
Verbal conversations are important, but they should not be the only place important care instructions live.
Create a simple written Family Care Guide that your nanny or babysitter can reference.
It might include:
Foods your child may and may not have
Ingredients you avoid
Allergies and medical information
Approved snacks and meals
Screen-time rules
Nap and bedtime routines
Behavioral expectations
Sensory sensitivities
Toileting instructions
Safety concerns
Emergency contacts
When the caregiver should contact you
Keep the document short and scannable. A caregiver should be able to find an answer quickly without reading several pages.
Important for Kensington Families
If your child has any special care requirements, dietary restrictions, ingredient limitations, allergies, behavioral considerations, medical needs, or other instructions that could affect their care, you must provide Kensington Nanny Service with a written copy of these requirements.
This information should be provided before a nanny or babysitter is booked or referred whenever possible and updated anytime your child’s needs change. This allows our team to accurately communicate the scope of care, determine whether a caregiver is an appropriate fit, and ensure important information is known before the assignment begins.
Providing this information to Kensington does not replace reviewing the instructions directly with your nanny or babysitter. Families are responsible for making sure the caregiver understands the child’s current requirements, routines, restrictions, and safety instructions before care begins.
Explain the Difference Between a Preference and a Safety Issue
This distinction is especially important.
A nanny needs to know whether an instruction is a household preference or something that could create a medical emergency.
For example:
Preference:
“We don’t give the children foods with artificial dyes.”
Firm family rule:
“We do not allow added sugar, including desserts or sweetened drinks.”
Medical restriction:
“She has a severe peanut allergy and cannot consume or come into contact with peanuts.”
All three should be respected, but the caregiver needs to understand the level of urgency attached to each one.
When allergies or medical conditions are involved, provide clear emergency instructions in addition to food restrictions.
Give Concrete Examples
Specific examples are often more helpful than broad instructions.
Instead of:
“Don’t give him unhealthy snacks.”
Try:
“For snacks, you can give him fruit, cheese, crackers, hummus, or anything from the labeled snack bin. Please don’t give him candy, cookies, chips, or foods with added sugar.”
Instead of:
“Watch the ingredients.”
Try:
“We avoid Red 40, Yellow 5, and other artificial food dyes. Please check packaged foods before serving them, and if you’re unsure, ask us first.”
This makes expectations much easier to follow.
Make the Right Choice the Easy Choice
If your child follows specific food rules, organize the home so caregivers do not have to guess.
Consider having:
A designated shelf of approved snacks
Pre-prepared meals
A list of approved foods
A clearly marked section of the refrigerator or pantry
Photos of acceptable products
A short list of ingredients to avoid
For an occasional babysitter, something as simple as “Anything in this basket is okay for the kids” can prevent confusion.
Explain What to Do Outside the Home
Many misunderstandings happen away from the house.
What should the nanny do when another child offers yours a snack at the playground? What happens at a birthday party? Can the child have something from a restaurant? What if grandparents offer a treat?
Talk through these situations ahead of time.
For example:
“If another parent offers her food, please politely decline unless it’s something we’ve packed.”
Or:
“If you’re out with him and want to purchase food, text us before ordering anything that isn’t already on the approved list.”
That gives the caregiver a plan instead of forcing them to make a judgment call.
Explain the “Why” When It Helps
You do not need to defend every parenting choice, but a short explanation can help a caregiver understand why consistency matters.
For example:
“We avoid added sugar because we’ve found that she sleeps and eats much better without it, so we want to keep that consistent even when we’re not home.”
Or:
“He becomes extremely dysregulated after foods containing certain artificial dyes, which is why we are strict about checking labels.”
Understanding the reason behind a rule often makes it easier for a caregiver to recognize situations where it applies.
Don’t Bury the Most Important Information
If something is especially important, make it easy to see.
A care guide might have a section at the top called:
Please Remember
No foods with added sugar
No artificial food dyes
No screen time without parent permission
Child must remain within arm’s reach around water
Text us before introducing any new food
A caregiver should not have to search through a lengthy document to discover the most important household rules.
Ask the Caregiver to Ask, Not Guess
One of the best instructions you can give a nanny or sitter is:
“If you’re unsure, please ask us.”
Parents sometimes worry about receiving too many questions, but questions are preferable to assumptions when something matters to your family.
This is particularly true with food.
Ingredient lists can be confusing. Products change. Foods that appear appropriate may contain something unexpected.
Make it clear that checking with you is always acceptable.
Communicate Changes
Children’s needs and family rules evolve.
Perhaps your toddler can now have something that was previously restricted. A therapist recommends a new approach. Your child’s pediatrician introduces a new dietary guideline. Or you simply decide to change a household rule.
Tell the caregiver directly and update the written instructions.
Do not assume they will realize that an old rule no longer applies.
For families with a regular nanny, periodically reviewing routines and expectations can prevent small misunderstandings from becoming ongoing habits.
Remember: Consistency Requires Communication
Parents often hire a nanny or babysitter because they want their child to receive care that reflects how they would care for their child themselves.
That consistency depends on communication.
Whether your requirement is no added sugar, avoiding certain ingredients, a specific nap schedule, limited screen time, a sensory accommodation, a behavioral strategy, or an important medical protocol, explain exactly what you expect.
Put important information in writing. Give concrete examples. Make approved choices easy to identify. Explain what the caregiver should do when an unexpected situation comes up.
A caregiver should never have to guess what a family means by “We don’t really allow that.”
The clearer you are about your child’s needs and your household expectations, the easier it is for your nanny or babysitter to provide care that feels consistent, thoughtful, and aligned with your family.
I also tightened the Kensington section slightly so it reads as a clear agency policy requirement, rather than simply another parenting tip.