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Hilton Head Nannies
The Lowcountry's Gold Standard
for Childcare since 2007.
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I would like to book a nanny or sitter. What is the process?​ How do I book an appointment? Booking is as EASY as 1-2-3! ​ 1. Submit the online booking form to request an appointment. ​ 2. We will send you an email to confirm the details of your appointment. ​ 3. Your nanny will call you to introduce herself and will arrive at your door for your appointment. Please Note: Appointment requests with less than 72 hours notice require a call to our office at (843) 227-3196. Please take the time to read the information about our rates, our child-to-caregiver ratio, and our policies here on our website before you complete this booking form. Rates can be found here. FAQs and Policies can be found here.
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Do I need advance reservations?Advance reservations are recommended because we are often booked in advance. It is advisable to book your reservation as soon as possible so that we can guarantee you a place on our schedule. However, we retain a number of caregivers who are "on call" and, while we cannot guarantee a last minute appointment, we make every effort to provide for last minute needs. We can often have someone to you in as little as one hours time. If you find yourself on the island in need of last minute childcare, please call.
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How far in advance can I book a reservation?We are available to book in-room childcare reservations up to 12 months in advance.
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If we book multiple appointments, can we have the same nanny each time?When possible, we will always strive to have the same caregiver when multiple appointments are booked. However, we can only guarantee booking the same caregiver when we have 60 days notice of appointments. This is due to the nature of our schedules with caregivers. Please note, that there may be unforeseen circumstances with the caregivers that may require rescheduling (family emergencies, illness, exposure to illness, etc.) that may be out of our control. We will always do our best to accommodate this request.
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What is your child to caregiver ratio?The following are guidelines for child to caregiver ratios: Newborns to 1 year old's are 2 children to 1 caregiver. 2 year old's to 4 year old's: 3 children to 1 caregiver 5 year old's to 7 year old's: 4 children to 1 caregiver 8 year old's and up: 5-7 children to 1 caregiver **Our goal, always, is to keep your children safe. We reserve the right to deviate from this guideline when we feel it is necessary for the safety of your children.
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What is your screening process?The culture and core values of HIlton Head Nannies is that children are the priority in everything that we do. Their physical and emotional safety are the driving force behind every decision we make. Caregivers must provide nine references, must prove a strong history of working with children, must undergo a thorough background check run by a professional background check company, and must pass a sex offender registry check. Each caregiver is interviewed and hand selected by the owner, Jennie. Jennie lives locally and is involved in the day-to-day running of Hilton Head Nannies. She personally interviews each caregiver and believes that it is important that she has a relationship with each of her team members so that she truly knows who she is sending out to provide care for clients. When it comes to the safety of children, Jennie will not take chances. Her screening process is intense and thorough.
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What backgrounds do your nannies and sitters have?Our caregivers are students, mothers, grandmothers, teachers, nurses, retired professionals, and career professionals who all have a genuine love for children. All of our caregivers have a strong background in caregiving.
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How are you different from other services?First and foremost, we are LOCALLY owned and operated. The founder and owner, Jennie, is an active member of the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton community. She has spent decades investing in families as a professional career nanny and parent coach before she started Hilton Head Nannies. Founded in 2007, Hilton Head Nannies was the first and remains the only full-service nanny and babysitting agency in the Lowcountry that is solely dedicated to providing for all childcare needs. When it comes to care for your children, you want to work with an agency that has 20+ years of experience behind its name. We put families first - always. Our goal is to be a blessing to the families we work with.
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How old are your nannies & sitters?All of our nannies are age 22 or older and are mature, energetic professionals.
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How do your nannies & sitters entertain the children?Our caregivers believe in keeping the children busy! They bring with them a "Nanny Bag" full of toys, books, games, arts & crafts and more! Many of the hotels and resorts have wonderful amenities that the caregivers will utilize: corn hole, table tennis, swimming, sand castle building, walks on the beach, scavenger hunts, etc. Some of our caregivers are comfortable riding bikes with the children if bicycles are available.
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Are your nannies and sitters CPR & First Aid Certified?Yes! All of our nannies are required hold Infant, Child, & Adult CPR Certification as well as Basic First Aid Training.
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Is it okay for us to use a nanny camera while your caregiver is with our kids?Absolutely! Our caregivers have signed a contract with our agency that gives permission for all clients to use a nanny camera with or without their permission. Additionally, Hilton Head Nannies owns nanny cameras that, with our client's permission and cooperation, we rotate to different appointments prior to the caregiver's arrival so that we can evaluate performance. Our caregivers never know when it is going to be "their turn" to be evaluated. We believe in using every available tool to keep children safe. Nanny cameras, used properly as a preventative tool are just another way that Hilton Head Nannies puts children and families first.
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Where will your caregivers provide care?Our caregivers come to you and provide care where you are. We work with families who are in homes, villas/condos, time-shares, hotels/inns, and at events such as conventions and weddings.
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Do your caregivers take part in any other training?Yes! In order to obtain a spot on our registry, all of our nannies must be willing to through periodic training that the agency requires of all registered nannies.
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How do I identify my caregiver?Our professional caregivers are instructed to have their Driver's License ready to show you. You should compare their ID to the name provided to you in your confirmation email.
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Required Agency PaperworkChildcare Release Form: All parents are required to sign a childcare release form prior to the caregiver being left with your child. Parents or Guardians are the only people permitted to sign this form. If multiple families are represented, a parent for each child must be present to sign the form before the appointment (We can also send this via DocuSign in advance, if needed- Just let us know). Nanny Service Invoice: All clients must sign our Nanny Service Invoice at the conclusion of the appointment. Possible Forms, if applicable: Swim Release Form: Clients who desire that their caregiver take the children swimming must first sign a swim release form. Authorization to Release a Child Form: Clients who desire that their caregiver release the child/children to another adult must sign a form giving us permission to do so. We will only release to adults (age 18 and over) and will require the individual(s) to show us a photo ID. For the safety of the children in our care, no exceptions are made to this policy, even if the individual is staying in the same home/hotel room as the client. Authorization to Administer Medication Form: Clients who desire that their caregiver administer any medication (prescription, over the counter, or vitamins/supplements) must complete this form.
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What ages do your nannies typically care for?We provide care for newborns through 14 years. We also care for children with special needs and senior adults who do not need medical care.
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Will I be able to contact my nanny when she is caring for my children?Yes, you will! All nannies are required to have working cell phones with them at all times. They can be reached via cell phone if they are outside playing or via the room/condo/home number if cell phone reception is poor inside. Reception on some parts of the island is spotty. We recommend that you provide your caregiver with the WIFI password so that she can communicate with you via text message.
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Will I be able to speak with my nanny prior to the appointment?Yes! You will receive an email from the office with the name of your nanny. Our nanny will call you at least 72 hours out from your appointment to make an introduction and to learn more about your children. If the appointment is not made in advance, the nanny will call you prior to your appointment.
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What happens if I have an existing appointment and I need to get in touch with the agency after hours?All clients with an appointment are given the private cell phone number of the owner, Jennie, at the time of the appointment. The number is also at the bottom of the email confirmation that you will receive. Please reach out to Jennie via that number for assistance.
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Can you provide services in other areas such as Tybee Island, Savannah, Fripp Island, etc?"Yes, absolutely! We have caregivers in the Savannah GA and Tybee Island area as well! There is a $15 gas stipend charged for Tybee Island and Fripp Island for each appointment due to the drive time and distance it takes to get to those barrier islands.
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Can we have a specific nanny be "on-call" for our family during specific hours on a specific day?"Absolutely! However, the nanny must be paid for those hours even if her services are not utilized as she is unable to accept work with other clients or make personal plans. We are happy to work with you to ensure flexible scheduling for your family so that your vacation is everything you desire it to be.
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Could we arrange a meet and greet with our nanny prior to my appointment?Your nanny will call you to introduce herself to your family. During this call, you'll have the opportunity to get to know the nanny a bit, tell her about your family, and also ask any questions. Sometimes families ask to have a FaceTime call as their introductory phone call. Due to the number of families our nannies serve through our In-Room Vacation Nanny Service, the length of time it takes for nannies to get to resorts due to beach season traffic, and the complexities involved in scheduling, we are unable to offer in-person meetings prior to the appointment. Families who feel strongly about an introductory meeting may request to book the nanny for another appointment. All appointment policies apply.
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What if we are staying in a home with other families and only want care for our children?We understand that sometimes multiple families are staying in a home and one family may want to hire us to provide care for only their children. We can absolutely accommodate that and your children will receive our undivided attention. From time to time, another family traveling with our clients may opt to leave their children home without supervision, or under the supervision of an older sibling. We are still happy to provide care for your children, but will require the other parents to sign a waiver releasing us from any obligation to care for, supervise or oversee their children. Only the parent or guardian of the children being left alone can sign this form. Without this form signed, the Caregiver will not be able to stay and provide care for your children.
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What are your rates?Individual Family In-Room (Vacation) Rates $35 per hour, 1-2 children (Siblings Only) +$5 per hour , 3-4 children (Siblings Only) +$5 per hour, 5-6 children (Siblings Only) $28.00 Booking Fee Per Appointment 4.5% Check-Out Fee (Agency Portion Only) 4 hour minimum per appointment (This is strictly enforced) *No Membership Fees * No Mileage Fees for Local Areas *Nannies bring their own meals A nonrefundable deposit is required at the time of booking Multiple Family Rates We offer a discount for families who combine their children and are using one nanny. For each additional family, there is an additional fee of $10 per hour. No additional booking fees are charged Standard Holiday Rates (Valentine's Day Weekend, St. Patrick's Day Weekend, Heritage Week, Mother's Day, Memorial Day Week, Father's Day, 4th of July Week, Labor Day Weekend, Halloween) +$5/hour Holiday Booking Fee $35 20% Gratuity Added to Total on the Following Holidays: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Halloween Premium Holiday Rates (Heritage Week/Easter Week, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, New Years Day) +$10/hour Holiday Booking Fee $35 Special Holiday Rates Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve $75 Per hour (Single Family Per Nanny) +$20 per hour each additional family, when combining and using one nanny Holiday Booking Fee $50 20% Gratuity Added to Total Additional Fees Gate Fees: Client will be billed for any gate entry fees charged by resorts or communities. Parking: Client will be billed for any parking fees. Valet Parking: If self-parking is not available, the sitter will valet park and the fee will be charged to the client, including gratuities Sick Children: +$10/hour but must be approved in advance(Please see sick child policies) Early Start: +$5/hour when booking an appointment that begins between the hours of 12 am to 7 am Late End: +$5/hour when booking an appointment that ends after midnight Last Minute: +$25 when booking an appointment with 4 hours notice or less Time Adjustment: +$25 when changing the start time or end time within 72 hours of the reservation ​
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Deposit and PaymentNonrefundable Deposit: To book your appointment, we require a non-refundable deposit of 1/3 of the estimated balance of your appointment plus the booking fee. Please note that we strictly enforce the non-refundable deposit policy. Balance Due at Appointment: The other 2/3 of the balance is due to the caregiver in cash at the end of the appointment (some nannies accept cash apps such as Venmo and Zelle - please check during the introductory call). Please note: It is required that you pay your nanny the remaining balance in cash at the end of your appointment. If the nanny is not paid, as an additional service to you, we will process the payment to your credit card on file. There is a $25/per appointment additional service charge to process your payment, in addition to a 4.5% checkout fee, to write a check to the caregiver on your behalf and mail it to her.
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Booking AppointmentsWhen booking an appointment online, you are authorizing us to book that appointment for you and charge a deposit to your credit card you place with us at the time of booking. If changes need to be made to the date and time of the appointment(s), and you give us verbal authorization over the phone to make those changes and book the appointments on your behalf, the same nonrefundable deposit policy applies.
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Booking AgainOur caregiver would love to work with your family again! If you'd like to book another appointment, please be sure to call the office so that we can get that scheduled for you. Caregivers are not permitted, by contract, to accept appointments without going through the agency. If client attempts to book directly with the Caregiver, our office will charge the appropriate fees.
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What if I need to adjust the start or end time of my appointment?Please note that once you book an appointment, the deposit for that appointment is nonrefundable, so if you shorten the appointment, you will not receive a refund for that appointment. Shortening Appointments: If you need to shorten the time of an appointment, as long as 72 hours notice is provided during standard weeks and 7 days notice during holiday/special rate weeks, the nanny is not required to be paid for the full appointment. However, if the required notice is not met, the nanny must be paid in full for the fully scheduled appointment. Unfortunately, without this policy, the understandable frequent schedule changes of vacationing clients can create an unintended consequence of instability for our career nannies. If we do not enforce these policies, then we wouldn't be able to keep nannies available for our clients. Nannies are holding places in their schedules for clients and they count on this work. We expect nannies to keep their commitments to clients, and likewise, the client has made a commitment to the nanny which must also be met. Time Adjustment: If you need to tweak the start or end time for your appointment, please let us know. We will make every effort to tweak the time so long as the scheduled nanny has availability. So long as we have more than 72 hours' notice, time tweaks are a courtesy. There is a $25 charge when changing the start time or end time within 72 hours of the reservation. Rescheduling Fee: We are happy to reschedule appointments when our schedule can accommodate the change. When more than 7 days' notice is provided, we are happy to make this change as a courtesy. There is a $25 charge when rescheduling an appointment within 7 days of the original reservation.
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Rescheduling and Cancellation PolicyTime Adjustment: If you need to tweak the start or end time for your appointment, please let us know. We will make every effort to tweak the time so long as the scheduled nanny has availability. So long as we have more than 72 hours notice, time tweaks are a courtesy. There is a $25 charge when changing the start time or end time within 72 hours of the reservation. Rescheduling Fee: We are happy to reschedule appointments when our schedule can accommodate the change. When more than 7 days notice is provided, we are happy to make this change as a courtesy. There is a $25 charge when rescheduling an appointment within 7 days of the original reservation Rescheduling Appointments: We understand that, from time to time, your plans change while on vacation. When we have availability, we are happy to reschedule appointment times at no additional cost when we are provided with 7 days notice. When less than 7 days notice is provided, and if we have availability to make the requested reschedule, there is a $25 per appointment charge to reschedule or tweak times. Please note: If your appointment begins within the next 72 hours during standard dates and 7 days during holiday blackout dates, the nanny must still be paid equal the amount of hours originally booked. For example, if you booked 5 hours but reschedule for 4 hours, you must still pay for the 5 hours. This is because the nanny reserved this block of time for your family and has turned down other clients. Cancelling Appointments: While the deposit you placed when you made your reservation is non-refundable, no further fees are charged to the credit card on file when at least 72 hours notice is provided for non-holiday appointments. For appointments scheduled during our holiday dates, 7 days notice is required. Cancellations without the required notice will require payment in full for the appointment and will be charged to the credit card on file. When more than 72 hours notice can be provided, we encourage our clients to talk to us about potential rescheduling options rather than cancelling appointments. Rescheduling (prior to cancellation) is not guaranteed until we confirm your request. When we are able to accomodate a reschedule, there is a $25 per appointment charge. When possible, we will do everything within our power to reschedule your appointment. As a courtesy, when we are able to reschedule, we will apply your original deposit toward your new deposit. We cannot offer this courtesy after an appointment is cancelled.
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Re-Booking Cancelled AppointmentsIf you book an appointment and then cancel it, the nonrefundable deposit is non transferable. If you change your mind and later want to re-book that appointment, then it will be considered a new appointment with a new reservation deposit. We encourage clients to please let us know at the time of cancellation that you would like to transfer the appointment. Transfers are a courtesy, dependent on availability and we will do all we can to make transfers work. When an appointment is transferred with more than 48 hours notice, we will apply the original deposit to the new deposit with no additional charges. With less than 7 days' notice, there is a $25 rescheduling fee.
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Credit Card SecurityBecause we do not actually see your credit card, our credit card processor requires that you show your driver's license to the caregiver during the appointment. The nanny will take down information off of your driver's license and copy to the Nanny Service Invoice that she turns into the office. This is to secure the deposit charged to your credit card. The name on the driver's license must match the name on the reservation and credit card.
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Releasing ChildrenFor the security of your children, our caregivers are not permitted to release a child to anyone other than the parent or legal guardian unless advance arrangements are made with the office and the appropriate forms are signed.
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2023 Holidays for Vacation Nanny AppointmentsIn order to entice our nannies to work on holidays/special occasions so that we may have them available to serve you, our rates are higher during the following dates: STANDARD 2023 Holiday Dates (+$5 per hour, $35 Booking Fee): Valentine's Day Dates: Thursday February 9th -Sunday February 19th St. Patrick's Day Weekend, Thursday March 16th-Sunday March 19th Mother's Day, May 14th Memorial Day Break, Thursday May 25th-Sunday June 4th Father's Day, June 18th 4th of July Break , Thursday June 29th - Sunday July 9th Labor Day Break, Thursday August 31st - Monday Sept 4th Halloween, Tuesday October 31st. PREMIUM 2023 Holiday Dates : (+$10 per hour, $35 Booking Fee) Heritage Week (Golf Tournament)/Easter Week: Thursday April 6th-Sunday April 16th Thanksgiving Break: Friday November 17th - Sunday November 26th Christmas/New Years Holiday Break, Friday December 15th - Friday Saturday December 30th; January 1st (Excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Rates: Special Rates: $60/hour (Single Families) Holiday Booking Fee $50 New Years Eve: Special Rates: $75/hour (Single Families) Holiday Booking Fee for New Year's Eve $50 Please note that a 20% gratuity is added to the total on the following Holidays: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day
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GratuityWe are often asked by clients whether or not gratuity is expected and what the appropriate amount should be. If you are happy with the service you received, your caregiver would very much appreciate any gratuity. The recommended gratuity amount is the standard 15-20%. Please note that a 20% gratuity is added to the total on the following Holidays: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Heritage Week/Easter Week, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, New Years Break A 20% gratuity is also automatically added to the total for any appointments that begin before 6 am, end after 1 am, or are 10+ hours long.
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Sick Child/Household Policy ~ Covid-19 PolicyWe work with families traveling from all over the country and world who come here to enjoy the beautiful beaches and environment of the Lowcountry. We appreciate that our clients go through great expense to travel here and in order to prevent carrying illness from one client's family to another, we have a strict "Sick Child/Sick Household" policy. No one wants to be sick on vacation and that is why if a caregiver is exposed to illness, or ill herself, we pull her from our schedule for an appropriate amount of time. Just as we are protective of your family, we need your help protecting other families. Likewise, we must protect our caregiver's and their families. If anyone in your group (child or adult) is showing signs of illness, please call the agency immediately and inform us so that we can determine if it is appropriate to send the caregiver. Caregivers may provide care for children with runny noses so long as there is no fever or behavioral changes, and so long as your child has not been exposed to someone who has the flu or COVID-19. Children must be fever free for 48 hours without the help of medication before we can provide care. We do not provide care for children with fevers, upset tummies/diarrhea, or who are flu/covid positive. Illness Cancellation Policy: Appointments may be cancelled up to 12 hours prior to the start time for illness and there will be no additional charges for the appointment (deposits are nonrefundable). If less than 12 hours' notice is given, and we are unable to place the caregiver in another appointment slot, the client will be charged in full for the appointment via the credit card on file. Our office will pay the caregiver on your behalf. When Illness is not disclosed to the agency: If your caregiver arrives to your appointment and there is a sick child or adult present that was not disclosed to us prior to her arrival, the caregiver must call the agency immediately. The agency may decline care. When this occurs and the caregiver is exposed, the caregiver is to be paid in full for the scheduled appointment at double the hourly rate plus 20% gratuity (inclusive of holiday rates). The increased rate is due to her exposure and having to pull her off rotation so that she does not take illness to another family. With agency approval, and at the caregiver's discretion, a caregiver may be willing to stay and provide care for a sick child. However, sick care rates and booking fees are triple the standard fees plus 20% gratuity (inclusive of holiday rates). The extra cost makes up for some, but not all, of the lost income the caregiver and agency incur as a result of illness exposure and the caregiver being pulled from our schedule. Sick Care with Advance Notice: For your convenience and at our discretion based on our schedule, if you desire care for your sick child/children, we may be able to provide care. Sick care rates and booking fees triple the standard fees plus 20% gratuity (inclusive of holiday rates). The extra cost makes up for some, but not all, of the lost income that results from a caregiver being pulled from our schedule. We are unable to make exceptions to these policies. Thank you for being thoughtful of our caregivers and our other clients as we strive to be thoughtful of your family's health!
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Water ActivitiesUnder most circumstances, our caregivers are comfortable getting in the pool with children. However, as a pool situation can be a life or death situation, we do not require that our caregivers do so if they get to a job and feel uncomfortable for some reason (the children are not listening well, a child is out of sorts, or other people in the pool put the children at risk, etc.). For this reason we cannot guarantee that your children will get to go swimming. However, our caregivers love to take the kids to the pool! The caregivers do have a few ground rules that the children must follow. Parents must sign a swim release form for the agency prior to the appointment beginning. Though our caregivers do not allow children in the ocean, they will allow them to play on the beach and dig in the sand.
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TravelWhen traveling to an activity or restaurant with a caregiver, transportation cannot be by private vehicle. Shuttle, chartered transportation, professional taxi, or resort transportation is acceptable. We do not permit travel by Uber or similar services. When going to an activity with a family, the caregiver must drive her own vehicle and meet the family there.
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Bathing ChildrenExcept in emergency situations (a child gets sick, etc.), our caregivers are not permitted to bathe children.
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Getting Nannies Into Gated CommunitiesClient will be billed for any gate entry fees charged by resorts or communities. Please note that we do not make a profit off of gate entry fees.
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Parking FeesIf self parking is not available, the Caregiver will valet park and the fee will be charged to the client, including gratuities.
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What is your policy for named storms, such as Tropical Storms or Hurricanes?The safety of our nannies and our guests is always our first priority. Our named-storm policy: While deposits are non-refundable, if cancellations are made for appointments that occur during the landfall of a named storm, we will offer an agency credit to be used within a 36-month period. The 72-hour cancellation policy is also waived during this time, meaning that the client is not required to pay the nanny for cancellations that happen during the landfall. This policy does not cover appointments prior to the named storm landfall, and, further, this policy only applies to the period after the named-storm landfall if the area has not reopened for business.

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