Today on Wedding Secrets Unveiled!, Sara interviews Tiesha Sinouthasy of Peace of Mind Nannies. Have you considered whether you are inviting children to your wedding? This question can often expose some strong opinions on the subject from the nearlyweds and the guests with children alike. We are here to offer a potentially crisis-averting solution—event childcare! Do I have to provide childcare for every guest with children? Can children be in the wedding and then participate in the childcare activities? Who covers the cost of the on-site nannying option? Tiesha has all of these answers and so many more to help you decide if this is the perfect solution to allow both the parents and the kiddos to have a safe and fun experience at your wedding festivities!
Meet Tiesha.
I am the founder of Peace of Mind Nannies. We provide nanny babysitting and event care services for all kids, though we do specialize in care of those with disabilities. The folks that we serve are primarily families and two parent households who are seeking childcare support, whether it is temporary or long term, and may also be seeking event care services for their children while they attend a wedding, a holiday party or other event.
Amazing. I love that you don’t just focus on events. Tell me more about working with children with disabilities. That’s such a wonderful niche to focus on!
it is so necessary, even across agencies nationally. We are really a minority – agencies that specialize in care of those with disabilities. So when you talk about child care, obviously, that need through COVID and beyond has become that much more illuminated and necessary. However, for families that had children with disabilities, finding high quality care and long-term care is a huge challenge for parents.
Let’s talk a little bit about weddings and events. Why does somebody need to even consider group child care at these occasions?
Wedding couples will often request that their special day is kid free, which is understandable. They want their day to be perfect and may not want kids running around. But, it presents a real challenge for parents who have no idea what to do for child care – especially if the wedding isn’t local to where they live. So, finding that child care can be a challenge. Wedding couples can instead request childcare on site or offsite for those children.
You said something so important. I remember when I got married, I had friends who had kids and needed childcare – and the people I would have reached out to to help were also attending the wedding. But I really wanted our guests to be present. I know as a mom now, I never would be able to be fully present with my kids there.
So tell me a little bit about what some benefits of having childcare at your wedding are!
Exactly what you said: folks are able to be present to truly enjoy the celebration because they’re not worrying about their child’s safety or well being. Instead, they’re just able to have a good time. So that is certainly a benefit. It allows the wedding to be more inclusive and welcoming of parents. Another benefit is that it provides peace of mind that they know they are in another room nearby, or even back at the hotel, but they’re safe. We’re sending photos and texts of what we’re doing with the kids and we’re always having a great time. That is also the experience that we aim to create by providing child care during weddings or during any events: yes, the adults are having fun, but the kids are having a great time, too.
Is child care for an event on or offsite?
it could be either! A lot of times, it will be on site. Sometimes that means couples reserve another space at the hotel – like a conference room. Or maybe it’s offsite, if your venue is by the water and you have a block at a hotel, we might be back at the hotel. It just depends. I did a wedding that was in Bristol, Rhode Island where that wedding couple was outside in a main tent for the reception, then they had a smaller tent for the kids. It was really ideal – the parents could come check on us and have the peace of mind – and then go back to the reception.
I think that is really important too. Because there are different comfort levels for parents. How do you help families feel more comfortable during events?
Especially, again, when we’re talking about those guests that are from out of town and that really do not know anything about our agency… How do you make them feel comfortable? At Peace of Mind Nannies, we send the couple who booked us a slew of documents. They include an introduction letter that they are encouraged to send to guests looking for child care. It shares about our agency and our screening process. Only about 6% of our applicants actually get on our team. We do interviews, reference checks, social media sweeps, and lastly, a national criminal comprehensive background check. So we are checking off all of the boxes, to really make sure that we’re bringing on folks who are passionate about this work, and who we can trust, and who will keep your children safe in their hands.
Amazing. And back to what we talked about, if someone still isn’t comfortable, they can always hire their own care. So, then what does this cost budget wise?
In terms of budget, that largely depends on how many children we’re providing care for. How many sitters do we need to support the number of children? But, roughly childcare like this can run $3,000-$5,000 but it depends on the region of the country and those numbers. We tend to have about 10 children on average for an event.
Is that a flat rate the couple and guests could split?
Yes and the amount I just mentioned is inclusive of any agency fees, too.
Let’s talk about the “day in the life” of one of your Peace of Mind Nannies. How does it work at an event?
We are responsible for certain pieces of the event setup. Whether you’re onsite or offsite, we’ll come with lots of toys and activities to keep the kids engaged. We tend to set up different stations throughout the space: arts and crafts, sensory activities, and board/card games. You name it, we probably have it ready to go!
Do you ever ask what the children you’re about to watch would want?
Yeah, so we send a form in the paperwork to the couple that is meant to collect information about each of the children we’re watching. It helps us know about their interests, dislikes, if they’re upset – what helps them, and even their bedtime. Weddings can go late into the night so we want to help our families with the bedtime routine if we need to. All of that information helps us plan what kinds of activities to bring.
As I understand, we’re also the only agency in Rhode Island that specializes in care for children with disabilities, so understanding their needs ahead of time is also really crucial to know how to set up that space. So for an event last fall, we knew we had children on the Autism Spectrum and one sensitive to noise. It was critical for us to make sure the space was set up to a separate space accommodate what they needed.
Is there a certain age range for the children you watch?
For our agency, we serve young adults as well – particularly those with disabilities. We serve children and adolescents to 21 years old. I will say that if you have infants, your care sitter number goes up because you need to have undivided attention for each infant.
What other tasks does the agency handle on the day of the event?
We are also setting up the activities and serving dinner that’s from the wedding. We will bring it upstairs, and we will serve it for those guests. Plus, we’re providing those developmentally appropriate activities. And then of course, once the event is done and the childcare is done, we’re going to clean up the space, too.
You’re really just handling everything from start to finish!
Yep! And we collaborate with the wedding couple and we also certainly collaborate with the event planner, the wedding planner, the event venue. Plus the kids’ parents. We want it to work for everyone. And if we’re not familiar with that venue, we’re going out ahead of time to check that the spaces will work and are what we need for the day of the event.
That leads me to another question: what have you learned from doing child care for events?
One big thing I’ve learned is that child care in the bridal suite is not the best idea. I understand that it’s an empty space once the party clears out for the rest of the day, but it’s not really empty. People got ready there, have their clothing everywhere, drink glasses, and food. It’s just not a conducive space for child care afterwards. I’ve learned from experience that I will not do child care in that space. Plus, if people have outfit changes – the space may be needed anyway. It becomes a safety concern because we can’t keep eyes on everyone if new people are in and out.
Absolutely! That’s something you have to learn by doing. Do you ever help with kids IN the wedding?
We can be on site whenever you want and we have provided child care for ring bearers and flower girls, as soon as they are done with their responsibilities. It just depends on the wedding planner and the couple’s wishes. We’ve had sitters downstairs at the ceremony so once the kid is done, they can go see them.
Then, lastly, I’ll say that we’ve provided childcare for numerous weddings, and oftentimes, the wedding couple will decide that they are due to costs that they may only provide child care for really young children. Sometimes during the event, other families hear about it and want to drop their kids off. So, we do have some paperwork on hand but we also have to adhere to our ratios of caregivers to kids. If you can’t afford child care for everyone, have other recommendations for babysitters on hand for people to hang in their rooms.
I didn’t even think about that. Give me one more thing you’ve learned on the job!
One more thing that we have learned is how important it is to know if we’re providing the child care on site – will we be anywhere near where the ceremony and reception are happening? We want our team ready and dressed accordingly. We always dress nicely but we’re playing with kids so it’s comfortable. We will dress up a little bit more if we’ll be near the celebration.
That makes sense! Are there any other services you offer to support the wedding couple or those guests with kids?
We have had couples hire us at the beginning of their wedding week, not just the big event. There can be so many events going on – and if you have guests traveling in, it’s nice to have the extra hands for the kids. We’ve helped at rehearsal dinners, breakfasts after the wedding, and we can provide childcare for any time during your week or weekend.
Wrap-Up Question
What are some key points that couples should be asking nanny babysitting agencies, when inquiring to make sure that they are working with a professional company to ensure that their wedding day is absolutely perfect?
Find out if the agency has liability insurance.
Determine the vetting and screening process for the team members who will be providing childcare.
Ask about the activities that are being provided for the children. Are they developmentally appropriate?
What We Discussed
Meet Tiesha (2:44)
Why we provide childcare at weddings (8:16)
Nanny services and operations (11:26)
Logistics for child care at weddings (30:47)
Wrap-Up Question (38:58)
Links Mentioned in the Episode
Find Peace of Mind Nannies: Website | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
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