If a nanny is happy, nine times out of ten the children they care for will be as well.

That’s the word from Calvina Simons, the founder of the Nanny Network of Bermuda.

The 31-year-old launched the organisation back in 2013 with the aim of providing support for local caregivers.

An added bonus? Parents are also able to turn to the network when they’re looking for reputable childminders for their kids.

Q: How did the Nanny Network come about?

A: Well as you know I’m a newborn care specialist and only do temporary care for the families I work with. I usually work with newborns up to nine-month-olds. So it came about that the parents I was working with were having a difficult time as far as Immigration and getting paperwork done to get a nanny in. One of my other families was getting a nanny in from South America and they were having issues with paper work. [I decided to] mingle with people on the Island who are professional nannies and see them in action, so that when they finish with their families there are people who are already on Island that I know of who can help. These nannies already have Bermuda references and that’s another plus for local families. Sometimes they try to bring people in from overseas and all their references are from that country, so you may not get to speak to their past employers first-hand.

Q: How does the networking come into play?

A: So from there I thought it could be good to start a nanny network because there wasn’t one on the Island. In my opinion, being a single mom or a stay-at-home mom and nanny are in some ways the same — it can be very isolating if you don’t know other people in your situation. It makes a lot of difference if you have people who are like yourself who just recently had a baby or moved to the Island to look after someone’s children. You can go to visit one another’s houses and that sort of thing. That support is really important.

Q: Who is the Nanny Network for then?

A: It’s for people who are new nannies to the Island and don’t have many friends yet. The network allows them to link up with people like them who understand the problems they’re dealing with. This is to give nannies an additional support group, that’s why our motto is “hands, mind, heart”. It’s also to help out the parents. Nanny Network is a job connection platform. It’s not necessarily a guarantee you’ll find anyone, but because these nannies are on the Island they have local references. We also provide professional development programmes to help them grow in their job. Some people see nannies or childcare providers as babysitters and think their job is very simple, but it’s not. We have had speech pathologists and occupational therapists come in so those in our network are very well aware of what’s going on and keeping up to date with best practice for the kids. So the benefit for the parents is they can rest knowing they will have someone who is actively involved in the well-rounded care of their child.

Q: How do you help parents find nannies?

A: Well, we only have a limited network so we can’t really go out and say “This is a service we provide”. People come to us based on referral and word of mouth. They fill out a form based on need and we advertise it within the network list. When the nannies sign up they tell us whether they are temporarily working or their contract is coming to an end. Those nannies tend to have a higher chance of getting another job in Bermuda. It helps to keep them employed and on the Island and it’s good for the parents too. Sometimes they bring someone in from overseas and if the Island isn’t a good fit for the nanny and they leave the parents are back to square one.

Q: How long have you been running the group?

A: It’s been going on for two years now as of this June gone. Right now there are about 46 members on the e-mail list and we offer different events for the kids and caregivers. For the first year I did them all by myself and the second year I was able to get two of the nannies to assist me in coordinating. Kelly Schwieger handles the social events — luncheons or bowling or golf outings with other nannies — while Mandy Wheeler is the kids’ event coordinator. We offer a lot of free play dates where we let the kids run around and play in Botanical Gardens, the Arboretum or a playground. Then we also have structured events where we visit farms and places like that.

Q: What kinds of relationships have you seen form between the nannies?

A: Some of them knew each other before, but not very well and now they meet up on a regular basis. We have seen a few friendships built from the network already. Most times when we get together we mingle. Some mingle by themselves without the network planning something.

Q: Why was offering this kind of support important for you?

A: I remember working with my families and the parents would go out for Christmas parties and I’d think how nice it would be to have that. Unless you are a childcare worker working in a group setting you don’t get that kind of thing. But last November we got to have our first holiday party. It was just nice for us to get together and mingle. Nannying is very different from any other typical job because you go into their homes, are in their space and are working with their children so it’s a very personal job and a lot of times we don’t get those opportunities to talk with other nannies. That’s why it’s been so nice for us to get together and share our different experiences. You might be going through something at work and need suggestions for how best to deal with it and this group can offer that support. What I’ve learnt is if you have a happy nanny, nine out of ten times you’ll have a happy child.

Q: Do a lot of families use nannies these days?

A: The need for nannies is on the increase I’d say because people want their one-on-one care and that flexibility that comes with having a nanny. So a lot of nanny work is from 8am until 6pm. It’s a ten-hour day and that gives parents time to get themselves ready for work and time to work a little late in the evening. So they have that flexibility instead of having to pick them up from a nursery at a certain time. That’s why it appeals to some people.

•The programme costs $30 annually. For more information e-mail nannynetworkbda@gmail.com.