Beyond Childcare: 10 Ways Your Nanny Can Nurture Learning When You’re Away

In Thailand, having a nanny is very common. Many families will welcome helpers into their homes from the newborn stage through early childhood.

Because of this, our children spend a meaningful amount of time with them—time that shapes their habits, emotional awareness, and language. It’s time that matters. So, I believe in making every minute count.

I’m very intentional about creating quality moments with my daughter, but I’m also realistic. She does spend moments alone with her nanny.

And instead of simply viewing that time as “childcare,” I view it as part of her learning environment. Even if the hours aren’t long, I want the time they share to be rich, supportive, and nurturing.

Friends and family often tease that I “run a tight ship”, especially when it comes to expectations. And maybe I do, but they are purposeful and simple expectations: read with her, teach good manners, help her expand her vocabulary, share stories, and guide her in naming and expressing her emotions.

All of these lessons can happen right at home, no fancy activities required. We reserve all outings, special classes, and travel for the family only.

It’s even more important that our home environment is filled with learning potential.

10 Ways to Create an Enriching Atmosphere

Whether it is reading books, activity books, or flashcards, prepare ahead of time (in the language your child converses with the helper in).

Check out Nanmee Books, Bangkok City Library, Nielsen Hays Library, Kinokuniya, and Asia Books for such resources.

Examples include:
เสริมสมาธิ – MIS Publishing (THB 60)
Animal Maths – Nanmee Books (THB 145)
หัดลากเส้น by ห้องสมุด – BTS Central (THB 81)
2-Piece Puzzles กขค – Kinokuniya (THB 135)

To make this easier, we have a dedicated shelf of books and learning materials that the nanny can use at any time.

One of my recent favourite activities is taking my daughter to a local bookstore chain Nanmee Books, and choosing new reading and activity books together—some for us to read as a family and some specifically for her time with her nanny.

It gives everyone ownership in the learning.

I consistently encourage our helpers to share feedback and keep me updated on the activities and learning experiences they engaged in together, even if it was just a 30-minute timeslot.

This allows our communication to remain open and collaborative, enabling us to exchange observations and insights.

I find it valuable when our nanny shares her own life, talking about her hometown, culture, and favourite foods and hobbies.

I want my daughter to grow up understanding that her nanny is not just a helper, but a person with her own story and heart.

I believe this kind of relationship builds empathy and respect. It has also helped my daughter transition gracefully when we’ve had changes in helpers or when someone has needed time away.

And there’s one guideline I share with every helper from the start:

If my child does something wrong, teach her why it’s wrong.

I don’t want to create a household where misbehaviour is overlooked just because we have help.

I explain to our nanny that you are not here to silently excuse; you are a partner in helping the child become kind, thoughtful, and considerate.

Raising a good human is a shared effort.

Nanny care isn’t just about supervision. It’s about connection. It’s about learning. It’s about helping our children grow, whether we’re home or away.

Whether it is a bookshelf allocated to the books you want to read, a drawer of educational toys, or a zone labelled for certain activities, organise them in a way that is easy to find and grab.

Inform your child and helper of the location of such items ahead of time.

Time spent calling you or searching for materials is precious learning time lost.

Examples of functional storage units for learning zones:
BERGIG Book display with storage — IKEA (THB 3,590)
BILLY Bookcase with drawer — IKEA (THB 2,500)
4-Shelf Storage (80 cm wide) — BaanHome on Shopee (THB 500)

This is when your child needs to learn another topic while you’re away.

For instance, if your helper doesn’t read Thai and you want the exposure, your nanny can help facilitate these lessons within the home when you’re not present.

If it’s art, music, science, math, or any lessons where the teacher could visit the home, the same can apply.

With small children, we know things never go exactly as planned.

Creating a rough guide with alternative plans can help get the ball rolling.

If these types of expectations are new, keep them open and open to changes when necessary, so as not to feel too overwhelming for both the helper and your child.

I enjoy painting with my daughter, and my husband enjoys building train tracks with our daughter, so our helper knows these are two activities that are done with parents.

This also ensures that the helper is thinking of new activities, instead of mimicking the ones we already do.

This tends to happen sometimes, as nannies may feel they are doing a good job if they are doing exactly as we are.

However, the point is to supplement, not replicate.

Indicate what is off-limits (based on your family’s values), for instance, screens, phones, and leaving the house beyond the playground in the building.

Toys like blocks and LEGO are open to interpretation each time they are played with.

They vary with different caregivers or family members.

If you and your nanny use different languages to talk to your child, this could also be interesting to your child, to play the same games in various languages.

Other toys that can be used multiple times include: Bingo, puzzles, magna-tiles, building trains, play kitchens and food sets, dolls, and animals.

Examples include:
Bilingual Bingo (with flash cards): Get Fun with English 4-in-1 by Pattana Kid (THB 350 at pattanakids.com)
Farm & Family Animals – Nerdy Owl (THB 1,440)
Colorful Magnetic Tiles – Little Architects – Mideer (THB 1,189)

Children learn from adults all the time. They repeat our words, feelings, and actions so quickly!

If your helper isn’t already teaching manners, ask them to model situations where one would express gratitude, say: ‘thank you,’ ‘please,’ ‘you’re welcome,’ and so forth.

Give them the permission and authority to teach, and expect these phrases from your child as well.

Miss Molly’s series could be a useful resource:

English version: Miss Molly’s School of Kindness – Kinokuniya (THB 459)
Thai version: โรงเรียนน้ำใจดีของครูมอลลี่ – Nanmee Books (THB 228)

Be open to suggestions; your helper may have experience from a previous household.

Ask for suggestions, and be open to letting your helper experiment or use their own intuition.

Is your helper into yoga and stretching? Are they fond of music and dance?

The sky is the limit with the learning activities available.

Have a pre-selected yoga video tutorial or children’s workout video for your child to do with their nanny to appropriately and effectively channel your child’s extra energy!

If age-appropriate and suitable, have your child join your helper in the kitchen during food prep time.

Invest in a learning tower and safe, child-friendly kitchen equipment.

Carpenter Bee Kids sells a Kitchen Helper Tower with Cooking Set (THB 2,500). Available on Shopee.

You can ask your helper to include your child in tasks outside the kitchen as well, such as loading the washing machine and dryer, folding clothes, putting away the laundry, and basic cleaning activities such as wiping tables and counters.

Let your child have their own caddy with supplies (such as a washcloth, water spray bottle, or a non-toxic spray, small bucket, etc).

Putting away groceries in the fridge and watering the plants are also common favourite activities.

Often underrated, role-playing accelerates social and emotional learning by letting children practise perspective-taking, empathy, emotion naming, and conflict resolution.

In role playing, language and communication improve naturally: children expand vocabulary, practise narrative structure, and rehearse conversational turns while negotiating roles and plotlines.