5 Things to Consider When Buying a Nanny or House Help Uniform in Kenya

Many Kenyans are now adapting to the culture of dressing their nannies in uniforms. This is good trend to be encouraged because of the reason stated in our earlier article. As an employer, once you have decided you are going to purchase a uniform for your nanny, what are some of the thing to consider? Below are a few things you might want to look for.

Colour

It is advisable to choose bright colours for your nanny’s uniform, the reason being that, with bright colours, one is able to see when the uniform is dirty and therefore, this will discourage your nanny from wearing her uniform for a long time without cleaning. Hence, good hygiene will be adhered.

Fit

When we say fit, we do not mean custom fitted house help uniforms. Most nanny uniforms come in standard sizes S,M,L,XL.

You are required to choose uniforms that are well fitting but not too tight to hinder swift movement when the nanny is working. A uniform that is too loose fitting will also cause problem of movement for the nanny.

Design

Here, we are not talking about the latest fashion trends. One should look for designs that are practical. One of the main key things to look for is availability of side or front pockets on the uniform. When a nanny is carrying out her daily chores, she may need to carry her mobile phone in order to pick up calls immediately or make emergency call when required, therefore, she should have her phone close at all times. When she goes for a short walk with the children, she will need a place to put the house keys without carrying heavy luggage.

Fabric

The type of fabric that a uniform is made of plays a very important role. Too heavy a fabric and the nanny’s movement is restricted, too light a fabric and the uniform experiences a faster wear and tear. You want to look for medium weight fabric for perfect functionality.

Quantity

This is the number of uniforms that your nanny should have. A good rule of thumb is for the nanny to have three uniforms. This will ensure that there is always one clean uniform, one wet one and the one she will have on at any given time. Any number higher than this is a matter of choice and the employer’s willingness and capability to spend money on house maid uniforms.

5 Reasons Why Your Nanny Should Wear A Uniform

In Kenya, nanny uniforms or house maid uniforms are work clothes worn by ladies in this profession or line of work. In the recent year, both the nannies and the employers are warming up to the idea of nannies being dressed in uniforms, unlike some time back when this was not thought about. The advantages of encouraging your nanny to wear uniform are vast and below are a few.

Protect Street Clothes
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A nanny’s job entails a lot of spending time with the babes, entertaining them, training them, feeding them and many other baby related activities. Nanny’s roles also involve some level of cooking and cleaning activities in the kitchen. All these activities will make her clothes dirty and therefore, frequent washing is necessary. With time, this will result to her clothes being worn out and tattered, and will force her to keeping incurring cost of buying new clothes. A nanny's uniform will come in handy to protect and preserve her street clothes from frequently need for replacement.

Comfort and Ease of work
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House help uniforms in Kenya are designed with functionality and comfort in mind especially if bought from suppliers specialized in making maids' uniforms. These uniforms allow free movements, turns and folds. This is a vital requirement for your nanny when she is carrying out her day to-day job. This freedom allows her to do her job comfortably without feeling too cramped-up. 

Look Decent and Presentable
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Nanny uniforms give an employer some sort of say on the type of attire a nanny will wear while in the employer’s home. An employer is able to, when purchasing the uniform, decide on the height, shape, fitting, colour and quality of the fabric of the uniform. In cases where a nanny would otherwise not be presentable or decent because of their wardrobe choice, a nanny uniform does come in handy.

This will also alleviate any kind of friction between the nanny and the employer due to choice of clothing.

 Hygiene
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In addition to looking decent and presentable, uniforms assist employers in ensuring personal hygiene and cleanliness of the helps. This will be achieved by employers choosing brightly coloured fabric for the uniforms that clearly show dirt stains.

Identification
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Whenever, a nanny is outside the house with the children, the uniform will make them easily identifiable to anyone. This is an advantageous situation to both the nanny and the employer especially with security issues in Kenya.