I rarely travel with yayas. Although they make my life easier in taking care of the kids, I prefer to leave them behind especially when we’re going on a vacation. For me, I prefer that we spend some alone time with the kids once in a while. Still, I’m willing to make an exception if we have to stay in a house, not a hotel.
A few months ago, my family and I decided to go on a quick vacation in Tagaytay. Since we stayed in a house that allowed us to cook in case we get hungry in the middle of the night, I decided to bring yayas with us. At least, they get to see Tagaytay and a well-deserved break too. 
Because it is summer vacation and just in case you decide to bring helpers on your next vacay, here are some of the things you need to remember. 
1. Provide them a separate bed, sleeping area or a separate room.
Privacy is very important to me. Even if we treat yayas as part of our family, I don’t feel comfortable sharing everything with them, except food. Every time we bring our “angels,” I make sure that they have separate sleeping quarters where they can do their own thing. This is to give them some privacy too. In case of common CR, I also tell them that we will use it at this certain time so we maintain a schedule of use.
2. Allow them to relax.
Admit it. Having extra hands when you’re out could be really helpful. However, keep in mind that you are on a vacation and your yaya deserves some rest too. Fine, you can get the sterilizing out of your hands but don’t rely too much on them. Family vacations should be a good time to spend as a family. Calling them for extra help is fine but don’t burden them with too much work.
3. Order food for them.
Haven’t you noticed? Every time you’re out in a restaurant and you ask yaya what she wants to eat, she will always say, “Kahit ano po” or “Kayo na po bahala.” Most of the time, yayas are not familiar with what’s hot and what’s not in the menu so do the initiative and order food for them.
What I do is that I don’t always get the cheapest one in the menu. Order reasonably-priced food so they could say they get to experience what the place has to offer. I make it a point not to be too selfish on them when it comes to food since they still take care of my kids.
4. Be conscious on your spending.
The fact that we go on vacations says one thing: we can afford it. Still, this doesn’t mean we need to flaunt how much money we have. Never discuss the amount you spend on food or hotel bill or shop in expensive places where yaya is around. This is why I order food for them. I don’t want to hear comments like, “Ang mahal pala dito.” Flaunting how much we have can lead to temptations – and we don’t want that.
5. Remember that they have needs too.
Yayas are humans too. Just because she is able to get an all-expense paid vacation, that doesn’t mean we should forget their needs too. I usually bring plastic or candies in case of motion sickness. Bring extra blankets especially when you’re going somewhere cold. Allow them to explore, enjoy the place and take pictures for souvenirs.
6. Always remind them of the importance of safety.
Yayas tend to get excited whenever they visit a new place. I’ve seen how our helpers react when we go somewhere new and they get giddy. Therefore, make it a point to emphasize the importance of safety. Give them a tour of the hotel and remind her to be extra vigilant since this is an unfamiliar place. The kids are still the main priority.
Ayi is a stay-at-home mom of two. When her kids are in their best state, she keeps up with chores, work, and ensuring that her sanity is intact. Join her as she navigates through this rollercoaster ride called motherhood.
Thanks for these tips. i once heard a story when the family forgot to order food for the yaya because everyone’s busy swimming. Poor yaya. So it’s nice to have a reminder like these that yayas are human beings too that deserve a break, attention and care.
Thanks 🙂 Yes, despite the horror stories, there are still a number of yayas who deserve special treatment too, lalo na if matagal na sila 🙂
I agree with all your tips, especially about not disclosing the expenses to the yayas. My mom’s very strict on that rule so I remember it quite well when I had my own helpers. 🙂
Tempting kasi for them. Mahirap na :))
You just reminded me why we decided not to have a yaya. It’s not that I don’t want to be kind or humane, it’s just that I’ve always been hands on with my kids, and sometimes, it’s hard for me to have another person to look after. Syempre kailangan mo pa alalahanin ang food nya, pagod na ba sya….most often, before your own needs.
Great tips for moms who has yayas. I, myself, don’t have one because I’m a wee bit selosa. LOL.
I don’t have yaya or helper but your list is a great help. Yaya is a human being too, I ate in one restaurant, I saw one yaya standing beside her amo while eating. Di na nga siya pinapakain, para lang siya tanga na nakatayo sa tabi ng table. #pooryaya
Grabe naman. I am rarely selfish when it comes to food. Yayas kasi take care of the kids kaya I make sure to treat them nicely.
Nice tips 🙂
We haven’t really traveled much with a yaya. I think only once when my husband couldn’t go with us on a trip and I had to go with my son. We’re about to take a trip though and I’m excited to take yaya with us so she can see other places aside from our area naman. I want her to enjoy also.
That’s nice 🙂 Yayas deserve a break too, especially when they provide excellent service 🙂 Kung may tumagal lang ako na yaya, isasama ko din everywhere :))
I used to hire my aunt as my baby’s carer so we never treat her as yaya talaga. Now, our househelp is a cousin and I’d usually tag her along on mall trips or out of town so we could have an extra hand for the baby but again, we never treat her as yaya too. Thankful ako talaga coz I have families who help us up. Iba padin kasi talaga yung nakakakilos ka ng maayos kasi basically, family mo din ang kasama mo.
Good for you! I don’t have cousins or aunts who could take care of the kids. I wish meron since mas comfortable nga talaga to leave the kids with them.
This is something I stopped thinking about since 2.5 years ago when we decided to no longer hire household help. One less thing to worry about. But this is really helpful to those who have helpers. 🙂
Great tips…i’ll keep this in mind once we have a yaya on board 🙂
We decided not to hire helpers anymore, but this is really helpful in case we get a yaya in the future 🙂
I have never tried bringing a yaya during a vacation (and most probably would never experience doing doing so), but if I were, I would do the same things that you did.
I can never understand why some families look at yayas like they are people with very much lower status. It’s nice that you put this up and make our kasambahay feel that they aren’t naiiba to us.
That’s true. But sometimes, I can’t help but feel bad too because no matter how we treat them nicely, there are lots of yayas who don’t even value what we do for them.
Great tips for those who need to have yayas during vacation. We don’t bring our yaya with us when travelling though since we backpack and travel really cheap.
I rarely bring yayas too kasi iintindihin ko pa sila. But if we can, why not. It gives us extra hands too, especially now that my girls are super kulit.
Getting helpers are quite expensive these days considering the high cost of living but the most important thing is that you are able to find people that you can count on to take care of your home and kids with all the depressing news around, finding a good and honest house help is quite rare nowadays.Nice tips there and your yayas must be so lucky to have you as their boss. Thanks for sharing. -Macy
I hope they realize that! Hahaha. Most of yayas lasted months lang :))
We don’t have yayas as of now, but planning to get one when I return back to the corporate world. hehe Good tips to note!
We call our yayas angels too. Coz I think katulong, maid or yaya is kind of degrading. My family practices most of the tips you’ve shared in this post. And I definitely agree with not discussing expenses or prices when the angels are around to avoid temptations.
It pays to treat your nanny well. She will treat your kide like her own.
These are great tips! We haven’t had a yaya for the longest time!
Thank you 🙂 I’m yaya-dependent and it’s something I can’t get away with. But most of the time, they’re in charge of the household work. I don’t trust them when it comes to handling kids. Lol!
Sorry for the late comment, 🙂
Eksakto naman itong blog post mo sis, sa balesin issue regarding yaya meal tuloy. hehe! 😀
Anyway, this is a great post! 🙂
Oo nga eh 🙂 For me kasi, yayas naman talaga deserve proper treatment. Lalo yan they take care of our kids when we’re away. Pano kung bigla nalang nila tangayin diba?