The Fantasy Nanny

The ideal Nanny will take charge of the total management of the household and children without taking over. She will not only take care of the children, but she will also clean the house, do the laundry, have the cars serviced, supervise the construction of the new bathroom and have a gourmet dinner in the oven when the tired mother/father arrive home from a hard day’s work. If the children nap for 30 minutes, she will polish the silver and clean out the refrigerator. On Saturday evening (every Saturday evening) after working a 55-hour week, she will be pleased to serve at the parent’s dinner party. The perfect nanny will always be on time (despite an 18-inch snowstorm) and will have reliable transportation that never fails. She will always be able to stay late when a family’s schedule suddenly shifts. She will never be sick. She will have impeccable references, common sense and plenty of experience. She will work whenever the family needs her (regardless of the schedule or the number of hours) and will be on call for evening and overnight babysitting (for a little extra money, of course).

She will do everything that any perfect mother and housekeeper will do and will never expect a word of praise for her efforts. She will rise to any and every occasion with intelligence, grace, energy, wit and good humor. If she has a life of her own it will never interfere with her work. She will gracefully disappear without pay when grandmother comes to visit or when she is otherwise not needed. She will be open to the idea of travelling with the family because she will get to have a free vacation just for looking after the children.

She won’t expect a lot of money for her services because all she has to do is look after the house and the children who are, without doubt, easy to take care of, good natured, well behaved and extremely bright. Because of this, she will never expect to receive a raise or an increase in benefits. She will become a member of the family, and stay forever, or until the family no longer needs her, whichever comes first.

The Reality Nanny

A Nanny genuinely enjoys looking after the children and may or may not be willing to do housework. She will prefer a set schedule but will be able to offer some flexibility if she has some notice and a clear understanding of the flexibility required before she accepts a position. She will generally fall into one of these categories:

She will be a young single woman in her early or mid twenties who will have day care, teaching and/or consistent babysitting experience with reasonable references. She may have a couple of years of college and will tend to be active and independent.

She will be an older, mature woman who has raised her own family and will be drawn to in-home childcare because of her personal experience with children. Her education and work background will be varied from the licensed day care provider to a retired teacher.

She will be a person who sees herself as a childcare professional. She may have a degree in Early Childhood or Elementary Education or she may be a nanny with at least 3 years of professional childcare experience.

Regardless of her background, education and age, she will be searching for a position with a reasonable family, either for several months duration or longer and be willing to work full or part-time and be willing to make a commitment and keep it. She will need enough money to pay for living expenses (even if she lives in) because most likely her nanny position is her only source of income.

She will be dependable and prompt unless personal emergencies or illness occur. Her references and experience will be varied but all should speak of her caring nature, her sensitivity to children, her ability to plan a fun-filled day and her concern for children’s safety. Her background may or may not reflect her current attitudes, habits situation and abilities. She will have common sense and good judgment, which will be verified whenever she’s put to real test. Her personal life will have as many unexpected twists and turns as anyone else’s.

She will need consistent praise, reinforcement and hear the work "thank you" often. She will receive decent pay and reasonable benefits for her hours of unsupervised work with children in a home not her own. Without open, regular communication, she will feel unappreciated and unsure of her contribution to the family and will find reasons to leave, sometimes with little warning.