I didn't say you WERE snobby, I said that statement made you SOUND snobby. And again, I'm happy for everyone's sake that you weren't furloughed. |
Agreed. Nannies are professionals in the sense that they get paid to provide a service. In this sense, grocery store clerks and janitors are also professionals. However, nannies are not "bona fide professionals" (true professionals) within the meaning of the labor laws. This is why they must be W2 employees and must be paid for every hour worked. In the eyes of the law, nanny work simply does not involve enough creativity or knowledge to qualify the nanny as a professional. Nannies are presumed to work to the standards and specifications of the employer, without exercising independent judgment or discretion as to significant matters. Until this changes, nannies will never get the respect of teachers and other early childhood workers. They just are not learned or creative professionals in the same sense. And nannies will continue to feel frustrated that they don't get the respect from parents that they feel they deserve, while parents will continue to feel frustrated by the fact that there is no quality control in the nanny field, as a direct result of the fact that anyone, with any level of skill and training, can call herself a nanny. |
Parents don't want that, though, they'd have to pay more! |
Not necessarily true. What we'd probably see is a two-tiered system of childcare, with licensed professional nannies earning on one payscale and unlicensed paraprofessionals earning on a lower pay scale. They'd be performing many of the same tasks, but the licensed professional would probably bring a greater body of theoretical knowledge about child development and more creative teaching ideas to the work. Parents could choose which option makes the most sense for them based on budget and goals, much as a law firm can choose whether to hire a lawyer or a paralegal and a medical practice can choose a doctor or a physician assistant or nurse. |
I get what you're saying, but do you really believe parents want to have to choose between licensed and unlicensed nannies? Those who can't/aren't willing to pay enough for the licensed professionals would NEVER want to admit that (to themselves or their family/friends). |
We've already got a version of that with higher-cost legal nannies, and lower-cost, under-the-table nannies. Parents select what they can afford and are willing to pay for.
Yes, I think the market would sort itself out. They could make non-licensed nannies call themselves "babysitters" or something. |
Not necessary to force a title change. There needs to be an entrance standard and certification/licensure process, just as there is with every other profession. That is why the current system with different nannies pricing themselves differently does not work. Nannies simply set a price. Sometimes the market works these things out during the hiring process, but parents often don't know whether or not the cost is justified until the nanny is already on the job. Hiring and firing as a means of quality control is inefficient for everyone, and unfair to the nanny who is decent but gets fired because she is not as good as the parents expect at a given price point. Many legal nannies just aren't worth the price they are seeking, because they are basically just full-time babysitters instead of early childhood development specialists. |