Why do American nannies have such a different mentality?
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Anonymous
| I live overseas and my (American) friend has a Filipino nanny who nannies AND cooks AND cleans AND babysits. She doesn't have any relevant degrees. She's just a nice, reliable, hard working person. My friend doesn't seem to care about whether the nanny has any background in child development. My friend lives in a diplomatic area and every situation is like this. I've visited friends around the world and it seems the same. With the exception of my extremely wealthy cousin who lives in India and has two nannies assigned to his twins, plus a full staff for cooking and cleaning, every other "domestic" seems to cook, clean, and babysit. As a SAHM "domestic" myself for a while, I also cooked, cleaned, and provided childcare (with no child development degree). Why is the American nanny so...specific...that they are nanny and insulted to do anything that pertains to the household (see the post about the lady who didn't want to wash the family napkins) and are parents really that concerned with degrees etc-they don't seem to care overseas, that is for sure! |
Anonymous
| Perhaps the difference starts with nanny in versus babysitting... There's also the minor issue of being unwilling to deviate much from the contract, lest the parents think you will do anything. |
Anonymous
| Your nice lady who does whatever is needed, is not a nanny. She's more like a housekeeper who does babysitting, as needed. |
Anonymous
| If you grow up in America and have a strong work ethic, you don't become a nanny. You get a high paying job, since there are many opportunities here. |
Anonymous
I think that's a false distinction everywhere but in the US and DCUM. |
Anonymous
Non-American women are generally treated as 2nd class citizens and are accustomed to being abused and used by wealthier people. Your friend is a perfect example of someone who is guilty of abuse of power. A nanny provides child care. She is not a cook, maid, dog sitter, laundress (except EXCLUSIVELY laundry for children). |
Anonymous
I appreciate how you posted this retort highlighting exactly the entitled nonsense attitude OP is referring to without the slightest hint of irony. If I acted at my job the way the nannies around here claim to work at theirs I'd be fired so fast. |
Anonymous
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There's a lot of cultural differences and social issues one could mention, but I'll say this:
Part of it is probably that there is a bit of fear on both sides of the nanny becoming "too much" a part of the family. The bosses are afraid the nanny will be more beloved by the children and may "take over" the house (mostly the MB), so they want to limit what the nanny does. The nanny wants to avoid being taken advantage of so asks for a very explicit and specific contract, which lays out what she is to do and not do. I don't know that most nannies here have "relevant degrees." Many nannies are just experienced caregivers and then may take some relevant classes like CPR or maybe get a certification in child development, but it's pretty low-key in terms of study requirements. They aren't usually getting a bachelor's or master's in child development unless they plan to do something else in the future. |
Anonymous
| I agree to some extent. I'm surprised by the attitude of some nannies on here (e.g. some posting in the laundry thread) and am grateful that my nannies have never been like this. I do not expect my nanny to do tasks outside of childcare related duties, but I would also find it irritating if she did objected to doing simple, helpful tasks that she easily has time for such as adding handtowels in the kitchen to the laundry she is already doing. I am an employee, in a corporate environment, and it's pretty normal to do tasks that are slightly outside of the "official" tasks in your job description. Sure, if those tasks became the whole job and/or you were asked to work overtime without extra pay to do them - that's unreasonable. But I can't even imagine saying to my boss, "no sorry I won't print those documents because printing is something a secretary should do, I'm overqualified for that and it's outside of my job description." |
Anonymous
| The difference is that I didn't go to school and get a masters degree to clean your toilet. I'm paid $40/hr and do childcare only. You can clean your own toilet! |
Anonymous
I'm sure you're great at your job, but wow, $40 an hour? For that I'd want you to anything I asked you to. I also am amazed that there are many people willing to pay this when you can find excellent, educated nannies for half that. Good for you though |
Anonymous
I call BS on $40/hr. |
Anonymous
You can call BS as much as you want, I still earn $40/hr. Thankfully my boss respects my role as a childcare provider and doesn't ask me to do "whatever she wants" as a previous poster suggested. I am happy to do nursery duties and tutoring, but no I am not cleaning your house. |
Anonymous
| It has to do with culture and labor laws and wanting job security. Many of those women who nanny, clean, cook and run the household are paid very little. |
Anonymous
Sex? |