Why do American nannies have such a different mentality?

[Anonymous]

Ah! Speaking of India and help there, India is known for having "servants" there is no such thing as a nanny, its just a "Bai" who does everything and is treated like a low class citizen, because they are normally the illiterate and less fortunate people. Indians are known for exploiting the less fortunate and taking advantage of them.
In America, Nannying is a full time job/a career. which involves special classes and education, people specialize in childcare, we are not considered "servants' and every job be it big or small is respected here sand people treated as humans and with respect, hence salary is expected.
I refuse to work with Asian people because no matter how long they have been in this country, or how educated they are, they still hesitate to pay, and treat people like slaves. No matter how good they may seem, it does slowly starts showing.
Before anyone jumps down my throat --- I am Indian!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BS with that $40; 40 in your dream ?

why are u all giving her a hard time for $40/hr. I am not sure what state, city or worlds u all work at but $30-$40 is not that unbelievable.
I have made $25-30 and not $40... its all about where you work, your experience, education and skills. Anyone and everyone claims to be a nanny
and set the bar so low it makes it hard for professional nannies. But people who know, know, and only they value their nannies and respect them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BS with that $40; 40 in your dream ?

why are u all giving her a hard time for $40/hr. I am not sure what state, city or worlds u all work at but $30-$40 is not that unbelievable.
I have made $25-30 and now $40... its all about where you work, your experience, education and skills. Anyone and everyone claims to be a nanny
and set the bar so low it makes it hard for professional nannies. But people who know, know, and only they value their nannies and respect them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah! Speaking of India and help there, India is known for having "servants" there is no such thing as a nanny, its just a "Bai" who does everything and is treated like a low class citizen, because they are normally the illiterate and less fortunate people. Indians are known for exploiting the less fortunate and taking advantage of them.
In America, Nannying is a full time job/a career. which involves special classes and education, people specialize in childcare, we are not considered "servants' and every job be it big or small is respected here sand people treated as humans and with respect, hence salary is expected.
I refuse to work with Asian people because no matter how long they have been in this country, or how educated they are, they still hesitate to pay, and treat people like slaves. No matter how good they may seem, it does slowly starts showing.
Before anyone jumps down my throat --- I am Indian!

Same. I have a policy to never work with foreigners. give me Americans white or black and I will do my best to care for their children as long as I am treated with respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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!

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

This is the problem here!!!!! If you cannot afford to pay a nanny $40 an hour that is a “You” issue. However, there are wealthy employers who are willing to pay that because it may be a drop in their bucket. The psychology of it is when you let people know that they are valued in every way including their monetary compensation, they are more inclined to do over and beyond what is required.

[Anonymous]

what a dumb unquestionably.

Those filipino nannie’s are being taken advantage of. I’m the third world… “nannie’s” are basically slaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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!

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).

this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1

Not everyone, obviously opportunities don't exist for everyone, but there are more than in the Philippines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why people are so up in arms. When I was a SAHM, I did all those duties 24/7 and did not get paid at all. I don’t see the problem in having staff handle more than one duty.

Um staff?? I am a nanny and do not want to clean anyone’s toilet—except my own. I know many people who are okay with doing childcare and house duties. I am not one of them.

And they aren't nannies. They're sitters and helpers who do whatever. Nannies limit themselves to the needs of the children.

Perhaps it'd be more accurate to call them substitute mothers if in fact they're expected to do whatever the parents would do if they were there with their children.

Bingo! Although I know lots of biological mothers who outsource the housecleaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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!

Lincoln Freed the Slaves - Seriously you don't own people.

[Anonymous]

Because there is no concept of human rights or worker's rights in those countries.

My husband is from a SEA country. His family has 2 full time live-in maids, 2 full time live-in nannies (one for each of his sister's kids) and 2 full time live-in male workers (they do the driving, gardening, cleaning outside the house, and random other physical work). I was astounded when I first visited to stay over and saw them working. I asked what time all of them started to work and what time they end- there is no set time to any day, so they are at the beck and call of their employers from the moment they wake up to around 10pm when DH's parents (the elders) go to sleep. They are also 'on' everyday including the weekends. One needs a car to leave the house in the suburbs to go anywhere, and obviously these workers do not have the means to pay someone to drive into the city etc. so they are truly prisoners of the house. The only holiday they get is 1 week off from work per year when they are sent home for religious celebration (like Christmas to New Years here).

I asked DH how much one person cost and he said on average around $200USD/day, and that even normal MC couples can usually afford at least one live-in person as a nanny/housekeeper.
It is truly a different world out there, there is no equivalent to work like that in the US.

[Anonymous]

When we said goodbye to our beloved nanny after 9 years, I told her please, please do not work for foreigners. I've llved abroad and I saw how nannies are treated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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!

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

Another Nanny here that makes $45 hourly/guaranteed hours and all benefits. I was a pre-k teacher and made hardly any $
A good, excellent and educated nanny will cost you the money you don’t have. You gotta pay to play!
The days of cheap labor are over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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!

I call BS on $40/hr.

Not BS at all. See the job board Adventures Nannies and look at salary range of an experienced Nanny. Thankfully, I don’t have to work for cheap labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're not all this way OP. My American nanny (in the US) does cook our dinners, keeps our house extremely tidy, and without asking will do things like wash our towels, take out trash, change sheets on a bed etc. We never made these part of her job, she just hates sitting around during nap time and does them.

I think there is a two prong problem - one I agree some nannies are crazy about not doing anything that is not nanny - I can't imagine getting away with this at my job or any other. You do what your company needs of you within reason.

The other though is so many parents here are obsessed that their children are engaged AT. ALL. TIMES. They would not choose for the nanny to be cooking dinner while the kids entertain themselves in the living room - they want stories to be read, activities planned, on the floor playmates for their kids all day.

It's essential to strike a balance between fulfilling work responsibilities and recognizing the importance of children having independent playtime. While some nannies might need guidance, parents should also appreciate that downtime fosters creativity and self-sufficiency. Finding a middle ground ensures a healthy environment for both nannies and kids.