The Best Nanny Money Can Buy
in the New York Times
In this article in the New York Times today the author poses an interesting question. Do nannies making more annually than pediatricians offer better quality care than nannies being paid $15 per hour? What do you think?
As a nanny for three decades, I can say that for me, this comes down to what kind of lifestyle a nanny is most interested in living. There are nannies who have little life of their own, are on call pretty much all the time, and they are able to command extraordinary compensation for that commitment to their employer. That nanny rarely has the opportunity to fly home unexpectedly to sit beside an ill relative or tend to her own needs first, before those of her employers. For me, being more modestly, yet fairly paid, but having the flexibility from my employer to focus on my own family and things in my life away from my job has better served my needs. I am sure these elite nannies are very well qualified, and do bring specific skills to their job that most nannies do not possess (example French speaking, etc). But I don't feel that a $180,000/yr nanny is necessarily the "better" nanny as far as her care of the children or what she brings to the table. She is the best match for a family needing a 24/7 time commitment, which I would be unwilling to sacrifice for a job. That to me is the greatest difference.
ReplyDelete