Nannies are professionals who earn a living by offering in-home childcare while parents are at the office, away on business, or engaging in other activities throughout the day.
There are three nanny types: live-in, full-time with 40-hour work weeks, and part-time with under 30-hour work weeks.
Becoming a nanny can be an excellent career for the right individual.
Some make an entire career out of being a nanny, while others try it and determine it isn’t the right path.
If you’re interested in becoming a nanny, then it’s essential to weigh the following pros and cons.
Keep reading to learn more!
Table of Contents
Pros of Being a Nanny
Many advantages to becoming a nanny exist, including:
1. Can Have Excellent Perks
Becoming a nanny can offer numerous extra perks compared to other childcare roles.
For instance, babysitters don’t make nearly as much money as nannies, and working in daycares requires employees to bend to other parents’ or the company’s demands, processes, and procedures instead of assisting a single family.
Also, working with a single family allows nannies to make a more personal connection with the children.
Furthermore, being a nanny comes with paid holidays, vacation time, sick days, and all the regular career benefits.
Employees who work for a nanny company also get health insurance and could have a retirement account.
Finally, nannies have a substantial influence on the development of and rule around the child’s growth.
2. Excellent Work-Life Balance
Unless you are a live-in nanny, there are few instances of working late or extra hours.
Nannies enjoy a significantly relaxed work week at around 40 hours per week.
That means plenty of leisure time to spend with friends and family or work on hobbies.
Some nannies only work part-time, which is under 30 hours per week.
Additionally, weekend work is rarely required as parents tend to the children on the weekends and evenings.
3. Free Lodging for Live-In Nannies
Live-in nannies live in the home or in a smaller house on the property.
Depending on the location, rent can be costly, so having your lodging covered can be an extremely beneficial financial aspect of the career.
Younger nannies tend to find this a desirable perk.
However, it is vital to ensure you are more conscious of the bad habits you have at home.
For example, if you’re messy at home, you must clean up after yourself, or if you leave lights on at your house, you cannot do that to another family’s utility bill.
4. Less Physical Work
While nannies must play some games, generally, it’s not an active profession.
The work is undoubtedly mentally demanding, but no pushing, pulling, or lifting is required, like in other disciplines.
For instance, construction workers constantly work with their hands the entire day.
Recent research has uncovered that those who perform heavy manual labor have health problems later in life.
5. No Time Pressure
Becoming a nanny is a great option because there is no time pressure like in other careers.
Although nannies must work all day, little time management is involved other than ensuring the children get to places on time.
For example, if a nanny cooks for children and is a few minutes sooner or later than usual, there are no repercussions.
However, being late with time commitments in an office job can make a big difference.
This equates to less time pressure compared to most other careers.
6. Relatively Relaxed Profession
Due to the excellent work-life balance and lack of physical work and time pressure, being a nanny is a relaxed profession compared to other careers.
Kids can become irritating and be in bad or defiant moods occasionally, but overall, being a nanny is a low-stress.
When looking after children, the most significant stress is ensuring they don’t wander or aren’t doing something dangerous.
Low-stress activities like playing board games keep them occupied and engaged and can be educational.
7. Rewarding Career
Nannies spend their days with one or several children within a single family.
As nannies spend countless hours with the kids, they get to know and love them while tremendously impacting their growth and development.
This includes the lessons they learn, morals they retain, and future steps they take.
Part of a nanny’s day is playing with them for lengthy periods and taking the children on educational outings, like to the museum or zoo.
As they grow up, you gain the pleasure of knowing you sent a well-adjusted, successful adult into the world using the lessons and morals you taught them.
This is a gratifying result over many years.
Cons of Being a Nanny
Like with any new career, becoming a nanny has several drawbacks that you should be aware of before entering the field, including:
1. Additional Duties
Many nannies perform more tasks than were initially discussed with the parents.
This is most common among live-in nannies who need help to separate typical duties from the small extra requested tasks.
Before starting with any family, creating a working agreement is critical to outline the tasks you will and won’t be responsible for completing.
Once drafted, it’s even more important to stick to that list since once you begin letting the little tasks slide, it can be more challenging to say no to the family.
2. Difficult for Children to Let Go
Since nannies care for and develop children who grow under them, they create a special bond and emotional connection.
This bond makes the nanny a special person in the children’s lives and can be a problem if the nanny leaves or the children become adults and move out of the house.
This can have a significant mental and emotional impact on the children and the nanny who raised them.
3. Heavy Responsibility
Nanny work is a time commitment as well as accepting significant responsibility.
The best nannies love participating in the child’s development, which is a delicate process.
Nannies typically spend more time with their children than their parents, which considerably influences their emotional and mental growth and well-being.
The risk of injuries or accidents can also be a risk for nannies since some parents are incredibly sensitive to the typical scrapes and bruises a child naturally experiences while in their care.
In addition, the job commonly requires nannies to transport children to and from appointments and school.
4. Lengthy Commitment
Taking on many roles requires considerable perseverance and commitment.
Since nannies are responsible for one or several children, families need at least one year of commitment since changing childcare providers can be emotionally difficult on children.
In addition to the one-year minimum commitment, nannies are committed to the child their entire day.
Full-time or live-in nannies cannot simply walk away from this job without causing emotional damage to the child.
5. Long Hours
Some nannies work a standard part-time or full-time week, while live-in nannies often work long hours.
Young children naturally wake up early, while teenagers must wake up for school or other morning activities.
Nannies are part of this early morning process until the child leaves for college.
At night, live-in nannies must tend to the children’s needs, especially when they are babies.
That means middle-of-the-night feedings or diaper changes, depending on the agreement with the parents.
Furthermore, nannies spend the entire day with the children until they are in school.
These situations are often exhausting aspects of being a nanny.
6. Remote Work is Impossible
COVID-19 changed how all office employees work, ranging from hybrid models to fully remote.
However, this has not impacted the nanny industry as they are hired to be physically present when the parents are unavailable.
In addition to watching over the children while the parents are at work, on business trips, or have other commitments away from home, nannies must also cook, clean, do laundry, and do other household tasks.
Then, nannies go home and have to take care of these same tasks in their personal life.
Remote workers can complete these tasks throughout the day when on breaks.
7. Subjected to Unstable Family Situations
As part-time, full-time, or live-in nannies, nannies could be subjected to unstable family situations, which will impact their working environment and overall work.
Tending to the needs of a volatile family can be challenging in many ways.
First, even if the position is secure, it can be difficult to get stuck in the middle of a feud and observe the negative impact it has on the children.
Second, suppose the parents are on the verge of a move, separation, divorce, or other massive change.
In that case, nannies could quickly become unemployed or take on more responsibilities than they originally signed up for.
Pros and Cons of Being a Nanny – Summary Table
| Pros of Being a Nanny | Cons of Being a Nanny |
|---|---|
| 1. Can Have Excellent Perks | 1. Additional Duties |
| 2. Excellent Work-Life Balance | 2. Difficult for Children to Let Go |
| 3. Free Lodging for Live-In Nannies | 3. Heavy Responsibility |
| 4. Less Physical Work | 4. Lengthy Commitment |
| 5. No Time Pressure | 5. Long Hours |
| 6. Relatively Relaxed Profession | 6. Remote Work is Impossible |
| 7. Rewarding Career | 7. Subjected to Unstable Family Situations |
Should You Become a Nanny?
Becoming a nanny requires a lengthy time commitment with heavy responsibilities and the potential for long hours, and additional duties are often tacked onto the daily requirements.
However, these are minor drawbacks for those who want to help families and develop a child throughout their lives.
Becoming a nanny can be an enriching career with considerable flexibility and other non-child-related perks for those who value the advantages over the disadvantages.
It is a hard job but it is always fulfilling since you get to help a family and maintain their homes clean. The bonus part is you get to learn how to raise kids before having your own.
I’m starting my part-time job as a nanny and I must say it is pretty tough. I hope I can get used to it very soon. I can relate to the cons very much!