Helping Families Run Smoothly

Many busy families hire a nanny, sometimes called an "au pair", to help tend the children and assist with basic household tasks. While some nannies are expressly hired for the purpose of caring for the children, many nannies do double duty as house chefs or maids, and are expected to clean up after the entire family.

There are as many different reasons to hire a nanny as there are styles of handling the job itself. In all cases, though, a nanny is required to take care of someone else's child.

Mother's Little Helper

In very busy households, ordinary household chores often fall by the wayside, pre-empted by time spent at work, with children, or with one's spouse. One way for homes to cut costs is to hire a nanny in place of a maid and child care. The maid may still be needed once in a while, for "deep-down" cleaning, but the nanny is asked to handle basic household maintenance chores.

A variation of this work-intensive job is one where the nanny, rather than cleaning up after everyone, is expected to clean up after the children only. While this might sound easier, as any parent can tell you, cleaning up after children is an uphill battle at best!

The Life of a Nanny

One of the biggest tasks of a daily nanny is changing, storing, and washing baby nursery bedding. Baby nursery bedding may need to be washed or changed two to three times a day, depending on the baby's diet and elimination routine, and the parents' standards of cleanliness. If the parents will balk at the sight of drool or spit-up on the baby nursery bedding, then it's the nanny's responsibility to change the baby nursery bedding as soon as she can. Frequent washing puts undue stress on baby nursery bedding, so the nanny must make sure there is an adequate stock of baby nursery bedding to begin with. She may, at some point, be required to purchase new baby nursery bedding to replace any baby nursery bedding that is too worn or faded for the parents' tastes.

Washing, changing, and storing baby nursery bedding runs a close second to the same tasks for children's clothing. Being a nanny is hard work, especially in a home with several small children.

Nanny Observation

In homes where the nanny is left alone for long periods of time, parents might install "nanny-cams" to keep an eye on her activities. These are often hidden in some innocuous piece of decoration in the children's rooms or also in the main rooms, such as the kitchen. Since they must offer an unobstructed view, they're often in plain sight, disguised as something else - a plant or stuffed animal, for example.

As long as nannies act appropriately and fulfill the functions of their jobs - watching, feeding, and caring for the children; cleaning up dirty dishes, soiled baby nursery bedding, and scattered toys - they shouldn't be worried about parental surveillance. Parents are obligated to ensure their children's safety, even when they aren't personally present.