By Gena Pitts
Childcare Resources
As you enter into the domestic care industry, you have a lot of options to choose in the booming in-home childcare industry. Most people use the term ‘babysitter’ to describe a Nanny, a highly-trained and experienced caregiver.
Some even question if being a “nanny” is really a career.
The answer is: Yes. I wouldn’t call a job that pays $15 per hour and up a “hobby.”
The following are terms to help you with the lingo and determine which position is right for you and your family.
Definitions of Domestic Care Positions:
Nanny
Mostly everyone is familiar that a nanny is employed to undertake all tasks related to the care and development of a child or children.
- In addition to child care, duties include coordinating activites and creative play, light-housekeeping related to cleaning after children, meal planning and cooking or light-cooking, and generally the children’s laundry. House-cleaning is not included unless negotiated in a work agreement.
- This type of nanny has a good deal of hands-on experience. The nanny’s work schedule ranges from 25 to 45 hours per week, with an appropriate pay of $12 per hour and up, and $300 to $550 per week, depending on terms negotiated by both the nanny and family.
Babysitter
Some people use the term Babysitter instead of the word, Nanny but the job description and the wages are different.
- A babysitter is usually this caregiver is a high school or college student who provides temporary care of a child or school-age children on a part-time bases generally on weekends and date-nights with a wage of generally $10 per hour.
- Duties include creative play, light-meal preparation and cleaning dishes, bath care and bedtime, and straighting the house after play-time and meals. A background screening is highly recommended as with other positions, in addition to checking references.
Professional Nanny
This caregiver is a career nanny with educational training including child development to provide children with tutoring school lessons, providing physical exercise, social and creative play, emotional support, positive behavior, and safety.
- Nannies with formal training and certification have choices of high profile jobs ranging from $400 per week part-time to $750 per week full-time including benefits. Live-in positions include room and accomodations, the use of a vehicle to take children to activities, in addition to traveling with the family on vacation, perks and benefits negotiated with a weekly pay.
- Light-house cleaning for the family is included, including washing and folding laundry when a child or children are napping, and running errands, such as grocery shopping and picking up dry cleaning.
- Once the children are in school and the nanny is no longer need full-time for school-age child care, the families and nannies can negotiate a job description with less hours for after school care.
It’s a benefit to register with a local nanny agency that is familiar with your city, including schools and community activities to assist you with communicating guidelines, and helping you negotiate terms and conditions of an employment agreement. Parents pay local nanny agency placement fees that vary depending on the type of position for recruiting, screening, and referring nannies.
Housekeeper
Often a housekeeper is a professional who cleans a family’s home or estate on a full-time basis. Responsibilities include complete house cleaning and maintenace, along with washing and folding the family’s laundry. On occasions, a housekeeper supervises older, school-age children as needed, such as with transportation to school activities. They are not expected to plan activities for children, but they generally run errands and drop off non-driving high school students to activities at the parent’s requests. The job description and wage can vary according to the terms and conditions, and can include care for younger children.
Au-Pair (American)
This is an American caregiver who lives with a family, and is a native of one of the territories or countries under the control or ownership of the USA, and is hired independently without the assistance of an agency. These caregivers are mainly young women or men from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean with on-the-job experience as a babysitter. The Au-Pair American’s work schedule varies around the family’s schedule with a negotiable wage of generally $300 per week, in addition to live-in accommodations; a provided automobile with insurace and gasoline; health insurance; travel with the family along with other benefits.
Au-Pair (Foreign)
This is a young foreign-exchange student who lives with an American family, and receives an allowance for living expenses in exchange for helping with the child or children. They have experience, and are required to have a federally approved one-year visa. They required to take educational courses during their one-year of cultural exchange in the USA. The approximate pay is an allowance or stipend generally $200 per week in addition to a $500 education credit for tution, complete live-in accommodations; a provided automobile with insurance and gasoline; health insurance and benefits. Families pay an up-front au-pair agency placement and program fees of approximately $8,000 for recruiting and screening an au-pair for placement.
Doula
A Doula is a woman who is trained professional who has a significant experience in childbirth and provides emotional, educational, and physical support to an expectant mother.
- Doulas are not medical professionals, and they do not deliver babies or provide medical care such as a Midwife, who is a registered nurse with a degree in addition to a degree and training in obstetrics, gynecology, and midwifery to deliver babies in hospitals, birthing centers or in a home.
- Most Doulas have completed a certification that requires 30 hours of classes and the attendance of two more births.
There are different types of doulas to serve before, during, and after childbirth, and wages vary from $500 to $3000 or more, depending on the number of prenatal visits, labor and delivery support, postpartum visits, and unlimited phone and online support before and after birth, especially after a cesarean delivery.
- Research shows that a lot of pregnant women in the US do not use doulas as much as relying on a new grand-mother or great aunt, but research also shows there are benefits to help improve labor and delivery.
- Post-partum Doulas are typically called an Infant Nanny and does not have formal obstetric training. She is employed to assist a mother after delivery to care for an infant or multiple births with feeding, diaper changing, cleaning, nurturing, comforting, and adhering to sleep schedules. Often Mother’s Helpers are required to administer medication to unwell babies or young children according to parent’s specific instructions, and assist with housekeeping, laundry, cooking and cleaning dishes, and running family errands such as grocery shopping and picking up dry cleaning.
- The wage for Mother’s Helpers is generally $18 per hour, depending on the parent’s job description and extensive experience in infant care.
Governess (Private Teacher)
This is an old, archaic word that is a professional employed as a teacher in a private household, which is a career that is booming and in great demand since more children are home-schooled.
- This type of professional is a certified or licensed teacher or qualified education specialist who is employed full or part-time to provide in-home schooling and child development training for school-age children.
- A governess functions as a teacher and parental supervisor, and do not take on the responsibility of house-cleaning or care for an infant or personal care of a young child.
- Their approximate wage is $45,000 to over $60,000 per year.
With so many working parents, who have children that are home-schooled, the need for experienced, trained, and certified caregivers has significantly increased.
With so many positions to choose in the domestic care industry, which one will you choose for a career?