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A great excuse to applaud Australian nannies
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This week (6 to 12 November 2017) the Australian Nanny Association (ANA) is celebrating home carers, governesses and nannies with its annual Nanny Appreciation Week.
As the name suggests, Nanny Appreciation Week is a chance to thank nannies for everything they do, and recognise their hard work and dedication all year round.
And whether you have a nanny or are a nanny, there are great opportunities to get involved.
Nanny Appreciation Week
Here are five ways to show a nanny that you care:
- Share #nannyappreciationweek on social media
- Buy them a gift, flowers or first aid renewal
- Get involved with the ANA
- Give them an end of year bonus and/or a pay rise
- Just say thanks!
Nannies are encouraged to share the Week with friends, colleagues and employers. Plus, Annual Nanny Appreciation Week Picnics are being held throughout Australia for nannies.
For more on these events, visit the ANA website or head to Facebook.
A nanny by another name
And while we're busy celebrating the excellent work of nannies, let's introduce the 'nanager'.
Half-nanny and half-home manager, Lauren Brown is a new kind of nanny who provides quality child care and effective home management.
Ms Brown says, "I realised I'm really good at that additional layer on top of nannying, the cleaning and managing."
So, as well as caring for and educating children, Ms Brown offers services like cooking, cleaning, filing and going to appointments.
And this expansion of duties brings good news for child carers and families.
Ms Brown says she is 'reinventing' the nanny role and that this offers an opportunity for better pay.
"Nannies are pretty underpaid but when we slot in the house duties as well there is a higher pay rate and more room to negotiate," Ms Brown explains. "For me it's making it a valuable career option for those who love working with children outside of childcare."
Nanagers also make it easier for families to balance work and life. Ms Brown says, "It's really magical to see the impact on working parents and especially working mums when I get to see mums return to careers that they love."
Speaking of careers, Ms Brown has trademarked the Nanager name and launched a business, Nanager, connecting would-be nanagers with families.
The nanager idea also has the support of the ANA. Its president, Annemarie Sansom says, "The nanny housekeeper role has always been around, but it went by the wayside and I think what Lauren is doing is reinvigorating that ... I think the business is fantastic."
And while some child carers will be drawn to the idea of being a nanager and others will prefer to focus solely on childhood education, Ms Sansom says lots of ordinary families are using nannies, often in partnership with other child care.
She says that the ANA is finding, "Families utilising a combination of services including centre daycare and nannies. We are finding a larger proportion of people using nannies part-time."
Which means there are a lot of nannies – and nanagers – to celebrate this Nanny Appreciation Week!
More nanny resources:
CareforKids.com.au has a host of information about nannies and to find a nanny, search here. Read more in The Sydney Morning Herald.
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