What Does a Nanny Do?
Nannies are childcare providers who either live in or out of the household of the children they care for. They’re responsible for keeping these children safe, entertained and fed. In addition to watching and caring for the children, Nannies may also be responsible for cleaning the house, watering plants and feeding pets. Nannies may take care of babies, performing tasks like bottle-feeding and changing their diapers. They may also be in charge of toddlers or older children.
Some Nannies are expected to have a driver’s license or a car to transport children to and from play dates, school classes or appointments. They may also be asked to run errands for the parents.
Nanny Skills and Qualifications
While there is no predetermined set of skills and qualifications that are required for a Nanny position, most required attributes are related to the willingness and ability to successfully educate and take care of children. Your Nanny job description should mention the skills that are required to keep a child safe, entertained and well-educated. The most important skills are:
- Passion for working with children
- Patience and communication skills to successfully interact with the children, understand their needs and make them be receptive to your requests
- Organization skills to create a daily schedule that encompasses all the activities the parents want their children to attend
- Problem-solving skills to be able to successfully deal with everyday issues that inevitably occur
- Cooking and cleaning skills for nanny roles that also imply additional duties, such as making meals for the children and cleaning their living spaces
Nanny Salary Expectations
The average hourly wage for a Nanny is $15.97 per hour. Salaries can drastically vary according to the Nanny’s range of work responsibilities, experience and reputation, number of children in care, geographical location as well as other factors.
Nanny Education and Training Requirements
While there are no official requirements for people who wish to work as Nannies, there are certain requirements that you should include in your job description that increase the odds of finding qualified applicants. From an educational standpoint, a Nanny should have at least a high school diploma or an equivalent. Ideally, they would also have a degree in child development, teaching or psychology.
Nanny Experience Requirements
When it comes to experience in dealing with children’s livelihood and education, typically the more a potential Nanny has, the greater the odds that they will do a proper job. You can reflect that on your Nanny job description by mentioning the need of at least three years of experience in being a Nanny or any other form of professional child care services.
Job Description Samples for Similar Positions
There are other professional caregiving roles aside from that of a Nanny that involve similar duties and required qualifications. If this is not quite what you’re looking for, here are other related job description samples: