Within the past few years, nannying has seemed to replace waitressing as the mainstream summer job for college students, as the hours are more flexible than ever and the paycheck is fatter than almost any other part-time job. This summer, I decided to take on the regular babysitting gig and learned quite a bit about the nannying biz and all the baggage that comes with it.
It’s not easy.
Whenever I answered adults’ questions of what I was doing this summer with “nannying,” I felt as though their single-worded “oh” responses were contributing to this stigma attached the summer nannying, as if it’s not a real summer job. Let me tell you: nannying can get real. No, “nannying” does not consist of me staring at my phone while the kids watch TV all day. Keeping kids entertained for hours upon hours for several days in a row is a hard task. Although we young adults take a beating for our shortening attention spans, kids have it way worse. After five minutes, they no longer want to do the fun craft you took the time to plan for them. Imagination and endless energy are a requirement for all good nannies.
It pays really well.
Although federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, nannying tacks on a much higher minimum wage of at least $10 an hour. Plus, taxes usually aren’t taken out either, raising the number of bills in nannies’ wallets even more. Some families even reimburse for gas or pay for your meals if you have to drive their kids to their activities across town or take them out to eat. Cha-ching!
It can be really fun.
As a college student, I rarely get to spend time with kids, as I am constantly surrounded by fellow college students and adults. During my nannying job, I was reminded of how fun spending time with kids really is. You get to do silly and childish things that you typically wouldn’t do with your friends or grown-up family, such as finger painting or pretend grocery shopping with plastic food items. What’s even better is that you get paid for doing it!
Your feelings will get hurt.
It’s stunning, the lack of filters children seem to have these days. Sometimes the ridiculous comments that come out of their mouths will make you laugh; for example, one kid I nannied told me that I needed to shave my arms. Yeah, okay? However, there are certain statements made by 6-year-olds that can actually be very rude and offensive. Sometimes they don’t realize what they said, and at those times you have to either let it roll off your back or talk to their parents about it. But, sometimes they do realize that what they said was rude and said it to purposely hurt your feelings, and that is the absolute worst. Unlike a typical work setting where you can complain to your boss about a strange customer who said something rude to you while you were trying to help them, this is your boss’s kid you’re dealing with. You have to be very sensitive when explaining what happened to the parents, and you also have to be even more careful of how you react after the child says the remark to you. You can’t just say something smart-ass back to a customer you’ll probably never see again; you’ll be going back to spend all day with this kid for the rest of the summer, and you don’t want things to get tense.
Families are sometimes unreliable.
Although working for a family rather than a company or business usually allows for a lot more flexibility, sometimes that “flexibility” can work against you. Within minutes of you leaving your house to start your day with their children, the parents can text you saying, “We won’t need you today! See you tomorrow!” Even though it may seem nice at the time to have a day off, one day out of a five-day week can really hurt your paycheck. And if these “surprise days off” become more regular, you may as well have taken that hostessing job at your local restaurant because chances are you’d end up making more money (and getting more hours!).
There are also instances where families can kind of screw you over or take advantage of you, and there’s nothing you can do about. For example, when the mom is “running late” from work and can’t be home for another hour, you have to cancel whatever plans you had right after your shift was supposed to be over, because you can’t just leave their kids there alone.
I’m not ready to be a mom.
Occasional babysitting is one thing, but nannying almost full-time can really take its toll on you. Although I liked the kids I took care of and I’ll miss the paychecks flowing in, I was ready to be done with my nannying job by the end of the summer. If there’s anything I learned from this job, it’s that I could never take care of kids for years full-time. Basically, I’m not ready to be a parent, and I don’t want to be for a long time. Teens practicing unsafe sex should really take on a nanny job and I’m 100 percent sure their lack of contraception methods would quickly change.
