The Impact of Just One Nanny
As the classic African proverb goes, “it takes a village to raise a child.” The saying is true now more than ever. Many parents who juggle careers and families sometimes need a little extra help. Those who are lucky enough to have hired help understand just how much their nanny does for their family. However, do you know how much a nanny’s work impacts life outside of the family?
A nanny can have a positive influence on a child, but she can also have an impact on the parents’ lives, the community, and the economy. Nannies lend support to individual families, but their impact has a ripple effect that extends far beyond one family. In honor of National Nanny Recognition Week, we’d like to share just a few of the ways nannies make a difference in the world.
The wellbeing of children
First and foremost, a good nanny can have a positive effect on a child’s cognitive and social development. Younger children tend to experience less stress when they receive quality child care at home. And when a child’s caregiver is warm, sensitive, and positively engaged, young kids benefit. With increasing rates of stress and anxiety in children, this can have positive effects on kids both now and in the future!
Hiring a nanny can also benefit the children’s wellbeing in certain cases. Children with special needs who require more personalized attention may do better under a nanny’s care, rather than at daycare or preschool. It may be less expensive (and less chaotic) to hire a nanny to care for multiple children, rather than sending everyone to a child care facility outside of the home. Plus, a nanny is more likely to notice changes in your child’s behavior right away, whether it’s something positive (she learned a new word!) or negative (she’s having trouble sleeping at night).
Personalized care from a nanny can improve the lives of individual children, which thereby improves the wellbeing of their parents, families, and communities. The effects of one great nanny in a neighborhood can spread further than the family she works for.
Parents’ health and career
Parents today feel pressured to succeed at their jobs, raise smart and well-behaved children, stay healthy, and spend quality time with their families. However, sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all of that. Raising children is a separate full-time job on its own; if both parents have careers, how can they devote the proper attention to both work and family?
Bringing a nanny into the family can lesson some of that stress. Having a trusted and trained professional to take on some of the burden of child care allows parents to excel in their careers, provide for their families, and worry just a little bit less. Parents who leave their children in the care of a loving, dedicated nanny can devote more time and full attention to their work. When the work day ends, parents can spend the commute home decompressing, rather than rushing to pick up the kids and avoid paying late fees at a daycare.
Benefits to society at large
It might seem like a grandiose claim, but we think nannies are a vital part of a happy and healthy society. Kids who receive more personalized care from nannies rather than group facilities like daycare may get sick less often, reducing the spread of colds and illnesses (especially during flu season!).
Parents who are able to hire nannies can spend more time in the office focusing on their work, providing for their families as well as society at large. Working parents have a huge impact on the economy, the people in their community, and even the world. Doctors, teachers, research scientists, firefighters: these professionals all do work that contributes greatly to society. And when they can trust in a professional to care for their children, their attention can be focused on the kind of difference they want to make in the world.
Think of parents whose jobs keep the community running smoothly, too: police officers, service workers, farmers, and electricians. When they can’t do their work, other people feel the effects. However, no matter the industry they work in, parents in good physical, mental, and emotional health are better able to do their jobs, thanks to the support of a nanny.
Recognizing all that nannies do
Finding a great nanny can help you raise happy and healthy kids, but the benefits go beyond that. With a little parenting support, you might experience better work-life balance: you can focus on one area without feeling stressed and guilty about the other. Those positive effects ripple outward, too. Happy and healthy kids make for happy and healthy parents, both of which can have a positive effect on their community and society at large. Nannies truly do make the world go round!
To all of the nannies out there, Happy National Nanny Recognition Week! To the parents and families reading this, now is the perfect time to tell your nanny “Thank you” for all he or she does! Stanford Park Nannies would like to recognize all of our wonderful nannies and the impact they have on families, children, and our community. You are so appreciated!
