Hey everyone! About 6 months ago I asked if going to a three month Nanny school program was worth it. Well I would like to update you all. It was for me! I found the education to be well rounded and focused on all aspects of childcare. The Teachers were excellent and I loved the girls I attended classes with. I did not like the people who ran the school and found them to be unprofessional. Luckily we rarely had to deal with the office and were able to focus our attention on school work. The three months went by very fast. The worst aspect of the school was lack of Jobs. Out of the large class that attended only three girls had jobs. The school made us signed a 6 month commitment that said we could not sign with another agency. Luckily I asked my lawyer and she said it was not legally binding. I was able to land my dream job in a major city working for DOUBLE my previous salary legally, rent free, full benefits, retirement plan, 6 weeks paid vacation, and many other perks. I truly love my employers and I feel that all of my hard work has paid off. The family stated they would not had hired me without my Nanny education. A lot of the girls who had a difficult time landing jobs were young and inexperienced. I feel that if they had waited a year to attend school and worked as a Nanny they would have had a much easier time. I think going to school speaks volumes to the families that hire you. I am a professional career nanny with the certifications to prove it!
congrats! Where was your nanny school located? I'm thinking about going but dont know where to look
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'm glad you followed your heart and things worked out for you.
ReplyDeleteI know some people aren't fans, but I think nanny school can be a great asset for those just starting out with little childcare experience.
Congrats on the job and benefits!
Congratulations, that sounds like a dream job.
ReplyDeleteI have heard very little about nanny schools. The one nanny I know who did a course felt that it wasn't worth it. I would love to read about your experience and what the classes covered. How about writing a piece for this site? I bet a lot of nannies and moms would be interested.
Congrats as well! I totally agree with Manhattan Nanny. I am quite interested in hearing about your experience in detail. Good luck to you with your new position!
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
ReplyDeleteYou have my dream benefits.
I would like to see schooling for nannies to become the norm as a standard entry point for the profession.
I think it would help weed out those in it for quick money, and also help foster some respect for the profession.
I also wonder where this nanny school is located? OP, are you in the U.S.?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree...I would also love it if you took the time to write us a little article about your personal experience, the pros + cons of nanny school, etc.
I am on the fence about nanny school. While I think it is great to educate girls on being a nanny, I truly believe that personality plays a major role in finding an ideal nanny. Chemistry is SO important to find the right fit.
A nanny can have all the credentials on the planet, but if her personality is not compatible w/my own, I won't even consider her.
Working as a nanny in someone else's home, around someone else's children, is such an intimate job setting. It is CRUCIAL that both sides {Parent/Nanny} have excellent chemistry in order to have a successful working relationship. Since precious children are involved, this must take full precedence over everything else.
Of course chemistry is important.
ReplyDeleteChemistry is important in every job which is why in any field you work in not everyone is hired after an interview.
But so is knowing the basics. Lately, I've come across too many nannies that have great personalities, but have little practical knowledge. For example knowing it's typical for young toddlers to bite or how to prep breast milk.
It need not be a college degree program.
A year post high school would be enough to cover the basics, your standard child care skills, EEC basics, first aid & CPR, defensive driving, contracts & benefits. Basically everything we get asked about here time and time again. Plus a brief internship.
I'm thinking of something like the non degree programs the CCs in my area offer year round that run anywhere from $800 to $7000 a year and most are covered by scholarship.
Just like any other field a person would need to hone their skills by actually job experience, but it doesn't hurt to help young nannies start of with a good foundation of the basics.
I'm greedy as in I want the person I "click " with and that I don't need to teach EEC basics to.
I also think too often the fact that in the USA that nanny requires no standard entry level of education is often used against nannies when they seek out employment.
I feel the same way about the field I'm moving into ( midwifery) and hoping at some point to see one standard entry point.
Please post a follow up OP.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know more about your experience.
@Bethany:
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree w/your statements.
The primary reason that chemistry reigns over everything else in this field is due to the fact that a nanny works in her employer's actual home and interacts w/that employer's child. The dynamic is much different than what one would expect in a corporate setting. In a more traditional business environment, people are usually hired more on education and experience vs. their loving personalities. Esp. for positions where the person works on their own...not alongside another person.
I parented three children and I believe my life experience has taught me more than I could ever learn from some nanny school.
Did you know some colleges actually do grant college credit for "life experiences?"
I have lived and experienced all of the stages of a child's development 3x over.
I am the type of nanny who will NEVER call the parent at work exclaiming, "Help!! What should I do??!"
Many families like that I have successfully raised children already. By "successful" I mean that my children have come out well and are not delinquents.
@ Amy Darling it's fine to disagree. That's what makes the world go around.
ReplyDeleteI just think that on the one hand we cannot get upset about not being treated as professionals, and at the same time refuse to do the things that professionals do such as having a standard entry point to the profession.
I am well aware that many colleges do count life experience toward credit. Most ask for verifiable career experience.
I'm mostly speaking about new or young nannies without work experience.
I could see the possibility of a nanny certification program taking into consideration verifiable work experience for a nanny that had been in the field for many years.
While I'm sure you are great nanny and mother that can't be said for all parent/nannies. All parents are not created equally. So in my book being a parent does not automatically a great nanny make.
To your other point I do not think chemistry and adequate education are inseparable.
Are you asking me to believe that it is impossible to find a nanny with excellent background knowledge, and certified training that you also have chemistry with?
Yes chemistry is important.
I think those nannies with the interpersonal skills to succeed in the field would also succeed in a formalized training program.
But, I also believe it's important for us to ask for better for those that follow us in this career.
I honestly feel that part of that better is a standard for entry point.
Phone cut me off too much rambling.
ReplyDeleteHaving certification won't automatically make someone good.
Just like having an MD doesn't automatically make someone a good doctor.
The degree or the certification is the starting point the skills you acquire along the way including the interpersonal ones gives you success and a long lived career as well as clients that love you.
Bethany:
ReplyDeleteI think it is possible to find a good nanny who has education, experience and a good personality. However, the nanny "profession" is not one that should mandate formal training. That is like saying that ALL parents should be certified before having kids. Mother Nature prevents this as you know.
I think a Nanny School is doing what Modeling Schools have been doing for many years.
They are only in it for the money honey. And it would be foolish to waste one's time + money on learning how to be a great nanny just like Modeling Schools are useless for teaching people to be "good" models.
Look at all the successful people in the modeling world that have never even stepped foot in a Modeling School. The agencies who want them teach them all they need to know.
Likewise with nannying. There are many successful and talented nannies out there making good bank. Just because one has a Nanny School certificate on their resume depends on the parents who are hiring. There will be some who will not even care whether a potential nanny went to Nanny School...Most parents in the United States have never even heard of it. What they will take into account are excellent references and a clean background check of course.
It's not like a Modeling School graduate will be more successful if she graduated from Barbizon. There are many successful models working now who were simply discovered for their beauty which usually takes precedence over everything else in that line of work just as chemistry does in a nanny's line of work.
You are comparing apples to oranges here.
The only degrees and certifications that truly matter and will get one ahead are the college ones. Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's & Ph.D's.
Not some Nanny School certificates.
No offense intended, however it seems you are not living in reality.
#nannyschoolsarescamsbeware
I am the OP. I really weighed the pros and con of going to Nanny School. I knew that I could get a job on my own without credentials (I had for 6 years and had long term jobs.) But it really does bother me that ANYONE can call themselves a Nanny. I honestly believe all PROFESSIONAL in home childcare workers should have to pass a test and be licensed. I also think parents should be required to pay a fair LEGAL wage, give benefits, and know the in and out of hiring an employee. Going to Nanny school elevated the clientele I interviewed with. They all had staffs and would not work me to the bone because they paid on the books with overtime and could hire people if they needed more coverage. Going to Nanny school helped open the door to a better career path. I loved working for regular people but they didn't want to pay legally and needed me for odd hours and weekends. I'm now making more money, working less hours, and still get to do what I love. Nanny school is not for everyone. It just happened to be for me.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'm really on the fence about this one. I know that I would never pay money to a nanny school, because I was a nanny (or daycare teacher) for 12 years and I have an ECE degree. Nanny school would be a waste for me. But for some younger, just starting out nannies, it could be worth it. But I would agree with Mila. If you're willing to pay money to a nanny school for a certification, why not just go to a reputable college and get a degree?
ReplyDeleteI agree that you do not have to have any formal training to be a good nanny. I did this for years before getting my degree, and quite honestly, I didn't learn anything from school that my years of experience hadn't already taught me. I think what makes a good nanny is the willingness to learn as much as possible, both on the job and independently. I read constantly and try to stay abreast of the ever-changing AAP recommendations. My worry is that someone who has a nanny certificate might get lazy and think she knows all she needs to, but her information will be out of date eventually.
OP: I should mention I also have a college degree as did a third of my class at Nanny School. All the certification I have expire within a year and I would need to get re certified.
ReplyDelete