I keep running into ageism. I am middle aged and I keep running into parents who are not happy with their young 20 year old nannies who do not follow instructions and don't care about safety. But parents want the young nannies, yet I being older and more experienced know so much more AND have overcome a learning disability. I live in a college town and run into the 20 y nannies all the time in ads etc. How can I change how the parents view me? To be 20 again...lol
How do you know they are not hiring on account of your age? Have they implied this?
ReplyDeleteSamantha - that is a really smart question. I go thru the same thing this nanny goes thru as I work with children and you just know. It's actually illegal to directly say you won't hire someone because of age, race etc but people do it all the time. It's a very small town and she knows all the young nannies so she knows when one gets hired instead of her. I can also tell you that I experience the same thing that meaning no offence to young people, older people usually know more. I have been placed in situations where someone wants me to TRAIN the young people to do my job! That is actually something that happens in the work world quite often - thank you again for your input !
ReplyDeleteI’m the OP of the post. They had a 19 year old nanny whom they described as a poor work ethic and major issues. I’m over 40, educated and experienced. They offered me the position, and backed out of the offer at the last minute because their nanny burned them to the point they didn’t trust me. That experience made me realize I’m not too old to nanny, just too old to be a nanny in a college town.
ReplyDeleteAgeism sucks indeed. However, I've also ran into plenty of families that want older nannies who have preferably raised their own kids and supposedly know more about the industry. I guess more are waking up to the fact that age doesnt equal knowledge and raising your own children although a bonus is not the same as taking care of other people's children professionally. It's the same way some are finding out that younger nannies are not necessarily more adventurous and energetic than older ones... everything boils down to the individual. It's unfortunate that you have to deal with this ignorance but I encourage you to keep up the good fight. Nobody can take away your experience, passion and worth. So, keep striving and you will eventually connect with the right family that actually deserves you!
ReplyDeleteNanny work is a physically demanding job. I'm 34 and I'm starting to slow down a bit so I dont actively look to look after toddlers, I exclusively work with newborns and dont have to worry about running and jumping any time soon lol so try looking for babies to ease in.
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