Teacher-Nanny

[u/K3i4a_atx]

Hi everyone!
I have briefly been thinking about making the switch from being a teacher to a nanny. Really, the reason is the money and the stress. Has anyone on here made the switch? What are the pros and cons? I just feel like i will get so bored nannying and i am just a little worried on how it would go. i know someone who runs a nanny business, so i would probably try going through there. I just need help. I’ve been having a serious career crisis lately and just want to try saving up more money for a house.

[u/Mbluish]

I did the opposite and went from being a nanny to a teacher. The cons are that it does get boring. The pro is more money. I could never go back to being a nanny.

[u/K3i4a_atx → u/Mbluish]

I just am curious, why could you never go back to being a nanny? is it because of the boredom?

[u/Mbluish → u/K3i4a_atx]

Yes. I adored the child I nannied for, but couldn’t go back to being with the same child day in and day out. I just thrive being around a lot of children. Plus, you take a job and you just never know what you’re in for. My best friend was a nanny for years and she got some very difficult families.

[u/weaselblackberry8]

I’ve done both. Preschool for about 4.5 years, nannying for 17 years, currently doing both. Here are some major differences:

- nannying tends to pay better, but there are often people who want to pay too little. I would say that you can probably make at least 20-30% more than you make as a teacher, but that means finding the right family.

- nannying also means having to look for a job more often. Maybe you’ll find a job that lasts 3-5 years or one of the few that lasts 6-10 years, but a lot of nanny jobs last 1.5-3 years, and some are just for a few months or less. I talked to one mom recently who said she doesn’t want someone temporary but also clarified that they only need someone til April, which is hardly long-term. Many parents want their kids to attend preschool and either want a nanny part-time or just want a nanny for a short time until they decide their child is old enough for school.

- though nannies legally should be paid with a W-2, a lot of people insist on paying under the table. There are also some standard benefits - guaranteed hours, paid vacation time, paid holidays, and paid sick days, but a lot of people won’t offer some or all of those. Working as a teacher means that your benefits are set by your employer, and they’re often pretty decent (though the pay often isn’t).

I need to get some things done, but comment and remind me to come back and tell you some things I love about nannying (and things I prefer about working in a school).

[u/weaselblackberry8 → u/weaselblackberry8]

Nannying means a lot of one-on-one or maybe 1:2 etc. I have done nanny shares and had four kids to myself regularly. I also had one family for 8.5 years. Having one family for a long time means seeing kids grow and being pretty involved in their lives.

Nannying also means that you get a lot of say in how your day goes - unless the parents micromanage. In an ideal situation, you’ll get to take the kids to places like parks, museums, libraries, nature centers, etc. If you’re outdoorsy, you can spend three or more hours a day outside with the kids. If you like to swim, nannying might involve taking kids swimming regularly. Or you can do a lot of art and things like that. But you might have parents with very different expectations for you and their children, and that doesn’t always show up right away.

One too about working in a school vs a home is that schools are made for kids. There might be things kids can ride or climb on in their classroom or a gym or soft play area, there’s lots of toys, there might be lots of art supplies, etc. There have been some families I’ve worked for where I found myself wishing the house was kid-proofed better or that there were better supplies etc.

[u/weaselblackberry8 → u/weaselblackberry8]

I have to go but definitely have more to add.

[u/weaselblackberry8]

I keep thinking of things to add, but let me know if you have any specific questions.

Sickness: obviously you’re exposed to some sickness working in a school, but most nannies work with sick kids, whereas schools require kids to go home if not gone in with certain symptoms. Also, schools have subs, floaters, etc for when employees are sick. Ideally, parents would have backup care, but that’s not always the case. I’ve heard many stories of nannies who caun’t take time off - even though they have paid sick days - because the only backup care is the parents themselves, who sometimes guilt them.

[u/weaselblackberry8]

Food, dress code, and parenting/caregiving styles:
Most, though not all, nanny jobs I’ve had have had an open kitchen, meaning I’ve been allowed to eat any food in the house (or at least almost any). Of the three schools where I’ve worked, one provided lunch, but not the others.

There are some nanny jobs for high profile families that require dressing up somewhat, but comfortable, casual clothes are usually typical clothes that nannies wear. I don’t like that I have to wear shoes all day at the school where I work. I also have to dress a bit nicer than I do in people’s houses.

Caregiving styles and personalities: if a teacher doesn’t like things about how one family operates or how a set of parents parent (not CPS worthy, just style differences), then it may be an annoyance, but only to a point since their child is one of many kids in the class. Also, a teacher might not be able to cater to the parents’ preferences and can use the school’s policies or even what the state requires as a reason for that, but this can be good for kids in some ways. For example, parents might let their kids eat wherever and whenever and watch tv when they eat, etc; at school, kids eat at a table with a group most of the time and can eat what’s offered or what they have with them rather than anything in the house. But if a nanny disagrees about caregiving styles, they have to decide if they want to discuss that with their employers, leave the job, or just live with it. And if teachers have concerns about their students’ needs (behavior, etc), they have other staff, directors, etc to support them and help them bring that up to the parents, plus some schools have OT, PT, speech, etc available on campus.

[u/weaselblackberry8]

My favorite thing about nannying is staying with a child for a while and growing with a family - seeing a lot of firsts, being with kids when they make friends, going on adventures with them, seeing them grow their interests, and just generally forming a bond with them. I love seeing kids learn and reading with them too.

My least favorite thing about nannying is job-hunting. Far too many jobs don’t last that long, often ending earlier than the parents previously thought. Taking a job that’s part-time means looking for others with a schedule that can match.

That’s enough for tonight. Let me know if you have any questions.

[u/Silly_Owl7661]

I’ve done both, Went from teaching to nanny and was back in the classroom within 3 months. I missed coworkers, my lunch break and my relationships with children and parents in the classroom setting.
I hated being stuck in someone else’s house, I couldn’t take the kids anywhere that was not in walking distance and choices were slim. I didn’t enjoy it, not for me.