Nannying

Do you love hanging out with children and taking care of their daily needs?

Nannying can be a rewarding side hustle that allows you to work in a healthy environment while enhancing your knowledge about newborn care. It can also be a gateway to developing long-lasting friendships with the children’s parents and families.

Let’s check out the basics on how to start, the certifications required, and where to find nanny jobs that pay well by the hour.

An Overview of Nannying: A Primer

A nanny is a childcare professional hired by parents to take care of their kids at their early childhood stage. They can work on a part or full-time basis depending on a family’s needs. Some parents opt for a live-in nanny to ensure real-time care, especially for infants.

As a child care professional, you’ll be in charge of tasks about early childhood development. This can include infant care, feeding, washing, and dressing children, behavior guidance, playtime supervision, driving the kids to and from school, etc.

Becoming a nanny requires certain qualifications to ensure you’re skilled at handling children’s needs and are adaptable to various family scenarios. Technical skills like first aid certification and special needs care training are critical elements to becoming a professional care giver.

Being a nanny can be among the great summer jobs for teachers who have extensive background in dealing with kids.  

How Much Can Nannying Earn You?

A full-time nanny can earn between $10 to $32 an hour or up to $66,000 a year. This figure fluctuates based on factors like childcare experience, job specifics, and location. The highest-paying states for nannies include California, New York, Colorado, Texas, and Oregon.

Having specialized knowledge like a childhood education degree, CPR, and first aid certification also helps you charge higher for your services.

In most cases, the average pay rates already apply to nanny services regardless of how many children are in the family. However, few adjustments can be made, especially if you’re caring for children with special needs.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Nannying Side Hustle?

There are no industry-specific legal requirements to apply for this job. Anyone who genuinely cares for children can become a nanny, and startup costs run between $40 and $100, enough to cover most basic first aid and CPR certifications from the American Red Cross.

If you’re looking at becoming a professional care giver in the long run, investing in an associate’s or bachelor’s degree is an option to boost your credentials. This will cost you a minimum of $3,000 a year for an associate degree and a couple of thousand for a formal degree in early childhood education.

Where Can You Find Gigs as a Nanny?

Families, especially first-time moms and dads, look for care givers all the time. Let’s look at the best options to find nannying side hustles.

Where to Independently Find Nanny Gigs

Nannying involves building personal connections with families, and inexperienced college students may find it difficult to land their first gig.

A great way to start is to find gigs around your neighborhood. Is there someone nearby who’s raising children and might need some extra hand? What about family and friends? Begin by letting your inner circle know about your interest in becoming a child care giver.

If you’ve recently been certified, take the initiative and share it on your social media and childcare community forums. Attending local family events and gatherings is also a great way to get the word out about your services.  

Gig Economy Companies That Offer Nanny Gigs

No luck finding nanny gigs around your area? An alternative way is to go online and advertise your skills to a bigger group. Here are two trusted sites to check:

• Care.com: A user-friendly platform that connects clients and professionals for services like childcare, senior care, housekeeping, pet care, and tutoring. You can customize your profiles, set hourly rates, and provide info on the specific services you offer, like meal preparation and grocery errands.
• Sittercity: An online marketplace for families to find nannies, tutors, and babysitters. You can filter jobs based on your specialty and set your profile to highlight your experience and skills.  

Why You Should Consider Nannying as a Side Hustle

Apart from the opportunity to care for children, here are other reasons why nannying can be a great side hustle:

• Active Lifestyle: Nannies are often on the move. From preparing the children’s food to playing and sending them to school, expect to be in a dynamic environment with no boring hours.  
• Minimal Educational Requirement: While having an early childhood education degree is an advantage for a nanny, it’s not a requirement. Basic certifications are enough, and they’re low-cost and easy to acquire.
• Meaningful Relationships: Being a nanny allows you to impact children’s lives positively and build a strong relationship with them and the entire family. Even if you’re doing it part-time, it’s one gig that nurtures trust and long-lasting friendships.

Problems With Nannying

Being a nanny has some challenges that might deter you from committing to it regularly. Aside from potentially becoming a victim of scams, like Care.com scams, here are some of the serious problems worth thinking about:  

• Long Hours: Nannies aren’t only expected to wake up early to prepare meals and send kids to school if that’s part of the arrangement. They can also be responsible for changing diapers and tending to newborns’ needs during the wee hours. This means disrupted sleep patterns and potentially long hours of staying awake.  
• Tasks Easily Accumulate: It can be easy to get lost in doing all chores at home, especially if you live with the family. Some tasks that may not originally be part of your job description can creep through your to-do list without you realizing it.
• Lengthy Commitment: Many nanny gigs require a lengthy commitment of at least a year. Unless you’re looking at making this a long-term career, the tenure can be a drawback, especially if you have other jobs to take care of.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Nannies Also Do Housework?

Most nannies do housekeeping tasks that revolve around their childcare responsibilities. These can include cooking meals for a child, washing their dishes, checking water safety, keeping their room organized, and arranging toys.

Some nannies agree to do general housework for the entire family for an added fee.  

Is Nannying a Skill?

Becoming a nanny requires skills, combining someone’s innate personality to impart care and the technical abilities to execute it. You get better at it through experience and by exposing yourself to various household setups and child temperaments.

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