Mummy Nannies

A Mummy Nanny is exactly what it says. As a mummy you also become a nanny and you look after other people's children alongside your own.

In a lot of cases, this arrangement is done privately, perhaps with someone you know in Mothers' group who is going back to work and is happy to employ you to look after her child. However, a lot of Nanny agencies also now advertise this option.

From a parent's perspective, it is cheaper than hiring a full time nanny. The cost of a nanny would be about $20 + per hour. A mummy nanny would charge from $14 upwards per hour.

There are very strict rules and regulations governing looking after children in your own home. In fact it is illegal to be paid to look after children in your home, without being registered with the government, either directly, or through a Family Day Care scheme. However, as a nanny you are generally looking after children in their home not yours, so the responsibility for public liability insurance, safety etc, falls on the parent. A nanny arrangement is also a private contract.

I have tried to find out what regulations there are governing nannying, and whether you can have a private arrangement which allows you to bring the children to your home, but I have not yet had success. I will keep you posted...

I have also approached two nanny agencies in Sydney with the idea of becoming a mummy nanny and it seemed that it's good when you have one child, but when you have two, parents are less interested. If they just have one child, the balance is wrong. This is where a private arrangement may work.