How a nanny is better than a babysitter?

A nanny and a babysitter are two very different jobs. A nanny is someone you hire to look after your child at a certain time each week, whereas a babysitter is someone you hire for short-term nights out or long holidays. Although both of them help look after your children, there are many reasons why hiring a nanny is better than hiring a babysitter. Hiring a nanny or a babysitter is difficult, especially when you are trying to juggle family and career, but the decision can be made easy when you consider why hiring a nanny is better than hiring a babysitter.

• Experience: A nanny has years of experience in the field of child-care, which can include taking care of newborns, toddlers, teenagers, or even children who have special needs. On the other hand, a babysitter has limited experience, as taking care of children may not be their primary occupation.
• Education/training: In most cases, a nanny undergoes an education program that teaches childcare skills. Other than that, she must have experience with children in a professional situation that could include experience as a teacher, nanny, nurse, early-childhood educator, etc. In contrast, most babysitters do not have any formal education or training in childcare.
• Long-term support: A nanny is usually employed on a full-time or part-time basis according to the need of the parents. And in most cases, the childcare professional works with the same family for a long duration. This helps the children to receive constant support and care from the same individual. This care helps in the steady development of the young ones. On the flip side, a babysitter works on a part-time basis and is employed for a short term.
• Wide array of duties: Generally, the role of a babysitter is to just look after the children for a few hours when their parents are away. Other responsibilities may include cooking simple dishes for the kids and feeding them. In contrast, the responsibilities of a nanny are far more compared to that of a babysitter. A child-caregiver has to look after kids, clean their room, cook food for them, wash their dishes, ensure their hygiene, take them to school or park, etc. When you hire a nanny, you are basically hiring a house manager.
  If you would like to know more in detail about the duties of a nanny, please read this blog.
• Adaptability: As mentioned above, a nanny works for a long term with a particular family. To maintain this successful and long relationship, the childcare professional adapts as per the needs of the family and the parenting style of the parents. Her working schedule is also flexible according to the demands of the household. On the other hand, a babysitter stays with the kids for a small duration. Hence, she doesn’t have the required time and the necessity to adapt to the needs of the household to the same extent as a nanny.

If you have any children and are in need of childcare services, then it is highly recommended to hire a nanny instead of a babysitter. A nanny can provide various benefits to your family, whereas a babysitter cannot. Upon hiring a nanny, you could devote more time towards your career, while coming home to your children provided with peace of mind and stress relief. Hiring a nanny will also provide better security for your children during the time you are away from them.