Family Assistant vs. Traditional Nanny
Life can be overwhelming and hectic to say the least. Most days seem way too short to get it all done before the next days begins. Life can feel even more hectic if you have a family to take care. But, imagine if someone was there to help and make sure nothing falls between the cracks. That is exactly what a family assistant is for! But have you heard of a family assistant and figured it was just a nanny to help with child care? Well guess again. Here are some FAQs about family assistants, how they vary from a traditional nanny, and how they can help bring order to your hectic life.
Q: What is a family assistant?
A: A family assistant is someone who has experience with child care as well as an administrative background. Usually, this person is college-educated — or has at least a few years of school under their belt — and can do a wide range of tasks from cooking family dinners to running errands to acting as a parent’s personal assistant. The biggest difference between a nanny and a family assistant is that the person in question is specifically there to cater to the parents rather than the children exclusively. Yes, they’ll be responsible for taking your kiddos from point A to point B, but they’ll also be able to keep your house organized and cook dinner on the nights you can’t swing it.
Q: What are the benefits of hiring a family assistant vs. a traditional nanny?
A: Typically the nanny is hired to do only childcare-related duties. A family assistant does have nanny experience, but she also has the personal assistant experience, so that really allows the parents to spend more time with their children, while also having someone around who is a professional childcare provider with a great driving record and usually a bachelor’s degree. So it’s the perfect mix between a nanny and a personal assistant. The family assistant can run errands, go grocery shopping, take the kids to school, activities or doctors’ appointments if and when the parents need her to. But she also really works with the parents and has the flexibility to do whatever is needed. One day that may mean running errands all day and helping with the home office. The following day it may mean doing more childcare if the parent needs to be away from the home or focus on their work.
The nanny industry really emphasizes [limiting a nanny’s duties to childcare only]. Agency owners or placement specialists will remind a nanny that she is a nanny; she’s not a housekeeper or a personal assistant for the family. In some ways that’s really good, because then she’s not taken advantage of. But it also goes to the other extreme of a nanny saying, “That’s not my job. Why are they asking me to go run errands?”
Many families don’t necessarily need a personal assistant and a nanny; they want two-in-one. For example, we have clients who are home with their children but have three kids at three different schools. So it’s not solely about [outsourcing] childcare; it’s about finding someone who can pick kids up from school safely and take them where they need to go.
Q: Are family assistants more expensive than nannies?
A: It typically is a little bit more, especially if the family is looking for someone who has both nanny and personal assistant or family assistant experience. It really depends on location and duties, the number of children and their ages. If a family wants a Mandarin-speaking Family Assistant to cook for six vegetarians, that’s going to be more expensive than your typical Family Assistant who’s mostly just running errands and helping with childcare. In Manhattan, the minimum hourly rate would be at least $30-an-hour for a full-time family assistant as opposed to $20-$25-an-hour for a nanny. Nationally, many families also typically give a generous weekly gas allowance or the standard IRS rate for driving their own vehicle for any work-related errands.
If you are considering a family assistant, please contact the Joanna Gray Agency with any questions or to find the perfect match for your family!
