What is a Housekeeper

[nannynick]

Nannies and Housekeepers are different but the roles seem to me to merge quite a bit.
At what point do you feel a nanny role changes to a housekeeper role?

How would you define a housekeeper? No childcare at all?

Hi NannyNick,

what a great question. I am a nanny and the following are my duties (childcare excluded): Changing the child's bedding, washing his clothes, tidying his toys and occasionally cleaning them, sterilising the bottles and from time to time clean the steriliser&kettle and cooking for the child.

Other things I am happy to do as a nanny if I have the time although I don't haave to do it: Emptying dishwasher, folding parents laundry, ironing my bosses shirts, pick up the drycleaning, a bit of shopping... (you get the idea.)

Things I would not want to as they are in my opinion the task of a housekeeper: Cleaning, lots of hoovering, being solely responsible for employers laundry&ironing it etc.

Hope that helps!

Nannies are supposed to undertake all duties related to the children unless otherwise specified in the contract. Cooking for them, taking charge of the care of their wardrobe, maintaining their schedules, making sure the areas the nanny uses on a daily basis are kept clean and tidy, cares for the toys but the emphasis is on the children only.

A housekeeper IMO is responsible for the rest, deep cleaning,, employers laundry and ironing, bosses bedrooms etc. Some undertake cooking for the parents. Others hire a cook or do it themselves.

Then there are things that overlap like the infamous dishwasher question, hoovering/ cleaning the children's rooms, running errands, waiting around for deliveries, supervising contractors.

A nanny housekeeper as far as I can see having done the role seems to be an employers way of combining two roles into one for the same pay as one. I can see how it works for school aged children but not with children under school age if the nanny housekeeper is to be sole charge. When I did it I worked for a SAHM who basically didn't want to do anything that didn't suit her at the time but didn't want to pay a lot either.

As a nanny I see my role to be primarily that of caring for the children but it also involves some things to do with the smooth running of the household.

This is not a list of my specific tasks but is what I do...

Changing the children's bedding, making their beds
Washing clothes (children's and adults)
Cooking for the children
Load/Unload the dishwasher
Hang clothes to dry
Fold and put away children's clothes
Sweep the floor / vac the carpets - on occasion, as and when I feel they need doing.
Hunting for lost items - School uniform seems to go walk about easily
Buying occasional things - this week so far: G9 type light bulb (I also fitted it), school water bottle.
Organise emergency sewer clearance/unblocking

So not just childcare but neither is it what I would say would be a housekeeper role.
I feel a housekeeper would do more of things like:
cooking for the household, so including adults
frequent tidying up and vac carpets
wash kitchen floor
clean the bathrooms/toilets
food shopping
Changing/washing parents bedding.
Ironing (if the family do ironing)
Cleaning kitchen and putting everything away neatly.

Dusting

These days I think the role of nanny vs Housekeeper is a bit blurred. Whilst a nanny may focus on children and a housekeeper may focus on housework, both jobs can include things that may be more of the other role.

I agree that the age of the children is a factor... a nanny may well become more of a housekeeper as the children get older, especially once they are all at school.

What other duties would you say are Housekeeper rather than Nanny?

Cleaning windows.

I once had a job where I had to clean the windows every two weeks of a huge huge house. I was young, lived with the family and too afraid to say something.

Organising & liasing of tradesmen such as window cleaners

Arranging things such as car MOT's

Instructing the gardener of employers requests

Cleaning the oven

Addressing problems with neighbours face-to-face because the employers don't want to do it (!)

Guiding the interior designer around the property giving guidance on employers prefferred choice of colour & materials etc...

Arranging service & repair of electric front gates, washing machine etc & being present at time of such events

I'm on a roll....

Changing parents bedding & towels

Adding salt to the water softener (as well as arranging for him to come & making sure you have payment for him/her)

...this blurring of roles sounds a bit like what a "Mum" or "housewife" does -

Think that there may well be more call for this kind of flexibility in role profile if both parents are working full-time in these difficult times....why would anyone be so precious about arranging an MOT - surely it's only once a year and we are all part of the team...and window cleaners -- what's the expectation here - that the parent takes an afternoon off to be around to hand over a tenner? It's tough out there, we are clinging on to our jobs for dear life - give a little - if we are out of a job so are you. I am working for a v large blue chip and the other halves of 4 of my team are out of work...

yes, it many mums I expect are doing all these things. However you don't see many (if any) advertise for a replacement "Mum" for their children. Instead they advertise for say a nanny and then define the role. Some nannies will then do more than their defined tasks, which their employer may love them doing, or may hate them doing, as nanny could then be taking on more of the role of "mum". At some point things might shift... whereby the nanny end up doing everything that mum does. Would that be a problem?

Nannies (and no doubt housekeepers) these days are more flexible in what duties they do I feel. Certainly I do various things that some people may feel fall under the role of a housekeeper. If my employers asked me to do something I don't currently do, I expect I would do it. After all I feel I'm there to help with the smooth running of the household.

Maybe all nannies these days are nanny/housekeepers - or does anyone disagree?

It depends on the job.
My current role is very much that of on old fashioned nanny. I run 'the nursery' I don't do any nursery duties apart from cooking for the children and there's a 'nursery team' Quite frankly I hate it.

Other roles have been very much more blurred or 'mucking in' I think the phrasing usually is. I've never minded doing other things. It makes for an interesting varied role and agree with NN, the nanny is there to help with a smooth running of the household.

I am a nanny housekeeper.

I do nursery duties mainly but my housekeeping doesn't really include housework (apart from cleaning rooms my charge uses) but the actual running of the house; sorting deliveries, arranging workmen, running errands, cooking the family meal.