Whether to hire a babysitter or a nanny is a choice that most parents face during the course of child upbringing. The term babysitter is used to describe a person who looks after your child at your own home; usually when you are away from home nanny agency near me.
But, a babysitter could also be hired to take care of children when they are out of home – at a wedding reception when parents may be otherwise preoccupied. Very often, a day care arrangement where several children are cared for by either an individual or a team of caregivers is called a babysitting arrangement.
Basically, if you are looking to have your children looked after for a few hours every day, or on special occasions, or a couple of days in a week while you attend personal or family work, you should think of babysitting services.
World of Difference
There is a world of difference between a babysitter and a nanny. The responsibility of a babysitter is generally limited to care of the physical well-being of the child and carrying out the specific child-related functions that may be advised by the parents. These would normally include bath time, mealtimes, bedtimes, etc.
The responsibility of nanny service ranges far beyond the mere custodial care of the children. A nanny is regarded and treated as a member of the family, and while most of the responsibilities of a nanny would revolve around child care, she is frequently called upon to shoulder additional responsibilities that may include cooking, light housekeeping, driving the children to school, helping out with shopping, etc. whenever such work would not impinge on child care which would always remain her core responsibility.
Employee Status
A babysitter is an independent contractor who is paid the agreed hourly remuneration immediately on completion of the contracted hours of work. However, when a nanny is employed, she is regarded as an employee of the family, even if the hire is through a nanny service agency. The agency is only a facilitator or a matchmaker who brings about a meeting between the person who is in need of the service and the person who wishes to provide the service. However, such agencies also do their own groundwork on the suitability and other security related background checks before empanelling them on their services.
The initial appointment is generally for a period of one year and the terms and conditions of service are spelt out in writing in a signed agreement to which the employer and the nanny are signatories. The agreement will set out the hours of work, the remuneration, and define the duties of the nanny.
Qualifications
A freelance babysitter may have substantial experience in child care but will, most probably, not have any professional qualifications to support the employment. But, reputed agencies usually offer babysitters who, at a minimum, have training in administering first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A nanny is normally qualified in childcare and also frequently in child nutrition, child psychology, etc.
If you view the activity of child care on a scale of 1 to 10, you could say that a babysitter would be at the lower end of the scale and a nanny at the higher end. It is not about whether a babysitter is better than a nanny or the other way around. It’s about what your child needs. You can find great babysitters for their defined part -time role and great nannies for whole day care giving.