A babysitter is Different from a Temporary Nanny

There are many situations when you need a person to take care of your child. If you are a full-time worker, you need someone who looks after you child throughout the day. Hiring a nanny or sending your kid to a daycare center can solve this problem. However, sometimes, you need to get help from a caregiver for a shorter period of time. Then you can hire a babysitter or a temporary nanny. However, both are different.

A babysitter generally takes care of your child for a fixed number of hours when you are out of the house. Babysitters are mostly young children pursuing education who are interested to provide childcare. When you want to go out for shopping or a function or elsewhere, you return within few hours. But, you need a care-provider, then you can hire a babysitter who provides an occasional childcare.

However, if you want to get formal childcare from a professional for certain number of hours (not full-time), then you can go for a temporary nanny. If you wish to get childcare and also some other services like a little bit of housekeeping, a temporary nanny is preferred to a babysitter. Babysitter do not involve in any house-related activities. They only deal with childcare services like feeding them, engaging in some activity and so on. Where as, a temporary nanny looks after the child and also helps in laundry or dishwashing. The payment for a babysitter is lesser than that for a temporary nanny. So, you have to choose a babysitter or a temporary nanny based on the situation and requirements.

How Does a Babysitter Differ From a Nanny?

Nanny care is the general term used for the childcare taken by a person. However, there are many persons who are involved in the childcare. Babysitters and nannies are some among them. Based on the function of childcare, babysitters and nannies are similar. However, a babysitter differs from a nanny in many aspects. Some of them are mentioned here.

• A babysitter is a person who takes care of the children on an irregular basis. She may be a
• family friend or a neighbor. Whereas a nanny is the person who is hired by a family to take care of the children.
• When the parents go out for a movie, or dinner, or for work, then they would hire a babysitter to look after their children till they return. But the nanny takes care of the children regardless of the presence of the parents in the home.
• A babysitter may take care of many children not only of one particular family. The nanny takes care of children of only one family.
• The tasks of a babysitter includes watching kids, keeping them entertained, preparing some meals for them and cleaning up after meals. But a nanny can be called as a mix of a babysitter, a cook and a driver. This means that they do many things such as cooking, providing all the needs of a child, and driving them to some places if required.
• The babysitters are paid less when compared to nannies. As the work for babysitters is less they receive less salary. The babysitter receives the salary on an hourly basis as the work hours vary. However, a nanny receives salary on yearly basis because the working hours for a nanny are unpredictable and do not follow a specific schedule.
• A babysitter may have a little childcare experience whereas a nanny has long-term experience for childcare. The babysitter may not have have particular qualification for childcare whereas a nanny must have a certified qualification.
• A babysitter can be a teenager who can be found by the parents by just word of mouth. But a nanny is hired through a referral agency or formal advertisements online or in papers.

Know About Tasks of Nanny

A nanny is a person appointed by parents to look after their children. She is responsible for taking care of children and encourages children to participate in extra-curricular activities and makes sure that they succeed at their other activities also. Tasks of Nanny depends on children and their parents and nannies.

House work: House work includes many things, it can be taking care of children doing works of laundry and dishes. Generally, these works related are to children. In this if she prepares meals to kid then she is also asked to wash those dishes. And also she may asked to wash children' cloths as well and taking dog for a walk.

Preparing meals: Nannies may be asked to prepare meal, but it is not an easy thing. She has to prepare different types meals, every child does not eat same thing. There are many things involved in preparing meals for children like allergies, eating habits, age, behavior issues.

Doing children activities: It is important to keep children active. Generally, parents give an idea about different kinds of activities for children, but sometimes she has to introduce new games herself. She should introduce some things which bring more enjoyment to the child.

There are some general tasks for nannies, such as:

• She should provide childcare according to agreement with employed parents
• She should support social, emotional, creative, and intellectual development of the children.
• Keeping child in safe environment and providing balanced meals and snacks to children.
• She should maintain good communication with parents, and she should inform parents about their development and behavior.
• She should maintain neatness and she should give sleep guidance and other things.

Generally these are tasks of nannies, but these depend on children and parents and nannies and their requirements.