Baltimore Sun article - 1999

In this country, you have to be trained and licensed so you don't damage someone's hair or nails. Why don't you need to be trained and licensed so you don't damage a CHILD?

Baltimore Sun
October 1, 1999 -

The Nanny's Work is Never Done article contained numerous insights from Sheilagh Roth, the executive director of the English Nanny & Governess School. Here are a few excerpts:

Nannies are in great demand -- and they're being asked to do much more than care for the kids. They are often underpaid and overworked. But maybe worst of all, they are misunderstood.

America's nannies say they deserve a little more respect -- as teachers, not baby sitters, child-care professionals, not maids. "When a nanny walks in the door, parents think they've just hired a substitute mom," says Sheilagh Roth, executive director of the English Nanny and Governess School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Where once they could be found only in the wealthiest of homes, nannies have become a de rigueur accessory in the most middle-class of families. In the past decade, their numbers have doubled to about 1 million nationwide, the International Nanny Association estimates."I have nannies who quit because they have to wash dishes or the floor, and things are added on and it takes them away from care-giving," says Roth. Roth's nannies represent the high end of the profession. Students at her English Nanny and Governess School must complete a three-month training program. Some already have a four-year college degree in early childhood education.

Her school motto is "Education Begins At Birth." She touts the British model where nannies look after and teach children. Period. "I want American parents to realize they're bringing someone in to educate their child," she says. "We have a better sense of staff in England."

But not every nanny is so well prepared. The typical agency may only provide a few hours of training for a first-time nanny, if any at all.