When children are a bit older and traditional childcare responsibilities have lessened, families often hire a Family Assistant. Many nannies aren’t eligible for these positions because they don’t have the experience, but with the rise in popularity (about one third of our childcare positions), adding these skills and responsibilities to your resume may open up additional career opportunities.
Understanding the Family Assistant Role
The duties for these positions tend to have heavier household management, along with driving kids to activities, supervising homework, etc. The additional benefit for families is that the role
supports the entire family, not just the children.
Here are some household duties that may be included in a Family Assistant position that are not typically in Nanny positions:
- Organize spaces such as pantries and closets
- Errands like grocery shopping, returns, and dry cleaning
- Food prep including washing, chopping, and measuring
- Scheduling and calendar management
- Contractor, vendor and maintenance management
- Research items such as sports activities, summer camps, restaurants, travel, and more
- Book travel, make restaurant reservations, buy event tickets, etc.
- Make school lunches
- Seasonal projects (decorating, holiday cards, etc.)
- Handle small household tasks like bringing in mail, putting away groceries, or watering plants
These additional tasks are not as common but may make you more marketable if you are open to taking them on:
- Household dishes
- Family laundry
- Cooking and meal planning
- Sweeping/Swiffering and/or light vacuuming
- Taking out trash
- Making beds
- Dog walks
Building the Right Skills and Experience
If you are interested in gaining any of the above Family Assistant skills, you can volunteer to take on household tasks in your current role and/or offer to help with logistics such as scheduling or research. Always take on new tasks with the family’s permission and within your agreed schedule. Doing so can make you a more valuable employee, provided it does not take away from the quality of childcare you deliver. You can also expand your knowledge by exploring online courses or workshops focused on household management and organization. Strong time management, communication skills, and the ability to multitask are equally important since you may be switching between errands, household projects, and after-school responsibilities.
Showcase Your Skills on Your Profile
Once you have built these experiences, be intentional about how you present them on your profile. Highlight responsibilities that demonstrate both childcare and household management to show your versatility. You may even separate the childcare portion from the household portion to make it clear. Many nannies already have these skills but forget to include them in their experience, so you may get passed over when we consider the most suitable candidates for the position. Be sure to include these details so your full range of abilities are visible!
We know that some of you may prefer to focus solely on childcare, since child development is your passion and specialty. For those who are interested, though, building Family Assistant skills can greatly expand your career options and increase your value to families.
We understand that many of you are most passionate about childcare and may prefer to focus exclusively on child development, your true area of expertise. However, for those who are open to it, developing Family Assistant skills can be a wonderful way to broaden your career opportunities and increase the value you bring to the families you support.
If you want advice, please reach out to Melanie, as she successfully made this transition from her career as a nanny.