| It is a well-known social phenomenon that changing | | | | Definitely it will be not enough to hire a caregiver just |
| parental work patterns have transformed our all-family | | | | by a phone interview or a five-minute talk in your |
| life over the past 30 years. One of the most dramatic | | | | office. In order to find out if the candidate fits well with |
| changes is the increased rate of paid employment | | | | your family it is essential to perform a personal |
| among mothers with children. According to published | | | | interview at home, starting with the candidate and the |
| data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the | | | | parents and later on also involving the children. There |
| overall maternal labor force rose from 38 to almost 70 | | | | are many reasons to accept or not to a accept a |
| percent during the last 30 years and for mothers with | | | | nanny or babysitter, all depends on what you are |
| youngest children below the age of 3, this rate rose | | | | looking for. It might be important for you if the |
| from 24 to 57 percent. | | | | candidate is old or young, mature or in between, with |
| During this same period, the demand for non-parental | | | | college grade or even with master degree, short or tall, |
| child care increased dramatically, taking place in a | | | | thin or heavy, white, black or latin, with or without |
| variety of child care arrangements, including babysitters | | | | religious background, etc. There are many factors that |
| or nannies, family child care, care centers, au pair, | | | | define an individual but the most important thing of all is |
| family members, neighbors or friend child care | | | | that the nanny matches with your family. |
| arrangements, and other organized activities. Alone in | | | | And also consider the following: The caregiver always |
| the United States, a large percentage of the 35 million | | | | should be seen as a person whose primary function is |
| children and adolescents below the age of 14 with | | | | caring for the children. There are too many cases |
| working parents are in an arrangement with a | | | | where babysitters or nannies are basically used as |
| babysitter/nanny or an other type of childcare | | | | general housekeeper, making the beds of the parents, |
| arrangement for an average of 22 to 40 hours a | | | | doing their laundry or cleaning toilets, etc. As a |
| week. Child care is no longer simply a protective or | | | | consequence, children often are "parked" in front of |
| remedial service for children from low-income or | | | | the TV for hours, instead of stimulating them |
| troubled families: it is an everyday arrangement for the | | | | performing creative activities like attending after-school |
| majority of children in the United States and all other | | | | events, reading books or helping with homework, just |
| industrialized countries in the world. | | | | to mention a few of the possibilities. For a quality care |
| There are quite a lot of social studies available | | | | of their children, it needs to be clear that first priority of |
| determining the effects of child care on children's | | | | the babysitter/nanny is taking care and stimulating the |
| cognitive and social functioning (see references below, | | | | children and in second place realizing other activities like |
| to mention only a few of them). As a conclusion, if | | | | the participation in general housekeeper activities. Both, |
| children and adolescents are exposed to high-quality | | | | the family and the caregiver clearly should define this in |
| care, their development can be significantly enhanced. | | | | a contract that will help to ensure that all of the terms |
| However, it has also been shown that society has not | | | | and conditions are well understood. |
| taken full advantage of the opportunities of childcare | | | | References: |
| provides. Many children and adolescents spend long | | | | 1) Working Families and Growing Kids: Caring for |
| hours, often at early ages, away from their parents in | | | | Children and Adolescents Eugene Smolensky and |
| unstimulating, mediocre care, resulting in development | | | | Jennifer Appleton Gootman, Editors, Committee on |
| delays and social disturbances. This conclusion of the | | | | Family And Work Policies, National Research Council |
| social studies leads to a real challenge for the families | | | | (2003). |
| in need of a childcare service, as well as for the | | | | 2) Caring for America's Children, Anne Meadows, |
| caregiver themselves. Selecting the correct type of | | | | Editor; Panel on Child Care Policy, National Research |
| caregiver service for their actual situation is not an | | | | Council, National Academies Press (1991). |
| easy task for the family. There are a lot of services | | | | 3) Brooks-Gunn, J., Berlin, L.J., and Fuligni, A.S. (2000). |
| offered in local newspaper ads or the internet and the | | | | Early childhood intervention programs: |
| first question will be if you prefer a full time in-home | | | | What about the family? In J.P. Shonkoff, and S.J. |
| solution, drop-in or part-time or an off-home solution | | | | Meisels (Eds.), Handbook ofearly childhood intervention, |
| (care center, all-day school programs, etc.). | | | | 2nd edition (pp. 549-588). New York: Cambridge. |
| Whatever the decision will be, the selection of the day | | | | 4) Vernon-Feagans, L., Emanuel, D.C., and Blood, I. |
| care center or the nanny/babysitter never should be | | | | (1997). The effect of Otitis Media andquality daycare |
| performed without considering the children's opinion. | | | | on children's language development. Journal of Applied |
| Especially small children have a very fine instinct and | | | | Developmental |
| they will show you immediately if there is "chemistry" | | | | Psychology, 18, 395-409. |
| between the babysitter or nanny and the child or not. | | | | |