A live-out nanny can be expected to work up to 10 hours a day, whereas a live-in nanny is expected to work up to 12 and is provided with live-in accommodation. A live-out nanny works from Monday to Friday and will perform extra babysitting duties if arranged and paid extra for this on top of their salary, usually at an agreed hourly rate. If you would like to know more about the specifics of the role please follow the below link in our Roles section.
https://lady.co.uk/becoming-nanny
Ellie Barber is a nanny who works for a family in West London. Ellie is 25 and shares a flat with a friend in the same neighbourhood. Ellie has sole-charge of two children aged two and four. Ellie describes her day.
Morning
I’m up fairly early as I like to have a coffee and relax before I walk the twenty minutes to my work. The family I work for are really nice, I love my job. The mother works from home as a designer and the father is a broker in the city who works very long days. I get to work for 8am when the children are having their breakfast with their mum. The housekeeper arrives at 9am but I try to take care of all clearing up regarding the children, so once they’ve had their breakfast I clear things away and pack the dishwasher. My employer goes off to her studio to work and I get the children ready for nursery which is not far from their home, we sometimes walk if the weather is good. I make sure they’ve got the right things for their morning; wellies if it’s wet, hats if cold and so on. We like to do a song on the way to nursery and it’s a good way of distracting them if they’re squabbling in the car! While the children are at nursery I tidy their rooms, sort out their laundry and make sure all the toys are tidied in the children’s downstairs playroom. If I have time I do a food shop for the children and prepare something homemade for their lunch. Today I do homemade fish-fingers. Sometimes the children help me prepare their lunch, which they love doing, especially pizza!
Afternoon
I pick the children up at 12.30 and bring them home for lunch. The little boy is only two so he has a nap after lunch. While he sleeps the little girl and I do some arts and crafts, she loves painting and is making her dad a picture of a house today. After we tidy-up the paints, we read a story and practise our alphabet before I wake her brother and we go out to the park for an hour and the children play on the slides, swings and in the sandpit – the little boy loves to take his digger truck to the park. We go home and I give the children a drink and a snack or we have cake sometimes. The house is large so it is easy for us not to disturb the children's mother when she is working. My employer has let me know that the children have a birthday party this week so I make a note to get the present tomorrow and check that the little girl’s favourite dress is pressed and ready. By 4.30 I need to prepare the children’s supper. Tonight I do them a simple pasta with tomato sauce, yoghurts for pudding. The little boy is learning to use his fork and knife, so I encourage him with this and try to persuade them both on the merits of green vegetables!
Early evening
After the children have had supper I let them get down from the table and we go upstairs to do bath-time. The children adore this time of day and it helps to calm them and get them ready for bed. I let them take turns squeezing the bubble bath in to the bath and the little boy throws lots of his toys in. Usually their mum comes up to see them have their baths and she puts on their nightlights, if I haven’t already done it. Sometimes if the parents are going out I will babysit and put them to bed. When bath-time is over I get the children into their pyjamas and make sure they’ve done their teeth. Mum and dad take over for story-time and bedtime so I say goodnight and give them both a kiss before heading home.
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