Mormon nannies

Back in the late eighties or early nineties the church published an entire New Era which basically discouraged girls from becoming nannies.

How does it go against the PotF? I mean, i’m not a fan of the whole nanny phenomenon, but it seems to me that if the mother has decided that she needs help to fulfill her stewardship, and she has the means, hiring a nanny would be one way of going about it.

And that’s not to mention the issues single parents (not just from divorce, even—think widows and widowers with small children) face. I’d think that the ability to handle a nanny could be an amazingly wonderful thing for one of them, depending on other circumstances in their lives.

From President Kimball, “There seems to be a growing tendency to shift (parenting) responsibility from the home to outside influences such as . . . child-care agencies and institutions. Constant training, constant vigilance, companionship, and being watchmen of our own children are necessary in order to keep our homes intact and to bless our children in the Lord’s own way.”

Having watched “stay-at-home” friends with nannies, the mother does less of the mothering than the nanny because she has the luxury of coming and going as she pleases, leaving the nanny to much of the day-to-day care of the children.

Of course there are exceptions, there always will be but as Pres. Kimball said, “We have no choice . . . but to continue to hold up the ideal of the Latter-day Saint family. The fact that some do not now have the privilege of living in such a family is not reason enough to stop talking about it. We cannot set aside this standard, because so many others things depend on it.”

As the owner of the agency, I must say that most of our families are hiring nannies to aide in the household - not parent their children. In fact, many of our parents are home with the nannies and are not looking for replacement parents. Our families tend to be loving and supportive of their children and the nannies that work with them. Being a nanny can be a great way for a young woman to prepare for her own family - I like to think of it as college for future stay-at-home moms.

Our screening process is intense for both families and nannies - we don’t work with people who don’t fit our criteria. This would include families who are looking for a surrogate parent. We are a small agency and know our nannies well, as well as the families we work with - we take pride in being able to help families with their childcare needs while still maintaining a strong family unit dedicated to the principles.

Sincerely,

Kari Shafer
Owner
Your Child’s Nanny

Dear David,

YES! Every nanny within our agency MUST have a letter of recommendation from their bishop in order to work with our agency. We have to have a way to ensure that our nannies are both involved with their local ward as well as living the principles that our families value.

We will not consider any nanny that cannot provide this letter of recommendation.

Thanks!

Kari